NHTSA — Electrical System Problems

2001 Volvo S60 (Page 1 of 2)

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
55,198 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Volvo S60 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2001 Volvo S60 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #27

May 292023

S60

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1. The vehicle caught fire while driving. The radiator cooling fan stayed on after parking, The vehicle the night before. The vehicle had to be jump started the next morning. yes the vehicle is available for inspection. 2. bodily injury and property damage could have been caused by the fire. 3. Yes. independent service center. Automotive Body and Tire Center. (Skokie IL) 4. Yes. Fire was put out by prospect heights fire department. Police report #PHP23-004049 5. No warning lamps prior to the fire. Symptom of problem was the radiator cooling fan staying on after vehicle was turned off, which caused the battery to discharge.

- Prospect Heights, IL, USA

problem #26

Feb 142019

S60

  • miles
I have an SRS airbag warning light stays on and will not go away. The electrical wiring for the headlights are faulty, I tried everything to fix them nothing works. I used an inline fuse with the headlight wiring because the bulbs the continue to blowout. The Volvo forum suggested the inline fuse to fix the issue, but it did not. One headlight remains on the driver side and the passenger side comes on and off when it wants to and it also displays dipped bulb failure or beam failure.

- Hayward, CA, USA

problem #25

Jun 202018

S60

  • 160,000 miles
Car stalled while driving then would not go any faster than 15mph.

- Asheboro, NC, USA

problem #24

Aug 012016

S60

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2001 Volvo S60. Without warning, the vehicle failed to accelerate over 20 mph. The vehicle drastically reduced speed and stalled several times without warning. The vehicle was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 06V441000 (vehicle speed control). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #23

Feb 152016

S60

  • 118,632 miles
Car jerks and clunks when switching gears. Its starting to grind and clack in 1-2 gear and I hops around the rpms line crazy.

- China Spring, TX, USA

problem #22

Aug 232014

S60 5-cyl

  • 93,522 miles
The entire instrument panel went dead and the turn signals would not function. Only the headlights were working. Messages came up saying that there was an SRS airbag issue and that there was a brake failure. All of the messages were false and the instrument cluster went dead. This is a concern since the messages are incorrect according to what the dealer told me and have seen several people with the same issue. I think that Volvo should replace all of the dims and cems for every car that exhibits this problem the first time for vehicles under 125,000 miles. This should not happen and is a very big safety issue. This is not the first time that the cluster has gone dead. Also each time it has been raining and the dealer has said that there are no shorts in the system. Something is wrong and they are replacing every part without fixing the issue.

- Clarksburg, MD, USA

problem #21

Dec 022013

S60

  • 108,756 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My wife drove the 2001 Volvo S60 and noticed a noxious burning smell and immediately drove it home. She thought it was something extremely wrong with the heater. I drove the car 3 days later and after 3 minutes noticed the burning smell as well. I turned off the heater, and the smell continued. I saw some smoke to my left side and noticed the seat had a hole that was melting and burning. I turned off the heated seat and ensured the seat did not burn further.

- Eagan, MN, USA

problem #20

Jun 012012

S60 5-cyl

  • 128,000 miles
When I apply pressure to the brake pedal I get an error message sometimes, not always, that says "check brake lights". when the message is up, the left and right brakes in the back of the vehicle do not illuminate, but the middle one in the back of my rear window still does. When the message goes away, all lights illuminate.

- Huntersville, NC, USA

problem #19

Oct 232010

S60 5-cyl

  • 166,800 miles
Lower brake lights fail while upper rear windshield light continues to work. Had this work done once in 2005 to correct the wiring situation and now it is having to be done again. I feel this is completely dangerous for both brake lights to fail at the same time. Reading online forums has led me to believe this is a widespread issue with the 2001 Volvo S60.

- Georgetown, SC, USA

problem #18

Oct 022008

S60

  • 112,133 miles
While stopping at a traffic light, I noticed all the warning lights on the lower right side of the instrument panel came on and immediately went off, no other indications. While waiting at the light, everything appeared normal. When the light changed to green, I pushed on the gas pedal to pull away and nothing happened. The car would not accelerate at all. No lights were on. I pushed to gas pedal to the floor and back up and then half way down, absolutely nothing worked. It would not go any faster than idle. No increase in RPM's at all, no matter what position the gas pedal was in. I'm in the fast lane at rush hour and could only go about 4 miles per hour. I managed to work my way over the side of the road and pull into a parking lot. I stopped and put the car into park. I heard a "click" as if a relay was reset. I then put the car into reverse and it seemed to work. I put it in drive again and everything appeared to work okay after that. I took it to turner Volvo, here in sacramento, ca and they said they couldn't duplicate the problem and there weren't any codes in the computer so there was nothing they could do. This was an "extremely" dangerous situation and could have caused a very serious accident, made worse by the fact that my 5 year old niece was with me at the time this happened. We could have been killed and turner Volvo says there's nothing they can do. Well turner, thanks for nothing and for taking our lives so lightly. Maybe someday a member of your family will be involved in an accident caused by this problem and then we'll see what you think. This is an ongoing problem with Volvo's and needs to be taking care of by the manufacturer not the people who trusted you enough to buy your cars.

- Antelope, CA, USA

problem #17

Jul 142008

S60

  • 70,201 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

In October 2007, I inquired of fields Volvo of waukesha Wisconsin, about a malfunctioning temperature gage. The gage would often display a faulty reading, showing that the car was overheating when in fact it was not. When I bought my car in for an inspection of the matter, jason fischer service advisor, informed me that I needed an electronics bo ( see attached receipt). He assured me that was the problem, so I agreed to allow him to replace it and was charged $537.15 for the procedure. However, a year later in July 2008, the problem resurfaced. Eventually, the cooling fan malfunctioned and would not shut off. This problem also caused the battery to drain. I took my car to auto werks import centre in milwaukee, Wisconsin, who through research of the problem, found that there was a recall issued for the cooling fan in November 2004. I was also charged $200.53 for replacement of a temperature sensor and the thermostat. (see attached receipt) as a satisfied Volvo customer for over 10 years, I feel that had thorough research been done prior to malfunctioning of the cooling fan, excess charges could have been avoided. I am therefore seeking a partial refund of maintenance charges. Your immediate response to my request would be most appreciated.

- Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #16

Apr 112005

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
Intermittent problem. 2001 Volvo S60 T5. Vehicle will fail to shift gears when accelerating. Usually occurs when proceeding from a stop, usually when turning. Took vehicle to the dealer, princeton Volvo, and although their mechanic experienced the problem, they indicated that they did not know what could cause the problem. Now I learn that Volvo has had numerous reported similar problems, usually involving the electronic throttle control modulator. It should also be noted that the aforesaid dealer attempted to remedy the problem by making a software change, but this only made the problem worse.

- Yardville, NJ, USA

problem #15

Nov 212006

S60

  • miles
Electrical problems: First, the light bulbs, including headlights, brake lights, and turn signals, on my 2001 Volvo S60 had to be replaced at least every two months. This is causing problems with visibility and also with the local police department -- they don't like it when I'm driving through town with no lights on. Second, the interior lamps above my dashboard and the sunroof stopped working on an intermittent basis. For no seen reason, I won't be able to open or close the sunroof (not great when it's raining and I can't get it closed) and the lights won't work either.

- Mont Vernon, NH, USA

problem #14

Oct 202006

S60 5-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 55,243 miles
Right front power window and lock in operable. Left (driver's side) door look switch inoperable. Ambient temperature readout inoperable.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #13

Sep 252006

S60 5-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 54,868 miles
Right front power window inoperable from either side switch control. Power door locks do not respond to remote. Ambient temprarture readout inoperable. Dealer claimed to have upgrade component software. Position bulb outage error text: Replaced right rear position bulb.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #12

Aug 232006

S60 5-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 54,308 miles
Power outlets are inoperable again. Brake lamps outage again. Replace fuse and bulbs.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #11

May 102006

S60 5-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 50,889 miles
Error text lamps outages: 2 brake lamp bulbs, 2 tag lamp bulbs and a right rear position bulb replaced.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #10

Jul 122006

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 54,000 miles
I bought this used 2001 Volvo S60 with 54K on it. Found out that has this problem of computer shutting down with no warnings and there's only power to radio and the A/C fan...no signals no instrument panel and nothing worked. There was all these messages saying brake failure, emission control failure and SRS failure message. Engine ran as long as it was on, once turned off would not start again. The car computer resets by itself in about 10-15 minutes. Took it to Volvo dealer two times explaining the details. They did a software upgrade, cleared the codes and reset the computer. Both times, the car worked for a while but happened again. Two days ago happened in the freeway and I almost had a crash (no signals and also couldn't open windows to hand signal). I feel like they are aware of the problem, but don't want the consumer to know about it so they keep doing the cheap fix of clearing code until next time. I'm really concerned about the safety of the car now especially in the freeway.

- Northridge, CA, USA

problem #9

Aug 192005

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The electronic throttle modulator (ETM) in my 01' Volvo S60, like many others, has become faulty. While sitting idle or in drive, the RPM's will fluctuate erratically causing what seems to be bursts in acceleration and near stalls. Consequences of this defect include impromptu breaking to correct RPM fluctuations. The car was diagnosed a month ago by a certified Volvo dealer with a failing ETM. My wife and I are saving money so that the repair can be done. Hopefully Volvo recalls the part so that we can have ours replaced asap before more severe complications occur.

- Cleves, OH, USA

problem #8

Oct 152004

S60 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 54,000 miles
I have a 2001 Volvo S60 T5. In October 2004 I was driving down the street when I had a sudden loss of power and the vehicle went from going 45 mph to 5 mph, I was able to pull over and shut off the vehicle. I waited a fee minutes and started the vehicle without any problems and was able to drive home. This happened a second time the next day and I called Volvo and they told me to bring the car in. As I was driving to the dealership I was approximately 1/2 mile away and it happened a third time. This time the problem did not correct itself and I had to have the vehicle towed. I was told that my electronic throttle body needed to be replaced and because I was past 50K it was not covered by the warranty. I had purchased an extended warranty to 74K however they stated that this part was not covered by the extended warranty either. I paid over $1000 to have the part replaced. The old part was kept by Volvo of las vegas.

- Henderson, NV, USA

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