2005 Volvo S60
This year drew an ordinary 44 complaints for a Volvo S60 — the model's median is 21. What they were about is the unusual part: 22.7% of them mention than, against 6.7% across the model's other years.
Generation 1 of the Volvo S60, which began in 2001 and ran to 2009. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 44 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 21 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- than — 22.7% of this year's complaints, against 6.7% across the model's other years (3.4×).
- fuel — 18.2% of this year's complaints, against 3.5% across the model's other years (5.2×).
- recalled — 6.8% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the model's other years (34.1×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
CAR CUT OUT AND STALLED WHILE DRIVING ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. THE CAR HAD MORE THAN A QUARTER TANK OF FUEL AT THE TIME. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR EARLY FEBRUARY 2014. THIS IS NOT SAFE AND THERE IS A HIGH POTENTIAL FOR AN…
While I was driving I felt very hot under my buttock than I heard it pop and burst, I pulled over to check, oh my got (OMG) thanks God I'm safe! There was a burn on my car seat!
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 21V766000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 10V566000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
- 07E023000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
- 06V375000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Volvo S60 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2005 Volvo S60? What happened to yours?
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