10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
94,209 miles

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problem #19

Sep 012010

XC70 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact was driving 35 mph when the vehicle failed to shift gears properly. The vehicle was then taken to an authorized dealer. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 103,000. Updated 02/22/12 the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer on 02/04/11. She mentioned the failure of the gears not shifting properly and the dealer performed a software download, which did not fix the problem. The consumer went back to the dealer eight months later for the 9,500 maintenance service and the problem was mentioned again. Finally at 103,000 on Jan 31, 2012 the transmission was replaced with a re-manufactured one. Updated 03/01/12

- Berkeley Heights, NJ, USA

problem #18

Jul 062011

XC70 5-cyl

  • 142,000 miles
Normal driving, at approximately 142,000 miles transmission service required light came on after transmission began slipping and "clunking". transmission failure on 2001 Volvo XC70. $4,000+ repair, common to the 2001 XC70 model.

- Dublin, CA, USA

problem #17

Jun 012011

XC70

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact stated that when attempting to drive in reverse, the vehicle would shift into drive and accelerate forward. The dealer nor manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired. The current and failure mileages were 95,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Bend, OR, USA

problem #16

May 122011

XC70

  • 129,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit a loud, abnormal noise when shifting gears. The noise would also occur while the vehicle downshifted and sporadically, would not accelerate over 45 mph. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 129,000.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

problem #15

May 062011

XC70 5-cyl

  • 124,000 miles
The failure just began at around 100K miles, no specific event. The car lurches when I am pulling into a parking space after I have brought it to a complete stop. Car jerks while down shifting into right hand turns. Car jerks at intersections while slowing down and/or accelerating. I am afraid it is going to jerk forward and hit something that I, as a driver, should not be at risk of hitting. This jerking began intermittently and the car would run more smoothly on the streets after a highway trip of some distance, but now it happens almost constantly and the jerking is more severe. To correct the failure, I saw Volvo and asked them to make sure the software pkg was up to date - they assured it was. A year later I returned as the problem had worsened, Volvo wanted to flush my transmission - I declined and went to a local transmission specialist who identified the problem as a hydraulic and electrical malfunction. I have just agreed to have the problem fixed, and if necessary have the entire transmission rebuilt.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #14

Apr 012010

XC70

  • miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact stated that the vehicle would lose power when attempting to accelerate and would shift with difficulty between gears. She noticed that the RPM's would increase and then the vehicle would jerk violently. The dealer advised the contact to have the transmission replaced. The contact did not inform the manufacturer nor was the vehicle repaired due to cost. The current mileages were 141,000 and the failure mileages were unknown. The VIN was unavailable.

- Bellingham, WA, USA

problem #13

Oct 152010

XC70

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact stated that the vehicle would shift hard without warning when driving approximately 22 mph. The vehicle corrected itself and drove as normal but the failure continued to recur sporadically and when braking to a complete stop. The failure was ongoing for five months and the vehicle was taken to two different authorized dealers where she was advised by both mechanics to replace the transmission. She stated that both mechanics performed a diagnostic test but did not generate any codes indicating that the transmission was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 115,000 and the current mileage was 125,000.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #12

Mar 312011

XC70 5-cyl

  • 80,126 miles
I have experience 2-3 upshift flare, slipping of transmission, tachometer needle jumping up and the engine racing during a shift.

- 84005, UT, USA

problem #11

Jan 062011

XC70 5-cyl

  • 105,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact stated that the transmission had an internal hydraulic failure which caused the transmission to shift slowly, during acceleration it would also jerk and slip when the contact was trying to stop the vehicle. The dealer informed the contact that the transmission could not be repaired and needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 105,000 and the current mileage was 109,000. Updated 06/06/11 updated 1/17/2012 the consumer stated the car wont engage immediately after full stop.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #10

Dec 082010

XC70 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Volvo XC70. The contact stated that when first depressing the accelerator or releasing the accelerator, the transmission would sporadically hesitate and surge abnormally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 130,000 and the current mileage was 140,000. Updated 03/24/11 the transmission fluid, coils and ETM were all replaced to try and resolve the problem. Updated 09/16/11

- Danville, NJ, USA

problem #9

Nov 242010

XC70

  • 78,000 miles
Auto has faulty transmission that causes unexpected acceleration failures, abrupt accelerations, and jerking.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #8

Mar 012010

XC70

  • 175,000 miles
Had a transmission software update that solved a neutral shift problem, where the trans would lurch into gear from a stop. Now the transmission slips as I drive, especially when turning a corner. If I accelerate normally, the vehicle revs then clunks into gear. The dealer on the trans shops say the trans needs to be replaced. Now, I have 183000 miles on the car and bought it, hoping it would be a reliable car...I was so wrong! I purchased the car for $16,000 five years ago with 64K on it. I now have about $12,000 in repairs into this car. Needless to say I am nowhere near happy or satisfied. This is, by far the worst vehicle I've ever owned. It is like a money pit. I just wish a company like Volvo, that once had a great reputation, would own up to the junk they are putting out and make some recalls. At this point, I will never purchase a Volvo again and am spreading the word. Come on Volvo, just own up to the problems and fix them. Do the right thing and you will be noticed. Do nothing and again, you will be noticed but not for a good thing.

