2003 Volvo S80 problems
NHTSA has received 30 complaints about the 2003 Volvo S80, and 27% of them involve fuel system. After that come brakes (13%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 30 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Fuel system 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 51,000 miles 20 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 6 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 0 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 20 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 51,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 4 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 10 model years of the Volvo S80 with enough data (14 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Re: 2003, volvo s80. I had just pulled into a parking space at my preschool son's school, I went to shift gears and take my foot off the brake and my car had a sudden accelertation causing me to be without control of my car for over 50 feet, hitting a tree, 3 shrubs and a 3000 lb. Rock. My preschooler and I sustained minor injuries but my car is totalled. My car is in an auto body shop awaiting insurance approval for a totalled car. My son is traumatized and I was shaken up for days.
Dear [xxx]. ,his is to notify about the failure of the vehicle s80 on the highway and the difficulty we are facing with the dealer that sold the car to us. I, [xxx] has bought the car with win # [xxx], from darrell waltrip volvo in franklin tn on 11/01/03. On 11/26/03 the vehicle suddenly stopped and it was taken to the dealer. After a week we were told the gas indicator is broken. My attempts to get a written report about the cause for the vehicle failure have been unsuccessful.
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 volvo s80. While parked, the battery compartment caught fire without warning. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The vehicle was destroyed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 volvo s80. The contact was driving approximately 60 MPH when there was a sudden reduction in acceleration. The engine rpms raced continuously. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 volvo s80. The contact smelled fuel inside the vehicle. It was diagnosed that the flange was cracked on the fuel pump. The manufacturer was notified. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000.