Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2004 Volvo S80 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 8 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
CAR BEGAN OVERHEATING AND EVENTUALLY OVERHEATED AND RUINED ENGINE LATER MECHANIC DISCOVERED THERMOSTAT WASNT WORKING PROPERLY SO NO INDICATION AS TO VEHICLE TEMPURATURE. CAR WAS ON FREEWAY AND STOPPED COMING OFF FREEWAY. HEAD GASKET BLEW ALSO AS WELL AS BAD TRANSMISSION
VEHICLE HAS BEEN HESITANT, SPUTTERING AND SURGING WHEN STOPPED OR INCREASING SPEED. WHEN STOPPED THE VEHICLE SURGES AND MOVES. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, AS WE CAN HIT A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF US. THE ETM HAS BEEN CLEANED BY COLLINS AUTO IN SC. THEY TOLD US THAT IT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED WITH A FEW THOUSAND MILES. THERE IS BUILD UP IN THE THROTTLE BODY AND THIS IS DUE TO THE OIL CHANGE INTERVAL (7500 MILES) WHICH IS RECOMMENDED BY VOLVO. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND A PART DEFECT WHICH VOLVO SHOULD FIX AND REPLACE AT THEIR COST. *TR
BROKEN KEY CAN CAUSE VEHICLE KEY SWITCH TO TURN OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING. THE FOLLOWING IS MY INTERACTION WITH VOLVO, I HAVE HEARD NOTHING FROM THEM SINCE MARCH. ADVISE HOW AND I WILL SEND YOU A PICTURE OF THIS CONDITION. CUSTOMERCARE WEB FORM - 3/19/2014 7:08 PM RESPONSE BY EMAIL ([XXX]) (03/20/2014 09:09 AM) DEAR DICK, THANK YOU FOR YOUR EMAIL. YOUR COMMENTS HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED AND I FORWARDED TO OUR HEADQUARTERS IN SWEDEN. OF COURSE THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT WILL BE DONE WITH THIS INFORMATION, BUT I THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE. [XXX] VOLVO CUSTOMER CARE 1-800-458-1552 X [XXX] AUTO-RESPONSE BY (ADMINISTRATOR) (03/19/2014 08:08 PM) THANK YOU FOR CONTACTING VOLVO CARS OF NORTH AMERICA'S CUSTOMER CARE CENTER. OUR TEAM IS LOOKING INTO YOUR EMAIL RIGHT NOW AND WILL RESPOND TO YOU WITHIN 24 HOURS. IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO SPEAK TO A VOLVO REPRESENTATIVE, PLEASE CALL US DURING OUR REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS LISTED BELOW. PLEASE REFER TO THIS ID#140319-000156. THIS WILL HELP US QUICKLY LOCATE AND REVIEW YOUR CORRESPONDENCE. CUSTOMER BY CSS WEB ([XXX]) (03/19/2014 08:08 PM) AFTER THIS VEHICLE'S ENGINE SHUT OFF SEVERAL TIMES WHILE ZIPPING ALONG THE INTERSTATE I RESOLVED TO FIGURE OUT WHY AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING CONDITION WOULD CAUSE IT TO DO SO. I HAVE A NUMBER OF KEYS ON THE KEYRING AND THE SPRING WHICH NORMALLY HOLDS THE KEY OUT STRAIGHT FROM ITS HOLDER IS BROKEN. WHEN THE KEY/HOLDER IS INSERTED BACK SIDE UP AND THEN ROTATED TO THE RUN POSITION THE BODY OF THE HOLDER EVENTUALLY FOLDS HALF WAY IN AGAINST THE COLUMN, WITH THE OTHER KEYS ON THE RING PULLING IT DOWNWARDS. AFTER ENOUGH BUMPS IN THE ROAD THE DOWNWARD FORCE ROTATES THE KEY OUT OF THE RUN POSITION. IF THE KEY/HOLDER IS INSERTED BUTTONS SIDE UP THIS DOES NOT OCCUR. THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS SCENARIO BEFORE THE GM LITIGATORS GET WIND OF IT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR TWO KIDS IN OUR 2004 VOLVO S80 ON I-75 WHEN THE VEHICLE JUST COMPLETELY STOPPED OPERATING. SHE COULD NOT GET THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE AS WHEN SHE PRESSED THE GAS PEDAL, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT EVEN REV UP. MY WIFE AN CHILDREN WERE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE IN A CAR THAT WOULDN'T DRIVE. THE DASH STATED "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE". SHE CALLED ME ON MY CELL IN A PANIC AS CARS ON I-75 WERE FLYING BY HER AND SWERVING OUT OF HER LANE TO AVOID COLLIDING WITH OUR VEHICLE. I ASKED HER IF SHE HAD TRIED TURNING OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTING IT. THE FIRST TIME SHE TRIED, IT DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. THE SECOND TIME, IT STARTED UP WITHOUT THE "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE" ON THE DASH BUT IT STATED "CHECK ENGINE" ON DASH. MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE OFF AND GET IT HOME. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE VOLVO DEALERSHIP IN OUR CITY AND INFORMED THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND THAT I HAD DONE MY RESEARCH AND THOUGHT THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM) AND THAT IT MIGHT BE UNDER A 10 YR/200,000 MILE WARRANTY. THE VOLVO DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT THERE WOULD BE A DIAGNOSTIC FEE TO START. WHEN I GOT THE CAR BACK, THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT I HAD CARBON BUILD UP ON THE THROTTLE PAD AND THAT AFTER CLEANING THIS, THE ETM PASSED ALL OF THE TESTS. THE NEXT DAY, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME BACK ON AND THE CAR STARTED TO LEAK GAS OUT THE BACK IN HUGE AMOUNTS AFTER I STOPPED TO GET SOME GAS. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY LOOKED AT IT AND AFTER FIXING IT, INFORMED ME THAT THEY HAD KINKED AN O-RING WHILE PERFORMING A RECALL ON SOMETHING ON THE GAS TANK AND THIS CAUSED THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. UPON DRIVING HOME, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME BACK ON AGAIN. UPON TAKING BACK TO DEALERSHIP, THE DEALERSHIP ADMITTED THAT THEY HAD NOT DONE A DIAGNOSTIC FEE THE FIRST TIME SO THAT HAD NO IDEA IF THE ETM WAS FINE OR NOT. BUT THIS TIME THE DIAGNOSTIC SHOWED THE ETM NEEDED REPLACING. BUT NO WARRANTY ON 04. *TR
MY 2004 VOLVO S80 HAS STALLED DOZENS OF TIMES OVER THE PAST 2 1/3 YEARS. SOMETIMES IT STALLS WHILE COASTING TO A STOP. IT WILL GENERALLY RESTART AND YOU CAN LIMP HOME. THIS IS A SEVERE INCONVENIENCE, BUT NOT A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. HOWEVER, IT ALSO HAS LOST POWER AND SPUTTERED ALONG AT A VERY LOW SPEED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER REFUSE TO DRIVE THE CAR ON THE HIGHWAY DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. THE CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO A VOLVO DEALER 6 TIMES SINCE MAY 2007 FOR THIS PROBLEM. MANY TIMES THE PROBLEMS WAS MIS-DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER AND AN EXPENSIVE REPAIR WAS PERFORMED WHICH DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. IN MAY 2007, THE CAR WAS GIVEN A TUNEUP AND SOFTWARE UPGRADE TO THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE. IN JUNE 2007, THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE (ECM) WAS REPLACED. MY TOTAL COST WAS $1,165 WHILE THE DEALER SUPPLIED THE ECM PART AS A GOODWILL GESTURE. SAME PROBLEM IN MAY 2008. DEALER REPLACED TERMINAL ENDS IN WIRING ON ECM AT A COST OF $215. SAME PROBLEM IN SEPT 2008. DEALER REPLACED THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR FOR $525. SAME PROBLEM IN DEC 2008. DEALER REPLACED WIRING FROM ECM TO THROTTLE ACTUATOR AND COVERED THE COST AS A GOODWILL GESTURE. SAME PROBLEM IN JULY 2009. DEALER REPLACED THE ECM AT A COST $500; PART WAS COVERED AS A GOODWILL GESTURE. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM COVERED BY NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE05041 FOR 1999 TO 2001 MODEL YEARS. IN THAT CASE, VOLVO EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS AND 200,000 MILES FOR THE ECM. THAT APPEARS TO BE AN APPROPRIATE REMEDY FOR 2004 MODEL YEARS AS WELL. *TR
WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, MY 2004 VOLVO S80 2.5T WILL SUDDENLY LOSE POWER, SURGE FORWARD OR ENTER 'LIMP MODE" WITH A MESSAGE OF "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE" FOLLOWED BY "ENGINE SERVICE REQUIRED." USING AN OBDII CODE READER I DISCOVERED THAT THESE MESSAGES AND MY ISSUE WERE CAUSED BY A PROBLEM WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM). I TOOK IT INTO A LOCAL VOLVO REPAIR SHOP AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS A THROTTLE BODY ISSUE. IF THIS PROBLEM OCCURS WHILE I AM DRIVING WITHIN THE CITY, IT IS FAIRLY EASY TO PULL OVER TO SAFETY, BUT ON THE FREEWAY, LOSING POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC CAN BE DANGEROUS, AND THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME, CAUSING A NEAR ACCIDENT. THE ISSUE IS RECURRING AND WHILE IT DOES SEEM TO "CLEAR ITSELF" IT HAS RETURNED MULTIPLE TIMES. THERE WAS A DEFECT INVESTIGATION, OPENED JULY 26TH 2005 UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE05041 FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE, AND EXACT SAME GROUP OF PROBLEMS. THE REPORT FOUND THAT THE ISSUE WAS LIMITED TO S80S MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1999 AND 2001. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THIS ISSUE IS NOT LIMITED TO ONLY THOSE MODEL YEARS BUT HAS AFFECTED OTHER YEARS AS WELL. I BASE MY SUGGESTION ON INFORMATION FOUND BY SEARCHING VARIOUS VOLVO OWNER DISCUSSION BOARDS AND FINDING OTHERS THAT HAVE IN FACT BEEN AFFECTED. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE... AS IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SERIOUS ACCIDENTS AS FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLVO S80. THE THROTTLE ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING $350.00. THE HOSE WAS INSTALLED; HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM RECURRED. THE CONTACT ALSO PAID $4,200 FOR REPAIRS THAT DIDN'T REMEDY THE FAILURE. THE DEALER ALSO STATED THE THROTTLE ASSEMBLY IS NOT REALTED TO THE RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000.
HAZARDOUS STOPPING OF THE ENGINE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. ACCIDENT AVERTED BY THE ATTENTIVE DRIVER IN THE BACK. *LA. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .