66 of the
1,678 complaints filed about the Volvo S60
are about the braking system —
4% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2004.
Brakes , and vacuum booster, speed control I experienced a sudden acceleration phenomenon and reached speeds of 100+ mph I manipulated the brakes and the gas in order to safe my life I eventually got my speeds down but it was too late I was ejected from the vehicle and nearly died my brakes scrubbed and I pressed my brakes as hard as I could and my car continued to acceleration. The police has the vehicle and there were no warnings signs . I had just bought the vehicle and was on my way home from the dealership never made it home
NHTSA complaint #11746049 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while pulling into a handicap parking spot in the parking spot located in front of Barnes and Noble, on 12/16/2025 around 6:40 P.M., the vehicle experienced uncommanded /unattended acceleration, and the brakes failed when depressed and pressed against the floorboard. and crashed into the cement barrier, which slowed it, and then the vehicle stopped. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was able to drive away from the crash. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer. The contact had pre-existing spinal injuries and five cervical surgeries. It was undetermined if he was injured during the failure, but he will be seeking medical attention. There was no reported fire, airbag deployment, or police report filed. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle had recently been serviced. The contact mentioned he was not made aware of a possible issue with the vehicle during the purchase. The contact had linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number 25V392000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Service Brakes). The contact hired an engineer who inspected the vehicle, but there were no findings or codes. The manufacturer was contacted, who filed a case. The contact had informed the insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.
NHTSA complaint #11706594 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2024 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while pulling into a handicap parking spot in the parking spot located in front of Barnes and Noble, on 12/16/2025 around 6:40 P.M., the vehicle experienced uncommanded /unattended acceleration, and the brakes failed when depressed and pressed against the floorboard. and crashed into the cement barrier, which slowed it, and then the vehicle stopped. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was able to drive away from the crash. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer. The contact had pre-existing spinal injuries and five cervical surgeries. It was undetermined if he was injured during the failure, but he will be seeking medical attention. There was no reported fire, airbag deployment, or police report filed. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle had recently been serviced. The contact mentioned he was not made aware of a possible issue with the vehicle during the purchase. The contact had linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number 25V392000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic, Service Brakes). The contact hired an engineer who inspected the vehicle, but there were no findings or codes. The manufacturer was contacted, who filed a case. The contact had informed the insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.
NHTSA complaint #11706594 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was at a stoplight with my foot on the brake. The car lurched forward, which prompted me to push harder on the brake. Then, with my foot firmly on the brake, the car accelerated into the car in front of me. There was body damage to the car. Volvo investigated and said that the computer indicated that the gas pedal was engaged at 90% while the brake was engaged at the same time. This would involve me putting my foot on the gas and brake at the same time, which simply is not what happened. There is clearly something wrong with their computer system. The same problem was identified in the XC40 Recharge EV model.
NHTSA complaint #11704987 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When slowing to a stop the vehicle is unsmooth and unpredictable, there is also a sudden release when braking downhill (not sure if they are related). There’s been occasions where the car lurched when coming to a stop almost resulting in me rear ending the vehicle in front of me. The unsmooth/unpredictable stopping only happens at speeds under 10mph when approaching a stop like with city driving. I’ve had it to the dealership two times for this. They’ve had trouble reproducing it, but acknowledged it is unsmooth and said that’s just the way the regenerative braking was designed. The holding back and release when braking downhill is completely random.
NHTSA complaint #11693464 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The car has “detected” a crash many times and automatically stopped even on the highway. It jerks and to slam on the brakes and then keeps going. It’s very dangerous and I have a strong theory it’s the model in general and not an isolated situation with my car.