- Wyoming, MI, USA

problem #7

Nov 102009

XC70

  • 29,850 miles
Several computer problems that arose suddenly.1) transmission lights fail to light to indicate proper gear and car enters limp home mode (I.e., sluggish acceleration) when starting car. No accidents. Occurs when starting cold engine and goes away after several minutes of warming the engine (inconsistent times). Dealer has installed a software upgrade, but it has not corrected the problem. The problem began without warning or other incident and happens during warm or cold weather. 2) other safety issues that arose at the same time include rear seat passengers being unable to open rear doors (stuck in child lock override mode) and driver override button is nonfunctional. Failure has not been corrected (dealer wants $900 to fix and I rarely have rear seat passengers).

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #6

Jan 012008

XC70

  • 80,000 miles
2001 Volvo XC70 - transmission failure - when stepping on accelerator engine will increase RPM but not speed, then a surge/bump as engine seems to engage.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #5

Jul 232009

XC70

  • 99,000 miles
Transmission failure on Volvo model year 2001. Failure not due to abnormal driving conditions. Normal driving conditions, mostly highway transmission failed at 99,000 miles. The vehicle was well maintained with all dealer suggested maintenance completed. Transmission failure, according to transmission experts due to poorly manufactured "cheap" components.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #4

Mar 152006

XC70 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 55,000 miles
The transmission assembly and final drive assembly on my 2001 Volvo XC70 degraded prematurely due to a defective design and now required replacement @ 70K mi. $7,500 is the estimate to make the car drivable. Volvo na will only offer a 10% discount on repairs.

- Hopkins, MN, USA

problem #3

Jan 072008

XC70 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 75,000 miles
I had experienced some instances of a delay in response by the throttle in my 2001 XC70 for several months. Most times it was following an exit from a freeway and the subsequent attempted acceleration after stop was very hesitant and felt as if the clutch was slipping. I had an ETM diagnostic run in may of 2007 at barrier motors Volvo in bellevue wa. And they found nothing wrong but said they could not get the car to repeat the problem. I had also experienced some infrequent instances of extra acceleration with minimal gas pedal pressure during the same time. On January 7, 2008 I was in line approaching a round-about and after the second slow move forward, I had no more than touched the gas pedal than my car surged forward into the rear of the van in front of me. I was only able to get my foot poised over the break pedal before impact. The car died and when I tried to restart immediately nothing would work. The people in the van had neck injuries, my seatbelt deployed and the retraction unit failed. Only the week prior to this I had started doing an on-line search about my transmission and found many blog complaints about similar problems but had not been to NHTSA site yet. Now I see there appears to be a concerted effort on the part of Volvo na to practice the same kind of obfuscator games that Ford mc has played all along. It reminds me very much of their sop for dealing with the pinto problem in the '70S. In looking at the NHTSA investigations and complaints I find, by looking in all the applications of topic and several other broad category searches the overall conclusion I have reached is that Volvo na/Ford mc are not being held accountable for all the expenses and grief they are causing the consumers. A full class action investigation is probably warranted and probably an involvement of a congressional oversight by the U.S. department of transportation.

- Port Orchard, WA, USA

problem #2

Nov 012006

XC70 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 96,000 miles
I have a 2001 Volvo XC70. The transmission has been clunking into and out of gear in the 20 - 40 mph zone since I hit 95000 miles. I have taken it to the dealer who simply reprogrammed the car but the issue is not resolved. The car hesitates when I step on the gas. Sometimes it goes and other times it does not. This makes the car extremely dangerous to drive.

- Belle Mead, NJ, USA

problem #1

May 092006

XC70 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 97,000 miles
2001 Volvo XC70 transmission fail at 97K miles. Transmission has never behaved appropriately, up/down shift erratic, etc. Vehicle has been the recipient of numerous software upgrades, transmission flush/filter, and a new valve body. Transmission still failed and Volvo says I'm out of luck. Bought new in 2001 for $42,000. Vehicle also failed to operate March of 2006 where a "performance reduced" message was exhibited. After turning car off for several moments, the car ran fine. I suspected a possible issue with the ETM. Portland Volvo installed an ETM software upgrade on April 6, 2006. Car has not had a repeat occurrence of this nature but was shifting oddly as previously described.

- Scarborough, ME, USA