XC60

Volvo XC60 Problems

What actually breaks on the Volvo XC60 — 291 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 2010–2017, sorted by model year and by system, with what owners wrote in their own words.

NHTSA owner complaints · 291 reports · 187 builds · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer

Owners have filed 291 complaints on the Volvo XC60, covering 2010–2017. The system named most often is Visibility/wiper (51 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2010, 2012; cleanest: 2017, 2014, 2011. 15 reports describe a crash, 6 a fire. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.

What breaks on Volvo XC60

Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 291 XC60 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.

Visibility/wiper 18% 51 Read
2016 Volvo XC60

The windshield is leaking heavily from the top and condensation impairs visibility. This is effecting some of the safety and electrical systems, such as the passenger airbag and door controls

2015 Volvo XC60

The tinting on the rear window is so dark, it makes it almost impossible to see anything when driving. I have to rely on the side mirrors only to see if there is anything behind me. It becomes extremely critical when trying to back up using the rear view mirror. You can't see any details and I have scraped objects…

2013 Volvo XC60

Windshield water leak at gasket, above the steering weel area

Electrical System 15% 43 Read
2015 Volvo XC60

On 9/8/2021, Niello Volvo Sacramento service replaced my fuel pressure sensor and fuel line. On 9/15/2021, my engine caught fire and the car was deemed a total loss by insurance company. I drove from my home in Plumas Lake 95961 to Marysville approximately 10 miles away at 9:50 AM, at approximately 10:00-10:05 as I…

2014 Volvo XC60

I am complaining about unintended acceleration recently experienced while parking my car in a parking lot and the manufacturing cannot tell me if and when any recalls were updated on my car prior to purchase. The car started accelerating after I removed my foot from accelerator and started to break into a stop so I…

2013 Volvo XC60

The accelerator got stuck and and the engine went full power. It would not shut off and the overheated

Engine 10% 30 Read
2016 Volvo XC60

"The contact owns a 2016 Volvo XC60. The contact stated that while driving at 25 MPH, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she refilled the oil when she arrived at her residence. The contact noticed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil and she was refilling the oil each 4-6…

2016 Volvo XC60

This car has excessive oil consumption and burns oil because the piston rings are faulty. Eventually can cause the engine to stop working and put lives on the road in danger. This was proven in a class action lawsuit against Volvo and they extended the warranty to 8 years or 100,000 miles however some cars are over…

2016 Volvo XC60

The engine is using a quart of oil every 1000 miles, There is no leaks or pools of oil on the ground under the car. This is one of the engines identified in a class action lawsuit filed for this same reason

Seat Belts 6% 17 Read
2016 Volvo XC60

A letter was sent from volvo corp about a safety recall on seatbelts in august 2020 stating that parts would be available after nov 2020. I called the local dealer last week and apparently they do not have the parts to make the necessary repairs. I am very concerned for my safety while driving this vehicle. Currently,…

2016 Volvo XC60

The contact owns a 2016 volvo xc60. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V378000 (seat belts) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called to gorges volvo cars (17665 burt st, omaha, ne 68118; (402) 359-1500) where it was confirmed that the part was not yet…

2016 Volvo XC60

I received a safety recall notice in august 2020 (for a recall issued in june 2020) and I contacted my volvo dealer (don beyer dulles, va), who said that the parts were not available. I received a second safety recall notice in december and I contacted my volvo dealer, who said that the parts were unavailable and were…

Air Bags 5% 15 Read
2017 Volvo XC60

I was t-boned by another SUV in the driver's door, damaging front & rear doors, front panel and back panel. My car was stopped getting ready to make a left turn and the other vehicle stomped the gas to make a left turn and hit me directly. Door would not close after impact and all of these parts replaced. Air bags…

2016 Volvo XC60

I drove my car to the garage and want to turn off the car. The car suddenly start to accelerate and went through my garage door. All side airbags are popped up, but not front airbag. *dt *as around a year ago, when my drove her car slowly due to heavy traffic, the car stopped and needed to turn on the car. I am not…

