10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,025 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #18

Sep 012014

S60

  • 56,000 miles
Transmission shifting problems oil leaks.

- Indianapolis, IN, USA

problem #17

May 042013

S60 5-cyl

  • 161,200 miles
While driven from work. My car suddenly slow down and show a message. Reduced engine power. Then car stopped by it self.restart the car and engine start jumping. Need advise.

- Phillips Ranch, CA, USA

problem #16

Jul 132012

S60 5-cyl

  • 100,520 miles
The dash information system will randomly go blank and display SRS failure. Along with all information lights start blinking on and off. The analog gauge like the speedometer and fuel gauge will go to "0" or just move eratically to any number or position while driving. At night the entire information center go blank the clock and the mileage(no lights at all).

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #15

Nov 072011

S60 5-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Volvo S60. The contact stated with his foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle would intermittently surge forward. The contact also stated that the vehicle would intermittently hesitate to accelerate from a stopped position. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 20,000. Updated 01/04/12 updated 01/09/12

- New York, NY, USA

problem #14

Apr 152010

S60

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Volvo S60. The contact was driving 55 mph when the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where they replaced the electronic throttle assembly at the contacts expense. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure and current mileage was 64,000.

- Buena Park, CA, USA

problem #13

Dec 112009

S60

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Volvo S60. When the contact attempted to exit a parking space the vehicle suddenly surged forward without warning. After examining the vehicle the contact noticed that the driver side floor mat became stuck under the accelerator pedal. There were no prior warnings and the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership. The current and failure mileages were 50,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #12

May 142006

S60

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Volvo S60. While driving low speeds, the vehicle would accelerate abnormally. The contact experienced difficulty accelerating as if the vehicle were in limp mode. In addition, the vehicle stalls without warning. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that they could not duplicate the failure and provide a remedy. The 2003 S60 was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 06V441000 (vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 74,000.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #11

Dec 102008

S60

  • 94,000 miles
On 12 Dec, 2008, my 2003 Volvo S60 stalled with no warning while traveling on a busy highway at 60 mph. I pulled to safety (vehicle was in "limp home" mode) and had the vehicle towed to the dealership (park place Volvo). Since the vehicle started right back up and presented no codes, I was told there was nothing wrong and given a bill for $418 (for tow and diagnostic check). Approx. 1 month later, vehicle presented same problem; it stalled, without warning, while driving... creating a great safety risk for the second time. I had vehicle towed again to same dealership, and since vehicle started right back up with no codes, I was told there was nothing wrong. Dealership could not get vehicle to duplicate problem on either occasion. However, to appease me, dealership did replace accelerator pedal...vehicle still presents same stalling issue, and intermittently goes into "limp home" mode for no apparent reason. This will undoubtedly cause a serious accident, as it is obvious, from the numerous complaints on this issue, that this is a mass defect.

- Grapevine, TX, USA

problem #10

Nov 242006

S60 5-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • miles
While driving on I-290 the engine of my 2003 Volvo S60 suddenly lost all power. I narrowly escaped several serious accidents on a busy Chicago highway. When the car loses power there is absolutely nothing the operator can do to move over to the side. I was driving approx. 60 mph when this happened. The vehicle completely stalled, and I was able to restart the vehicle after approx. 30-60 seconds. The problems exhibited by the car are exactly the same as the recent recall that Volvo has announced for Volvo vehicles. My car is not included in this recall. The car is now stalling randomly at lower speeds.

- Oak Park, IL, USA

problem #9

May 052006

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 62,000 miles
My 03 Volvo stalls at highway speeds resulting in a loss of power steering. This happens several times per trip, posing a very very dangerous situation. The vehicle stalls when letting off the gas pedal and occasionally when coming to a stop.

- Vienna, VA, USA

problem #8

Dec 222004

S60

  • miles
On 12/22 I was driving my 2003 Volvo S 60 AWD. I was very slowly and carefully pulling into a front in parking spot. I was particularly careful because there was a driver sitting in the car parked to my right, and I did not want to get too close to his car. With my foot on the brake I was slowly moving into the spot. My front fender tapped the short concrete barrier at the front of the parking spot. The next thing I new, the car was rapidly accelerating forward. I was worried that I would go over the barrier and strike a brick wall in front of me. I believe that the engine block must have hit the short concrete barrier and that is what ultimately stopped the car. Despite the fact that I was inching into the spot at the slowest possible speed. The force of the acceleration was enough to crumple the whole front of my car, crack the windshield, and cause the passenger front air bag to release. I feel very certain that this represented unintended acceleration. I do not think there was any chance that I stepped on the gas instead of the brake. I am a very careful, cautious driver, and was very aware of what I was doing at the time without any distractions. I reported this to Volvo customer service, who claims that after inspecting the car, they found no safety concerns. I am concerned that having Volvo do their own inspection represents a conflict of interest.