NHTSA complaint #11638095 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I believe that there is a material or design defect in the front brakes of this car that is leading to the premature failure of the front brake rotors. Two sets of front brake rotors have been replaced on the car due to excessive warping in the first 15K miles of operation. I purchased the car in June 2022 as a certified used car with roughly 9K miles on it. As soon as I drove it I could tell the brakes had a problem due to a high vibration level in steering wheel and throughout the car upon brake application above 30 mph. The dealer agreed and replaced the front rotors. The replaced parts were retained by the dealers under Volvo's warranty terms In November 2023, after roughly 4500 miles on the new rotors, the car again developed a noticable, although less severe, steering wheel vibration upon braking. In December 2023, with 6K miles on the front rotors, a dealer (different from the original one) again replaced them under warranty due to warping. I can't speak to the care given in operating the car prior to my acquiring it, but my wife and I are very gentle drivers. For comparison, we owned a 2001 Volvo S80, purchased new, for 16 years and about 120K miles and in that time replaced the front pads once, and never had to replace the rotors.
NHTSA complaint #11560138 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2015 Volvo S60. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to stop until the brake pedal had gone to the floorboard. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no failure was found. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The contact stated that the vehicle was test driven by the mechanic however, the cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.
NHTSA complaint #11526285 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2015 Volvo S60. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH and slowing down for a crosswalk with pedestrians in the crosswalk, the vehicle independently accelerated while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that she had not noticed any warning lights being illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
NHTSA complaint #11519475 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My car developed a severe shake in the steering wheel and pulsing in the brake pedal while under braking. The problem has worsened to the point that braking at high speed creates a serious shaking. I took the car to the dealership and they diagnosed the problem as warped rotors. The car started this with less than 15000 miles on the car. The dealer contacted Volvo to fix under warranty due to the defective parts. Volvo declined to fix the rotors because they are a "wear item". This is not normal wear. In fact, during the inspection (10/8) it was noted that the pads still have plenty of life and would not need to be replaced. If the situation were that I had worn out the pads and rotors, I would understand Volvo's position but the warpage is abnormal. When I called in to schedule the initial inspection the technician I spoke with agreed that this is unusual for an S60. When I asked if the rotors would warp again after replacement, I was told by the dealership they have never seen someone come back with warped rotors after replacing them. If it were environmental or driving habits, you would expect this problem to return after replacing the rotors. The warped rotors are a known issue with Volvo. If you search the swedespeed.com website, you will see numerous reports of S60 owners having the same problem. The dealership claims the reason my rotors are warped is because of rust build up causing hot spots and that the car must have sat outside in the rain a long time. This car has been garaged its entire life and is driven daily so rust buildup is not an issue. This rotor and pad combination is defective and fails prematurely.
NHTSA complaint #11494338 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1) during braking, there have been 3 occasions where the pedal became extremely difficult to press and the vehicle did not slow down properly. This nearly caused a crash. There were no alarms or alerts. Car was delivered to dealer for repairs. They confirmed that there were not diagnostic codes and verified that all the correct software was installed. They were unable to find and correct the problem.
NHTSA complaint #11492819 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
City Safety feature is triggering on intermittently with no reason to trigger. It occurs when initially accelerating. City Safety applies the brakes and stops the car violently. Occurs when light or dark. Has occurred several times within the past week. The feature can be manually turned off and now is with every ignition start. The default is for the feature be on, so turning off is required every time the car is turned on.
NHTSA complaint #11449675 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I started losing brake pressure rapidly about a month ago. Took it to a shop and they recommended replacing the master cylinder. The repair was completed and the braking improved for about 2 weeks and then I lost all brake pressure. The vehicle was not safe to operate and I had it towed back to the shop once again. Again they suggested replacing the master cylinder. We completed that repair and I had brake pressure for about three days. Then my low brake fluid light came on. As of right now my pedal is squishy and I have to put brake fluid in every 24 hours. There are no external leaks but we can’t figure out what the issue is. It’s become a serious safety hazard. Possibly an internal leak into the brake booster. It’s also a common issue among other Volvo owners of this year and model.
