1997 Volvo 850 Vehicle speed control Problems
- Complaints
- 6about this part
- Share
- 6%of 107 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 150,000miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 6 complaints about the vehicle speed control of the 1997 Volvo 850, 6% of the 107 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 150,000 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“In a parking garage I turned my wheels towards the left to drive into a parking spot; I gave the car a little gas while driving over a speedbump and suddenly the car accelerated and shot forward at a high rate of speed. Thankfully the car went into that parking spot and hit the cement wall and stopped. I thought it was a one-time occurrence but with all the reports of toyota acceleration problems, now I wonder if this can occur in any car at any time. I have a 1997 Volvo station wagon. …”
NHTSA complaint #10320035, filed 2010-03, 150,000 miles“Unintended acceleration. Car in normal drive, just starts to accelerate. Also sometimes engine races while in park or idle for no reason. Occurs randomly, but has been recurring daily for two weeks. Haven't taken to dealer yet.”
NHTSA complaint #10341787, filed 2010-07, 150,000 miles“My daughter used family car, Volvo 1997, 850 wagon and the accelerator failed wide open. She narrowly missed 5 young children playing street hockey. Car is inoperable and must be towed to service station for evaluation and repair.”
NHTSA complaint #10250423, filed 2008-12, 157,000 miles“1. Loss of acceleration and sometimes stalling during freeway transition from on ramp to freeway and or during left turning against traffic. 2. The car failed to accelerate and the action of pushing the accelerator caused the transmission to down shift causing the extreme slowing and sometimes stalling. The consequences were that traffic was going considerably faster and had to take evasive action to avoid hitting the slowing car. 3. Today the media reported a potential recall of Volvo's due to this problem and I believe it should be extended to 1997 model 850 glt.”
NHTSA complaint #10174142, filed 2006-11, 150,000 miles“While in driveway in park, put car in reverse and it started spinning madly in reverse, turning in circles, and engine was racing really high. Consumer had no control, and vehicle ended up in a ditch.”
NHTSA complaint #862028, filed 2000-05Related service bulletins
- 10157889Feb 14, 2019This is a Technical Journal: When sensitive information, like vehicle speed, brake usage, etc. (customer behavoiur information) of a car is required from Volvo Car Corporation…
Vehicle speed control: other model years
Other parts of the 1997 Volvo 850
33 complaintsElectrical system
13 complaintsSeats
10 complaintsTires
9 complaintsSeat belts
7 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
7 complaintsEngine cooling
6 complaintsExterior lighting
6 complaintsSteering
6 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
6 complaintsFuel system
5 complaintsEquipment
4 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1997 Volvo 850
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology