Problems · NHTSA complaints

2001 Volvo V70XC problems

Owners filed 144 complaints about the 2001 Volvo V70XC with NHTSA between Apr 2001 and Jan 2018. The most-cited component is vehicle speed control (39).

Complaints
144
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
6
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
9
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Vehicle speed control39
  2. Power train30
  3. Electrical system27
  4. Engine and engine cooling20
  5. Fuel system, gasoline13
  6. Suspension8
  7. Steering5
  8. Exterior lighting5
  9. Visibility3
  10. Service brakes, hydraulic3
  11. Fuel/propulsion system2
  12. Engine2
  13. Service brakes2
  14. Seats2

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20012
20024
20034
20042
200572
20069
200712
20089
20091
20108
20117
20122
20135
20142
20151
20161
20172
20181

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Vehicle speed control

39 reports1 crash
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 VOLVO V70XC. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE HESITATED UNTIL THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS ENGAGED FORCEFULLY. IN ADDITION, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 3, 2014Electrical system, Vehicle speed controlODI 10641190

Power train

30 reports1 crash
“AT 148,000 MILES, THE VEHICLE TRANSMISSION STARTED TO FAIL TO UPSHIFT AFTER GETTING WARMED UP (ABOUT 20 MINUTES DRIVING) THEN FAILED COMPLETELY IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION. DEALER SAID NO REPAIR/REBUILD WAS AVAILABLE AND SUGGESTED COMPLETE REPACEMENT. ESTIMATED COST WAS MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THE VEHICLE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 31, 2018Power trainODI 11066019

Electrical system

27 reports1 crash
“WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEED ON AN INTERSTATE MY CAR LOST POWER COMPLETELY. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SHOULDER SAFELY AND CALL VOLVO ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP WHERE IT SAT FOR A MONTH BECAUSE THE PROBLEM COULDN'T BE DETERMINED. THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME. ABOUT SIX MONTHS LATER THE SAME EXPERIENCE OCCURRED, ONCE AGAIN WHILE TRAVELING AT A HIGH SPEED ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. THE "PROBLEM" WAS FIXED AGAIN. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP FOR VARIOUS REASONS FOR YEARS. WHEN I WAS FINALLY FED UP WITH IT AND DECIDED TO SELL IT, IT NEEDED MORE ELECTRICAL WORK. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT A DEALERSHIP LISTENED TO THE PROBLEMS I HAD WITH THE CAR OVER THE YEARS AND FELT THAT IT WARRANTED A CALL TO THE VOLVO REP. I GAVE HIM ALL WORK ORDERS WHICH I HAVE FROM THE PURCHASE DATE OF THE CAR. HE WAS TOLD BY THE VOLVO REP THAT SINCE ALL REPAIR WORK HAD NOT BEEN DONE AT A VOLVO DEALERSHIP THEY COULDN'T HELP ME. NORMAL WORK SUCH AS OIL CHANGES, ETC. WERE DONE BY A MECHANIC WHO ONLY WORKS ON SAABS AND VOLVOS. UPON LOOKING FOR THE NAMES OF VOLVO EXECS THAT I COULD WRITE A LETTER TO I STUMBLED ON A WEBSITE ABOUT VOLVO PROBLEMS AND…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 24, 2007Fuel system, gasoline, Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Latches/locks/linkages, Vehicle speed controlODI 10206739

Engine and engine cooling

20 reports1 related recall
“7/26/07 TRAVELING ON I-77 AND THE CAR RAN GREAT. SUDDENLY, IN SAME MANNER AS CAR DID APPROX 2 YRS AGO ON SAME INTERSTATE RPMS DROPPED, CAR LOST SPEED, NO RESPONSE AT THROTTLE, AND WITHIN A FEW SECONDS WE LOST POWER, BRAKES, STEERING. SINCE THIS SEEMED JUST LIKE 2 YRS AGO (WE REPORTED THIS INCIDENT IN 2005) WE THOUGHT MAYBE THE CAR WILL START IN 10-15M. AFTER 15-20 M OF ATTEMPTS WHERE CAR STARTED & IMMEDIATELY STALLED CAR DID START AND RAN FINE. SINCE 2 YEARS AGO DEALERS WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE & CORRECT WE CONTINUED TO DRIVE THAT EVENING AND AGAIN THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE FOLLOWING DAY THE CAR STALLED AGAIN ON I-? NEAR ATLANTA, BUT THIS TIME IN MORE TRAFFIC WITH DIFFICULTY GETTING CAR TO SIDE SAFELY. AGAIN CAR STARTED LIKE THE EVENING BEFORE. AGAIN-SIMILAR FUEL LEVEL. WE TRAVELED 2 1/2 MORE HOURS ON INTERSTATE. AT DESTINATION AND LOCAL DEALER FOUND NO FAULTS SO NO CORRECTION WAS MADE. AFTER THIS 2ND OCCURRENCE WE FILLED UP MORE OFTEN 1/2 FULL OR MORE. 2 DAYS LATER AND 7 MORE HRS ON ROAD WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM.. AS WE ARRIVE. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. ALTHOUGH CAR RAN FINE WE TOOK CAR TO LOCAL DEALER 1 HOUR AWAY. THEY SAID THEY HAD A CATALYTIC CONVERTER ERROR BUT…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 8, 2007Engine and engine cooling, Unknown or otherODI 10198919

Fuel system, gasoline

13 reports
“THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE WAS A ROUGH IDLE (VEHICLE WOULD SURGE TO 1100 RPM AND DROP TO 500 RPM) WHILE AT A STOP. THE VEHICLE ALSO STALLED TWICE WHILE IDLING IN PARK. I CONTACTED THE VOLVO DEALERSHIP TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR SERVICE. ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK THE DAY BEFORE I WAS TO DROP THE VEHICLE OFF AT THE DEALERSHIP, THE VEHICLE STALLED IN AN INTERSECTION. THERE WAS A NEAR COLLISION DUE TO THE STALL. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND DRIVE IT TO THE SHOULDER. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM. I ASKED THE SERVICE ADVISOR IF IT WOULD DAMAGE THE VEHICLE IF I WOULD CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT. HE INDICATED THAT THEY COULD NOT MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. I ASKED THEM IF THEY WOULD TOW THE VEHICLE TO THEIR FACILITY. THEY REFERRED ME TO A PRIVATE TOWING COMPANY. THERE WAS NO ANSWER TO THE PHONE NUMBER I WAS GIVEN. I DECIDED TO WAIT FOR THE TRAFFIC TO SUBSIDE AND DRIVE TO THE DEALERSHIP USING SECONDARY ROADS. I WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE VEHICLE RUNNING BY PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL AND APPLYING THE GAS PEDAL TO KEEP THE IDLE HIGH WHENEVER I APPROACHED A STOP. WHEN I WAS APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE FROM THE DEALERSHIP, THE GAS PEDAL STOPPED FUNCTIONING…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 10, 2006Fuel system, gasoline, Vehicle speed controlODI 10152375

Suspension

8 reports
“CAR HAS APPROX 94,000 MILES. STANDARD STREET AND HIGHWAY DRIVING. FRONT PASSENGER SIDE COIL SPRING BROKE. DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO TIRE PUNCTURE. THANKFULLY, THIS DID NOT HAPPEN WHILE MOVING. REPLACED BOTH FRONT COIL SPRINGS. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 4, 2011SuspensionODI 10374604
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.