NHTSA complaint #11441537 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
2020 VOLVO S60 T-6 R WENT IN FOR SERVICE AT VOLVO DEALER, 5/12/21, MILEAGE 24,018. TECHNICIAN NOTED REAR BRAKES LESS THAN 2MM & ROTORS GROOVED, NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I WAS TOLD THIS IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY, IT'S NORMAL WEAR. THIS VEHICLE HAD SERVICE AT THE SAME DEALER ON 12/8/20, MILEAGE 16,952 THE SERVICE REPORT STATED, "BRAKES IN THE GREEN 7MM OR MORE". THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN HIGHWAY MILES MAINLY, REGARDLESS OF THAT FACT, BRAKE PADS DON'T NOT WEAR DOWN 5MM IN 7,000 MILES ON A NEW CAR UNLESS THERE'S AN UNDERLYING PROBLEM, THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A RECALL ON THE REAR AUTOMATIC PARK BRAKE, SEEMS LIKELY THAT THERE'S ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS WITH THE REAR BRAKES. THE REPLACEMENT COST ME $888.00
NHTSA complaint #11416437 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
MY 2020 S60 T5 R-DESIGN HAD 3 BROKEN SENSORS, A SAFETY RECALL, MALFUNCTIONING BRAKES WHICH CAUSED THE CAR TO VEER, AND MOST RECENTLY A LEAKING A/C HOSE. ALL PROBLEMS FROM THE FACTORY (OUT OF THIN AIR) WITHIN THE FIRST 12 MONTHS OF MY LEASE. AFTER NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS TO VOLVO CAR USA, I WAS OFFERED A GENERIC AND DISMISSIVE ANSWER THAT VOLVO 'IS NOT IN THE POSITION' TO OFFER A TRADE ASSIST OR ANY HELP. NO EXPLANATION TO A LOYAL VOLVO CUSTOMER. THEY'RE SIMPLY 'SORRY' THAT I HAD TO TAKE OFF WORK TO SERVICE THEIR CAR AND WAS TOLD TO UBER HOME (NO COURTESY LOANER). AFTER THE MOST RECENT SERVICE VISIT, I DEMANDED VOLVO EITHER REPLACE THE CAR OR TERMINATE THE LEASE, BUT THE AGENT THOUGHT SERVICING THE VEHICLE 5 TIMES (BECAUSE PARTS WERE BREAKING) WAS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL. SHE WAS STUNNED I DO NOT HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE NOW THAT MY CAR WAS FIXED. I DEMANDED CONTACT TO THE REGIONAL MANAGER, BUT MY AGENT (WHO TURNED OUT TO BE SUPERVISOR) REFUSED TO FORWARD ANY INFORMATION. MY CAR WOULD GO THROUGH A REVIEW PROCESS WITH 'SPECIAL PARAMETERS', BUT THE SUPERVISOR OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF VOLVO CARS USA WAS INCAPABLE OF ANSWERING WHAT THE PARAMETERS WERE, WHEN THIS REVIEW WOULD TAKE PLACE, OR WHO IS REVIEWING MY CASE' NOTHING WAS TRANSPARENT, AND FOR ALL I KNOW, THIS REVIEW COULD HAVE BEEN ARBITRARY. AS EXPECTED, 'VOLVO IS NOT IN THE POSITION'' VOLVO SENT AN AUTOMATED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY, TO WHICH I PROVIDED FEEDBACK OF MY AWFUL EXPERIENCE. SADLY, THE SAME AGENT HANDLING MY CASE RESPONDED 'THANK YOU' AND THAT WAS IT. I GUESS MY FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS CAUSED BY VOLVO DO NOT REALLY INTEREST VOLVO? SO BY VOLVO 'PARAMETERS,' A CAR BREAKING 5 TIMES IS NORMAL, THERE IS NO QUALITY CONTROL OF THEIR CARS, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS INEXISTENT (3 OR 4 'PROFESSIONALS' IN HEADQUARTERS SERVING NORTH AMERICA IS INEXISTENT).
NHTSA complaint #11394308 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.