2004 Volvo S80 Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: February 8, 2022 · Filed: January 1, 2023

Both of the key fobs I have are broken in that the key won't lock straight out or stay folded into the fob. The weight of the plastic fob alone frequently causes the key to twist backwards if the road is bumpy or uneven, which kills the engine and makes it extremely difficult to steer to safety without power steering. The first time this happened to me I was traveling at 55 mph on a crowded highway but fortunately I was in the rightmost lane, not in a curve, and was approaching an area where I could pull over to safety. I have had to duct tape both keys in the open position to prevent this. The situation is much worse if additional keys or other weight is added to the ring. It is possible to insert a broken key in a way that causes the weight of the fob to hang away from the driver but large road bumps or accidental interference from the driver or passengers can cause it to flip backwards anyway. These incidents are alarming and confusing for the driver, particularly the first time, and could easily cause an accident depending on the conditions. I am not the only person who has experienced this issue, and it will become even more common as these vehicles age.

Incident: November 17, 2020 · Filed: November 18, 2020

ON 11/17/2020 WAS DRIVING TO PICK UP DECAL FOR MY CAR AND I GOT A MESSAGE THAT READ A CHECK AIRBAGS I DIDN'T HAVE ANY READING ON MY GAGES TURN SIGNAL FOR RIGHT TURN STAY LIT UP NOT BRINKING JUST ON , WHEN I STOPPED AND WENT IN BUILDING TO GET DECAL CAME BACK TO CAR STARTED IT MY GAGES CAME BACK WHICH WAS GLAD THEY WERE WORKING BUT STILL HAD MESSAGE ABOUT AIRBAGS

Incident: May 23, 2020 · Filed: May 25, 2020

AFTER NOTICING A VERY ACUTE SMELL OF GAS I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC ADVISE THAT I HAD A FUEL LEAK IN MY 2004 VOLVO S 80 . THATS COULD HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND THAT THE CAR IS NOT DRIVEABLE IN THIS CONDITION.

Incident: June 9, 2017 · Filed: June 22, 2017

STRONG ODOR OF GAS OUTSIDE OF CAR. RECALL ON SIMILIAR CARS BUT NOT IN THIS AREA. KNOWN ISSUE BY VOLVO BUT WILL NOT REPAIR AT NO COST AS IT IS OUTSIDE OF THE 10 YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH CAR DOES NOT HAVE 150000 MILES ON. FIRE HAZARD AND SHOULD BE FOR ALL CARS OF THIS YEAR AND MAKE BUT OFFER LITTLE IF ANY HELP.

Incident: March 29, 2017 · Filed: April 19, 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLVO S80. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE CONTACT SMELLED FUEL COMING FROM THE GARAGE. UPON CHECKING UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE, THE ODOR BECAME STRONGER. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT A FUEL LEAK ORIGINATED FROM THE TOP OF THE FUEL TANK. THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

Incident: March 23, 2017 · Filed: April 17, 2017

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLVO S80. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE SMELLED FUEL AROUND THE VEHICLE. UPON INSPECTION, THE CONTACT NOTICED FUEL HAD LEAKED OUT OF THE TOP OF THE FUEL PUMP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 19,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

Incident: January 28, 2017 · Filed: February 9, 2017

THE CAR IS PUTTING FORTH A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE. THIS WAS FIRST NOTICED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO BUT WAS PUT DOWN TO HAVING JUST FILLED THE TANK. THE PROBLEM HAS PROGRESSED TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN SMELL GAS 20 FEET AWAY FROM THE CAR. WE ARE NOT ALLOWING OUR DAUGHTER TO DRIVE THE CAR AS IT IS AN EXTREME FIRE HAZARD. I HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH ANOTHER S80 IN 2015 WHICH ALSO WASN'T COVERED IN THE RECALL SINCE IT WAS NOT SOLD IN A "HOT CLIMATE". WITH THAT CAR THE FUEL PUMP (WITH DEFECTIVE FLANGE) WAS REPLACED AND THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY. ALTHOUGH I AM NOT CONVINCED THAT HEAT IS THE PROBLEM (RATHER THE DEFECTIVE FLANGE) THE TEMPERATURES IN OUR AREA RANGES FROM 15 IN WINTER TO LOW 100S IN THE SUMMER. THIS IS A PROBLEM WHICH VOLVO HAS ACKNOWLEDGED AND IT CLEARLY MAKES DRIVING THE CAR DANGEROUS IF NOT DEADLY. RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM 09V483000 - VOLVO RECALL #R220.

Incident: September 6, 2016 · Filed: September 6, 2016

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLVO S80. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST ACCELERATION. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER IN A PARKING LOT AND NOTICED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE AXLE WAS HANGING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SAME FAILURE OCCURRED TWO OTHER TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE CONTROL ARM KEPT FRACTURING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED AGAIN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 157,000.

Incident: April 15, 2016 · Filed: August 18, 2016

PURCHASED A 2004 VOLVO S80 IN "MINT CONDITION" FROM A USED CAR DEALERSHIP (GOOD REPUTATION).THREE (3) MONTHS LATER THE TRANSMISSION STARTED THE FAMOUS VOLVO "SLIP, SLIDE, AWAY".. IT RIDES LIKE A ROCK, I FELL EVERY CRACK, GRAIN OF SAND IN THE ROAD. I REPLACED THE STRUTS, COIL SPRINGS, LOWER CONTROL ARMS AND OTHER SUSPENSIONS PARTS BUT TO NO AVAIL IMPROVED ITS CONDITION. EVERY WEEK OR SO I GET THE "STOP SAFELY COOLANT LEVEL LOW" WARNING ON MY DASH...KEEP IN MIND THE DEALERSHIP HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE ISSUES SINCE THE CONDITIONS DIDN'T APPEARED UNTIL 3 MONTHS/50000 MILES AFTER THE PURCHASE. STEERING HAS SOME PLAY AND I'M CONTINUOUSLY RECOVERING THE DIRECTIONAL PATH SLIGHTLY. SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE I INSTALLED ALL NEW TIRES (MICHELINS) PURCHASED A LIFETIME WHEEL ALIGNMENT, WHICH WAS DONE DURING NEW TIRE INSTALL AND RECENTLY RE-CHECKED. I DO 90% OF THE WORK MYSELF; I'M AN ENGINEER BY TRADE WITH 40 YEARS OF MECHANICAL SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE. CHECKED THE RECALL DATABASE BY VIN (SAFERCAR.GOV) AND VARIOUS OTHER SITES AND THERE WAS NO RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. THE VOLVO SITUATION IS EXTREMELY DISHEARTENING FOR SUCH A WELL-KNOWN EUROPEAN CAR. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

Incident: December 23, 2014 · Filed: July 24, 2016

SHORTLY AFTER MOVING TO NORTH CAROLINA, I BEGAN TO SMELL FUEL. I FIRST THOUGHT THAT IT WAS THE GAS CAP AND REPLACED IT. THE SMELL CONTINUED TO GROW STRONGER AND STRONGER, TO THE POINT I COULD NOT KEEP IT PARKED IN MY GARAGE IN MY TOWNHOME DUE TO THE SMELL OF GAS WHICH WOULD PERMEATE THE ENTIRE HOUSE. I ALSO NOTICED DURING THIS TIME A SUBSTANTIAL LOSS IN GAS MILEAGE. I TOOK THE CAR IN TO HAVE IT LOOKED AT. THE AUTO SHOP FOUND THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS LEAKING AND SHOWED ME THE BACK OF THE FUEL TANK WHICH WAS COVERED IN GAS. DUE TO THE EXTREME RISK, THE AUTO SHOP STATED THAT THE PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY, ESPECIALLY SINCE I WAS ABOUT TO TAKE A 300-MILE TRIP. THE SHOP DID FIND THE RECALL: 09V483000 AND CALLED THE LOCAL VOLVO DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THAT MY CAR WAS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL. I REQUESTED THAT THE FUEL PUMP BE GIVEN TO ME SO THAT I COULD REVIEW THE RECALL. I THEN REVIEWED ALL THE DOCUMENTATION ONLINE, SPECIFICALLY THE PICTURES OF THE PUMPS WHICH WERE COVERED VS. THE PUMP WHICH WAS BAD. MY PUMP MATCHES EXACTLY TO THE "BAD" PUMP. IN ADDITION, THE FACT THAT MY CAR WAS LEAKING GAS TO THE POINT OF COATING THE OUTSIDE OF THE FUEL TANK INDICATES THAT THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COVERED INCIDENT.