2001 Volvo S80 Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other S80 years
- Far more complaints than other years 3rd of 18 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 7 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 164 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Volvo S80. That ranks 3rd out of 18 S80 model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is vehicle speed control (64 complaints, 39%), typically at around 66,712 miles. Complaints mention 7 crashes, 2 fires, 3 injuries. There are 7 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 2 defect investigations involving it.
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- 164owner complaints
- 7safety recalls
- 2NHTSA investigations
- 7complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2001 Volvo S80 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control problems | 64 | 39% | 66,712 | “throttle module” (36%) | $1,700 |
| Electrical System | 39 | 24% | 63,009 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 27 | 16% | 52,367 | — | — |
| Power Train | 17 | 10% | 77,000 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 16 | 10% | 61,861 | — | — |
| Suspension | 7 | 4% | 94,450 | — | — |
| Visibility | 7 | 4% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 6 | 4% | 94,641 | — | — |
| Steering | 5 | 3% | 52,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 4 | 2% | 61,625 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 4 | 2% | 15,006 | — | — |
| Equipment | 3 | 2% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 3 | 2% | — | — | — |
| Air Bags | 2 | 1% | 158,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 2 | 1% | 71,575 | — | — |
| Structure | 2 | 1% | 158,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 1% | 143,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 1% | 150 | — | — |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 1% | 13,250 | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2001 Volvo S80 recalls (7)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: Volvo Car USA, LLC (Volvo Car) is recalling certain 2001-2006 S80 and 2001-2009 S60 vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's air bag, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 29, 2021. Owners may contact Volvo Car customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo's number for this recall is R10125.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: Volvo Car USA LLC (Volvo Car) is recalling certain 2001-2003 S80 and S60 vehicles sold or ever registered in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The driver side frontal air bag inflator may rupture, sending metal fragments into the passage compartment, when the driver side air bag is deployed.
Risk: Metal fragments can strike vehicle occupants increasing the risk of serious injury or death.
Fix: Volvo Car will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver side air bag module, free of charge. The recall began April 20, 2021. Owners may contact Volvo Car customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo Car's number for this recall is R10058.
Equipment:electrical:navigational system(global positioning system)
Problem: Volvo is recalling certain vehicles equipped with garmin 760 portable global positioning system (gps) units because the batteries on those units may overheat.
Risk: An overheated battery could lead to a fire.
Fix: Volvo advises owners to please stop using the garmin portable gps device immediately, and visit the garmin website to determine if their unit is affected. The unit's battery will be replaced with a new battery and a spacer will be inserted on top of the battery next to the pcb. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on november 18, 2010. Owners may contact garmin at 866-957-1981 or visit garmin's website at www.garmin.com/nuvibatterypcbrecall.
Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump
Problem: Volvo is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 s80, model year 2001-2004 v70, s60, xc70 and model year 2003-2005 xc90 vehicles sold in or registered in the states of alabama, arizona, arkansas, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, kentucky, louisiana, mississippi, nevada, new mexico, north carolina, oklahoma, south carolina, tennessee, texas, utah, virginia and the u.s. Territories. When exposed to certain environmental conditions (hot climate and temperature cycling) over time and in combination with varying fuel quality, the fuel pump can develop cracks in the fuel pump flange.
Risk: If the condition occurs vehicle owners may notice fuel smell and/or fuel leak which, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the fuel pump installed in the vehicle, and if necessary replace the fuel pump with a part of a modified design. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on january 15, 2010. Owners may contact volvo at 1-800-458-1552.
Vehicle speed control
Problem: On certain passenger vehicles, a combination of throttle positioning sensor irregularities, a dirty throttle housing, and/or inefficient software calibration may cause a warning lamp to light and the subsequent onset of limp home modes.
Risk: This resulted in a high number of vehicles going into the limp home mode without need.
Fix: Dealers will install the current software upgrade onto the involved vehicles. The recall began on december 29, 2006. Owners may contact volvo at 1-800-458-1552.
Engine and engine cooling:cooling system:fan
Problem: On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, under certain operating conditions, some electric cooling fans may overheat potentially causing heat damage and, in rare instances, a fire in the engine compartment.
Risk: A fire in the engine compartment could occur.
Fix: Dealers will replace the cooling fan. The recall began on november 29, 2004. Customers should contact volvo cars at 1-800-458-1552.
Seat belts:front:anchorage
Problem: Vehicle description: sedans and wagons. The rear outboard seat belt anchorage bolts may have been incorrectly tightened.
Risk: In the event of a crash, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the anchorage bolts and tighten to the correct torque level. Owner notification began may 7, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact volvo at 1-800-458-1552.
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
- Throttle control malfunction (EA05021) — opened Dec 6, 2005, closed Dec 12, 2006, led to recall 06V441000.
- Throttle control malfunction (PE05041) — opened Jul 26, 2005, closed Dec 7, 2005.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2001 Volvo S80. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V766000 (Air Bags). The dealer had been notified about the recall; however, the contact was informed that the part was not yet available. The manufacturer was then notified and…
My car lurches forward when you are idling as well as driving. I was on a busy street when i pulled out into an oncoming line of traffic when the motor completely died leaving me in the middle of both lanes of traffic. After a time i was able to restart the vehicle. This has also happened in bumper…
On november 9th my wife was driving our 2001 volvo s80 to church. She parked the car but it began to move. It accelerated and she wound up driving into a tree to avoid hitting other cars. She was also worried that children from the school might be around. The car was in park. The engine was off…
Takata recall" frist i called volvo to inquire about recalls referening to the cooling system and the fuel pump the first lady i spoke with informed me this problem was under recalls and to take my car to get it serviced at the nearest dealer after taking my car to the dealer at 7:15am 4hours later…
Takata recall- the vehicle become non responsive when pushing the accelerator, the engine started running rough, the cruise control stopped working, the dstc (dynamic stability traction control) failed and the engine coolant temperature stopped reading. The vehicle started stalling everytime i come…
Other Volvo S80 years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 S80 | 6 | 2 |
| 2015 S80 | 7 | 2 |
| 2014 S80 | 1 | 1 |
| 2013 S80 | 8 | 3 |
| 2012 S80 | 8 | 3 |
| 2011 S80 | 5 | 4 |
| 2010 S80 | 27 | 5 |
| 2009 S80 | 16 | 5 |
| 2008 S80 | 26 | 7 |
| 2007 S80 | 24 | 5 |
| 2006 S80 | 12 | 3 |
| 2005 S80 | 15 | 5 |
| 2004 S80 | 50 | 4 |
| 2003 S80 | 26 | 5 |
| 2002 S80 | 42 | 4 |
| 2001 | 164 | 7 |
| 2000 S80 | 318 | 4 |
| 1999 S80 | 199 | 4 |
See all Volvo S80 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 2001 Volvo S80?
Owners most often report vehicle speed control, electrical system, engine and engine cooling problems. The top one, vehicle speed control, accounts for 64 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2001 Volvo S80?
Yes, 7 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2001 Volvo S80 a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other S80 model years, the 2001 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.