- Galdwyne, PA, USA

problem #7

Sep 062005

S60

  • 26,900 miles
Had problems with car stalling at slow speeds, but all of a sudden while driving on a major highway at 65 mph and car lost power. We were able to glide to shoulder where car stalled. It restarted immediately, but about every 5 mi. The car would stall again. The service dept. At stamford Volvo told me I had bad gas and they replace a senor in the fuel system. As soon as I left the dealership and got on the highway the car stalled again. I brought it back to the dealer. They serviced the car again and told me the water in the gas rusted some screen in the fuel system. They replaced it and thus far the car hasn't' stalled but there is still some hesitation while driving at high speeds.

- Norwalk, CT, USA

problem #6

Sep 092005

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 28,000 miles
Recently while driving at speeds around 40 mph my car experienced a loss of speed and then stalled. Each experience has been preceded by a brief loss and then by a more prolonged loss and finally a complete engine failure which locks up steering. In each instance the car has restarted. The mechanic said it was most likely a failure of the electronic throttle control module (ETM). Steps are currently being taken to replace the ETM.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA

problem #5

Aug 272005

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 31,399 miles
The contact S brought car to dealer 3 times because it will not start after sitting for awhile.. she owns a 2003 Volvo model S60 2.4T. The first time it happened was on 8-12-05. The last time it happened on 8-27-05. Once it took over an hour for it to start up. Every time she fixed it, the problem recurred. It will intermittently not start. She was the original owner. She did not think she had the electronic throttle module (ETM) replaced. Vehicle has not stalled while she was driving, but at times it surged forward.

- Rosamond, CA, USA

problem #4

Jun 212005

S60 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 22,450 miles
Between 12/2004-6/2005 my 2003 Volvo S60 lost power/ power decreases at varying speeds. The most significant was on the hwy going 65 mph. I had just accelerated to get onto the hwy in front of a semi truck. My car reached 65-70 mph and began to drop speeds - 65 to 55 to 50 to 40 with in seconds. The semi almost ran over me because the speeds dropped so fast. I caused 2 other cars on the hwy to go onto the side ramp otherwise it would have been a horrible crash with the semi. I have taken the vehicle to the dealer 3 times complaining of the same problem. The final time stating not to give the car back until it was fixed. The dealer said they downloaded new software to the car" if it happens again they can install a black box to record what is going on. What if the next time the semi does crash into me? the first time they had the car the labeled as pedal position sensor install/replace? the second time the invoice reads pressure sensor intake air replaced" ultimately, I saw the report in the news and recognized the issue to exactly what happens to my car. I noticed that you did not include 2003 S60's in your report. I know these should be looked at as well. I love my Volvo I just don't feel very safe in it. Please contact me for any questions.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #3

Oct 302004

S60 5-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 10,980 miles
2003 Volvo S60. Vehicle stalled/lost power due to throttle body failure. The vehicle stalled a total of six times while the consumer was on a road trip. The vehicle was taken to a repair facility but they didn't have the part to repair the problem.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #2

Jul 012005

S60

  • Automatic transmission
  • 25,000 miles
2003 Volvo S60. While driving 35 mph vehicle stalled intermittently, and then accelerated. Took vehicle to dealer 4 times. Replaced throttle body.

- Redondo Beach, CA, USA

problem #1

May 092004

S60

  • miles
My husband and I drove our Volvo (we are leasing this car) first time for a long trip (about 800 miles). The car mileage was about 13,000. After driving with the speed 75M/H for about 4 hours, we took an exit and lost control over the car. Actually car took control. It shifted into neutral gear, jumped and stopped. It took a couple of minutes before car allowed to control itself. This scary experience repeated a few times on the road. Needless to say, it was a shocking experience. The first thing we did, we brought a car to a dealer. They informed us that the car was leased to us with outdated old software, that this software also had a glitch. That they had to download a new version of software. not a big deal, and it a mass production of Volvo cars, and things like that happen all the time I was told by the Volvo service. I did not believe it and could not believe it. Call the Volvo of North America customer service. Sure enough, their representative, jenni with extension #1979 confirmed the same thing for me. She said it is a scary experience, but we updated your car software. I asked why this old, not safe version was given to me and her response was that they have no way to know when and what will happen with the software on the road. So what happens with their slogan that Volvo is for life" any answers besides, well, it is a mass productions and the safety cannot be guaranteed. sorry for the emotions, if you who will be so kind to read my message would be hearing how happy and relaxed Volvo representatives about this incident. Any comments" thank you so much for you time.

- Rockville, MD, USA