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2001 Volvo S80 Recalls & Complaints

8

open safety recalls on record

Critical

218 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.21 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical21V766000

Air Bags:Frontal:Driver Side:Inflator Module

inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Critical10V566000

Equipment:Electrical:Navigational System(Global Positioning System)

OVERHEATED BATTERY COULD LEAD TO A FIRE.

Remedy & full details

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.

VOLVO IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH GARMIN 760 PORTABLE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) UNITS BECAUSE THE BATTERIES ON THOSE UNITS MAY OVERHEAT.

Critical09V483000

Fuel System, Gasoline:Delivery:Fuel Pump

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.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Critical04V451000

Engine And Engine Cooling:Cooling System:Fan

FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT COULD OCCUR.

Remedy & full details

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE COOLING FAN. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 29, 2004. CUSTOMERS SHOULD CONTACT VOLVO CARS AT 1-800-458-1552.

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.

Serious20V681000

Air Bags:Frontal:Driver Side:Inflator Module

Metal fragments can strike vehicle occupants raises the risk of serious injury or death.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Serious07E023000

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Master Cylinder

LOSS OF BRAKE FLUID CAN RESULT IN POOR BRAKING PERFORMANCE, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy & full details

CARDONE WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER TO REPURCHASE ANY DEFECTIVE MASTER CYLINDERS. THE RECALL BEGAN DURING APRIL 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT CARDONE AT 1-800-777-4780.

CERTAIN CARDONE MASTER CYLINDERS WITH PART NUMBERS 10-2925, 10-2987, 10-2987MZA, 10-3083, 11-3015, 11-3042, 11-3044, 11-3045, 11-3047, 11-3064, AND 11-3156, AND WITH DATE CODES LOWER THAN DCA7078 SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR USE ON THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE SEAL ON MASTER CYLINDER CAN FAIL AND LEAK BRAKE FLUID.

Serious01V100000

Seat Belts:Front:Anchorage

IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEAT OCCUPANT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY RESTRAINED, raises the risk of INJURY.

Remedy & full details

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.

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SEDANS AND WAGONS. THE REAR OUTBOARD SEAT BELT ANCHORAGE BOLTS MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY TIGHTENED.

Moderate06V441000

Vehicle Speed Control

THIS RESULTED IN A HIGH NUMBER OF VEHICLES GOING INTO THE LIMP HOME MODE WITHOUT NEED.

Remedy & full details

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.

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.

Complaint volume

218 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

10Crashes
2Fires
5Injuries
0Deaths

Across 218 complaints. Severity Index 0.21.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Vehicle Speed Control61 · 28%Electrical System30 · 14%Power Train · Automatic T…11 · 5%Engine And Engine Cooling10 · 5%Engine And Engine Cooling…8 · 4%Unknown Or Other6 · 3%Fuel System, Gasoline6 · 3%Fuel System, Gasoline · F…5
  1. Vehicle Speed Control — 61 reports
  2. Electrical System — 30 reports
  3. Power Train:Automatic Transmission — 11 reports
  4. Engine And Engine Cooling — 10 reports
  5. Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine — 8 reports
  6. Unknown Or Other — 6 reports
  7. Fuel System, Gasoline — 6 reports
  8. Fuel System, Gasoline:Fuel Injection System — 5 reports
  9. Electrical System:Ignition:Module — 4 reports
  10. Engine And Engine Cooling:Exhaust System:Emission Control — 4 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1999 (5) · 2000 (5) · 2001 · 2002 (5) · 2003 (6) · 2004 (5) · 2005 (6) · 2006 (4) · 2007 (5) · 2008 (7) · 2009 (5) · 2010 (5) · 2011 (4) · 2012 (3) · 2013 (3) · 2014 (1) · 2015 (2) · 2016 (2)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.