2015 Volvo XC60

Driving in a parking lot ran head on into light pole with concrete bottom at less than 10mph. All airbags deployed and right wrist severely burned. Almost no damage to the bumper insurance claim proposed at 9400 to get fixed. ## VIN passed ## xc60 t5 2015 ##

Structure 5% 14 Read
2013 Volvo XC60

I recently noticed water intruding into the top side of the windshield. The issue persisted over the course of a couple weeks until the water intrusion became severe and risked electrical damage to the vehicle. After contacting safelite auto glass I was informed by the technician that this issue is common across volvo…

2013 Volvo XC60

I own a 2013 xc 60. It has adhesive failure on the windshield. It has been this way for over two years. Everywhere I take my vehicle they tell me that it is probably the sunroof leaking. (safelight who volvo said I should use) we have checked all the sunroof drains and it is not the sunroof it is 100% manufacture…

2013 Volvo XC60

Water leakage inside of front driver side windshield during light rainfall. Car was stationary. Leakage is continuous each time it rains. Volvo xc60 2013 3.2 engine

Steering 4% 12 Read
2015 Volvo XC60

When I purchased the vehicle, I had told sacramento nello volvo that there was a issue with the handling of the car. I did not look at the rotors when I purchased the vehicle. I have been out of the country five times since the purchase of the car so, I have bearly driven the vehicle. I was fortunate that I was…

2010 Volvo XC60

While slowing down and just about to make a turn into a private residence off of a highway, multiple indicator lights illuminated and audio warning "dinging" occurred for approximately 3 seconds. As I had already been slowly applying the brakes and starting to slightly turn the wheel towards the driveway when those…

2017 Volvo XC60

The contact owns a 2017 volvo xc60. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed to turn. The vehicle was taken to smolish volvo (20360 grandview drive bend, oregon 97701, (541)-639-3005) to be diagnosed. The dealer replaced the steering wheel computer sensor, the steering wheel rack, and the steering wheel fluid…

Visibility 4% 12 Read
2015 Volvo XC60

There is an accordion style piece on the left and right side of the sunroof that expands when the sunroof is opened as a vent. The left (driver) side accordion piece became loose and fell on my head three times. It was repaired by the dealer I purchased the vehicle from twice. When I took the vehicle to the dealer the…

2013 Volvo XC60

The windshield leaks when I am driving from the passenger side and the driver side. Last rain a lot of water got into the car which makes it very dangerous to drive and obviously to break since it gets slippery. I live in the mountains, and we get a lot of rain and now I have to pay out of pocket to get it diagnosed…

2013 Volvo XC60

During a heavy rain storm, I noticed water running down the inside of the windshield. It impaired my vision

XC60 years to avoid — and the clean ones

Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.

FIG.02·Volvo XC60 complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsTop systemCrashesFires
201712Air Bags,structure2
201636Air Bags21
201540Air Bags,structure22
201416Back Over Prevention1
201365Air Bags12
201244Air Bags,seat Belts,seats2
201130Air Bags2
201048Air Bags,forward Collision Avoidance31
ROWS 8·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

The same model year, different builds

Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.

FIG.03·Volvo XC60 complaints by production series
MeasureValue
Distinct production series187
Average complaints per series1.6
Worst single series6 complaints
Average age at failure6.4 years
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

A model average of 1.6 hides a worst series at 6. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.

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How we count

Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.

A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.

Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.

Frequently asked questions

What are the worst years for the XC60?

By complaint volume, 2013, 2010, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.

Which XC60 years are the cleanest?

2017, 2014, 2011 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.

How many complaints does the Volvo XC60 have?

291 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2010–2017. Of those, 15 describe a crash and 6 a fire.

Are these complaints verified?

No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.

Can I check complaints for one specific car?

Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.