1999 VOLVO S70 — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 201 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL (57 complaints · 28.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 12
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1998 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL appears in 57 of 201 owner complaints (28.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 57 complaints, 28.4% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 57 · 28.4% · 3 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 34 complaints, 16.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 · 16.9% ENGINE: 30 complaints, 14.9% of reports ENGINE 30 · 14.9% FUEL SYSTEM: 20 complaints, 9.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 20 · 9.9% STRUCTURE: 13 complaints, 6.5% of reports STRUCTURE 13 · 6.5% AIR BAGS: 9 complaints, 4.5% of reports AIR BAGS 9 · 4.5% · 8 crash reports 1 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 8 complaints, 4.0% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8 · 4.0% POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 3.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 3.0% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 6 complaints, 3.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 3.0% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 81 complaints, 40.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 81 · 40.3% · 6 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 57 28.4% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 34 16.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 30 14.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 20 9.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 13 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 9 4.5% 8 crashes · 1 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8 4.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 3.0% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 6 3.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 81 40.3% 6 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1999; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 1999. 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 59 owner reports 59 2005-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2006-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Feb 1999 Oct 2017 Recall campaign 99V035000 ◆ Recall campaign 99V035000 Recall campaign 00V405000 ◆ Recall campaign 00V405000 Recall campaign 04V504000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V504000 Recall campaign 06V441000 ◆ Recall campaign 06V441000 Investigation PE99040 ● Investigation PE99040 Investigation PE00031 ● Investigation PE00031 Investigation RQ04004 ● Investigation RQ04004 Investigation PE05041 ● Investigation PE05041 Investigation EA05021 ● Investigation EA05021
  • Campaign 00V405000 was reported 33 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 04V504000 was reported 1,448 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 3
2000-Q4 Owner reports 3
2001-Q1 Owner reports 2
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 3
2003-Q4 Owner reports 6
2004-Q1 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 4
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 59
2005-Q4 Owner reports 20
2006-Q1 Owner reports 5
2006-Q2 Owner reports 5
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 3
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 5
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 4
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q1 Owner reports 3
2011-Q2 Owner reports 4
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 2
2012-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 99V035000
Recall campaign 1 00V405000
Recall campaign 1 04V504000
Recall campaign 1 06V441000
Defect investigation 1 PE99040
Defect investigation 1 PE00031
Defect investigation 1 RQ04004
Defect investigation 1 PE05041
Defect investigation 1 EA05021
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 00V405000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    THIS WOULD FAIL TO WARN AN APPROACHING DRIVER THAT THE VEHICLE IS TURNING AND COULD LEAD TO A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT TURN SIGNAL BULB AND SOCKET.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V504000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    THE HEAD LIGHTS MAY NOT OPERATE PROPERLY WHICH COULD RESULT IN INTERMITTENT OR NO HEADLIGHT FUNCTION. THIS COULD IMPAIR A DRIVER'S VISIBILITY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    ON VEHICLES WITH AN ORIGINAL OEM SWITCH, DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH. ALL OTHER VEHICLES WILL BE INSPECTED TO DETERMINE IF THE SWITCH HAS EEN DAMAGED AND REPLACE ONLY IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 24, 2005. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT VOLVO AT 1-800-458-1552.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06V441000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS RESULTED IN A HIGH NUMBER OF VEHICLES GOING INTO THE LIMP HOME MODE WITHOUT NEED.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 99V035000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH, FUEL LEAKAGE COULD OCCUR. FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A FUEL FILTER PROTECTION BRACKET.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 201 complaints · page 1 of 9

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources