2002 Volvo V70 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (11) · Power Train:automatic Transmission (9) · Fuel/Propulsion System (7)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Volvo V70 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
56 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2021-10-14 · campaign 21V800000 · 194,546 vehicles
Defect: Volvo Cars USA, LLC (Volvo Car) is recalling certain 2001-2007 V70 and XC70 vehicles. The driver's air bag inflator may explode during deployment, due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver's air bag, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 14, 2021. Owners may contact Volvo Car customer service at 1-888-458-1552. Volvo Car's number for this recall is R10136.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2010-11-08 · campaign 10V566000 · 416 vehicles
Defect: VOLVO IS RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH GARMIN 760 PORTABLE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) UNITS BECAUSE THE BATTERIES ON THOSE UNITS MAY OVERHEAT.
Risk: AN OVERHEATED BATTERY COULD LEAD TO A FIRE.
Fix: VOLVO ADVISES OWNERS TO PLEASE STOP USING THE GARMIN PORTABLE GPS DEVICE IMMEDIATELY, AND VISIT THE GARMIN WEBSITE TO DETERMINE IF THEIR UNIT IS AFFECTED. THE UNIT'S BATTERY WILL BE REPLACED WITH A NEW BATTERY AND A SPACER WILL BE INSERTED ON TOP OF THE BATTERY NEXT TO THE PCB. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 18, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GARMIN AT 866-957-1981 OR VISIT GARMIN'S WEBSITE AT WWW.GARMIN.COM/NUVIBATTERYPCBRECALL.
Service bulletins (213)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Engine 2026-04-23 · 35526.1.8 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a technical journal: text plus 2 pdfs and 1 .png oil consumption test. perform the test. follow service procedure description and service sections updated to clarify that vehicle reports are not required.
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-07 · 37809.1.1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a tj text only - the purpose of this tj is to be a master reference list to easily identify any components that are on prior approval. this tj will be regularily updated as items are added or removed from prior approval. current items under prior approval are listed in the "service" sec
Unknown Or Other 2025-12-06 · 19245 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a technical journal. vehicle type and platform identification.
Exterior Lighting 2025-04-10 · 8501 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a technical journal: remote connection, bomgar application. before joining a remote session: •connect a suitable battery maintainer/charger and verify that the battery voltage indicated in vida is between 12.5v and 14.9v. •connect to the vehicle over a wired connection using a voe
Unknown Or Other 2025-02-21 · S10303 · Service Campaign
volvo cars usa llc and volvo car canada ltd on behalf of the volvo car corporation has decided to launch service action s10303 on certain model year 2025 ex90 vehicles. volvo car investigations have identified that there is a pairing issue with the key fob. as a result, there is a possibil
Unknown Or Other 2025-02-13 · S10303 · Service Campaign
volvo cars usa llc and volvo car canada ltd on behalf of the volvo car corporation has decided to launch service action s10303 on certain model year 2025 ex90 vehicles. volvo car investigations have identified that there is a pairing issue with the key fob. as a result, there is a possibil
Showing the 6 most recent of 213 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-05-26 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2002 volvo xc70. the contact received notification of the nhtsa campaign number: 21v800000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable a…”
2022-04-12 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2002 volvo xc70. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v800000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the dealer was made aware of the issue. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the contact had not exp…”
2021-12-27 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2002 volvo xc70. the contact received a notification for nhtsa campaign number: 21v800000 (air bags) however, there were no dealers nearby to her for service. the nearest dealer that was 275 miles away from her location had been notified about the issue and informed her that they could not provide transportation or towing service…”
2021-10-23 · Vehicle Speed Control“in april 2021 i drove my newly acquired volvo v70 wagon from mississippi to my home in ri. once i reached in and around nyc, the car began to surge forward as i applied the brakes at stop lights/signs. this became most pronounced at the gw bridge toll area, in high slow-moving traffic. several times the car almost got out of control as the brakes…”
2020-06-26 · Fuel System, Gasoline · 198,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2002 volvo v70. the contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the vehicle. the contact pulled over and inspected the gas cap and the vehicle but found no fuel leaks. the contact stated that the fuel odor was not outside of the vehicle. the vehicle was driven to the residenc…”
2019-09-05 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 42,000 mi“tl*the contact owns a 2002 volvo xc70. -the vehicle stalled while traveling approximately 10 mph. the vehicle had to be restarted several times, then it runs. -unknown cause -the contact stated that in one of the visits to the dealer ( 3 years ago ) university volvo, 7716 n tryon st, charlotte, nc 28262, was advised that there was an o…”
2019-06-06 · Electrical System · 151,098 mi“complete speedometer cluster does not work. no fuel gauge tachometer temperature or speedometer. i've talked to many other people that had that exact same problem. it cuts in and out randomly but that was in the beginning now it does not work at all. could be a safety issue not knowing how fast you were going or how much fuel you have. i have ran …”
2018-10-04 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 137,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2002 volvo v70. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 09v483000 (fuel system, gasoline). the vehicle was taken to volvo cars edinburgh (4221 us 281 bus, edinburgh, tx 78539) for an evaluation, according to the recall notification. the dealer declined the repair even though a strong fuel odor wa…”
2018-05-01 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 215,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2002 volvo v70. the contact noticed a fuel leak coming from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. there was also a fuel odor when the vehicle was being refueled. the dealer (volvo cars tampa, 6008 n dale mabry hwy, tampa, fl) was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed because there were no recalls for the failure. the…”
2017-12-15 · Unknown Or Other · 89,000 mi · 💥 crash“"takata recall" i was driving east bound on arlington blvd in virginia and proceeded to stop on a yellow light when a car driving over 55 mph hit my 2002 volvo from the rear and my vehicle spun out of control and hit another car front/side from the west bound intersection in the 3rd lane coming the opposite side and all cars was total. my seatbelt…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.