1998 Volvo S70 Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other S70 years
- Far more complaints than other years 1st of 7 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 4 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 215 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 Volvo S70. That is the most of any S70 model year in the database (7 years). The most reported problem area is service brakes, hydraulic (61 complaints, 28%), typically at around 77,000 miles. Complaints mention 10 crashes, 3 fires, 16 injuries. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.
- 215owner complaints
- 4safety recalls
- 3NHTSA investigations
- 10complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 1998 Volvo S70 problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic problems | 61 | 28% | 77,000 | “control module” (11%) | $1,150 |
| Exterior Lighting | 35 | 16% | 73,000 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 31 | 14% | 117,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 22 | 10% | 93,240 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 14 | 7% | 78,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 13 | 6% | 22,027 | — | — |
| Structure | 13 | 6% | 74,500 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 11 | 5% | 74,500 | — | — |
| Suspension | 11 | 5% | 74,500 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 9 | 4% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Power Train | 8 | 4% | 91,247 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 8 | 4% | 98,250 | — | — |
| Tires | 8 | 4% | — | — | — |
| Equipment | 7 | 3% | 79,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 6 | 3% | 24,500 | — | — |
| Wheels | 6 | 3% | — | — | — |
| Seats | 5 | 2% | 101,958 | — | — |
| Interior Lighting | 4 | 2% | 67,002 | — | — |
| Visibility | 4 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Engine | 2 | 1% | 130,900 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control | 1 | 0% | 76,000 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 0% | 20 | — | — |
| Steering | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
1998 Volvo S70 recalls (4)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Exterior lighting:headlights:switch
Problem: On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, over an extended period of time, the headlight switch may cease to function.
Risk: The head lights may not operate properly which could result in intermittent or no headlight function. This could impair a driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: On vehicles with an original oem switch, dealers will replace the headlight switch. All other vehicles will be inspected to determine if the switch has een damaged and replace only if necessary. The recall began on january 24, 2005. Owners should contact volvo at 1-800-458-1552.
Exterior lighting:turn signal
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. There could be inadequate contact between the bulb and socket which could cause the front turn signal not to function as designed.
Risk: This would fail to warn an approaching driver that the vehicle is turning and could lead to a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left and right front turn signal bulb and socket.
Exterior lighting:headlights:switch
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Operation of the headlight switch, over an extended period of time, can result in inconsistent operation of the switch.
Risk: Driver's could experience a loss of visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the headlight switch.
Air bags:frontal
Problem: Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. The frontal passenger air bag may be overly sensitive to certain electrostatic discharge.
Risk: This could possibly cause an inadvertent deployment.
Fix: Dealers will install an additional ground wire in the passenger side to assure sufficient grounding.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Headlight failure (RQ04004) — opened Jun 8, 2004, closed Nov 5, 2004, led to recall 04V504000.
- Turn signal (PE00031) — opened Aug 15, 2000, closed Dec 22, 2000, led to recall 00V405000.
- Inadvertent side air bag deployment (PE99040) — opened Jun 7, 1999, closed Oct 27, 1999.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
I took my car to the sears auto center at 1178 el camino real in san bruno, california (sears store #6909) on september 2, 2018 for front brakes. Sears returned the car to me on 9/2/18 (a copy of my "final invoice" is enclosed). I subsequently learned that the dust boot for the right front brake…
The plastic handle of the oil dipstick came off causing half of the oil dipstick to be in the dipstick tube the car was not moving it happened while checking the oil level making sure there was oil in the car making sure that the engine will not seize while driving
The low beam headlights are dim i have replaced the bulbs with brighter bulbs and they are still dim i have to drive with the fog lights on all the time in order to drive at night.
I purchased this car used december 16 2016 knowing it needed a lot of work. I have since gotten all the repairs done on jan 4th 2017. I now need to get the car emission tested after driving 200 miles the readiness monitors are still not set and have since repaired the check engine light and still…
Key stuck in ignition,&accelerometer, causes check engine light to stay on
Other Volvo S70 years
See all Volvo S70 problems by year, every Volvo model, or the Volvo VIN decoder.
Similar Volvo models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Volvo S70?
Owners most often report service brakes, hydraulic, exterior lighting, electrical system problems. The top one, service brakes, hydraulic, accounts for 61 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 1998 Volvo S70?
Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 1998 Volvo S70 a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other S70 model years, the 1998 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.