Volvo 855 Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 13 consumer complaints across the 2 model years of the Volvo 855 (1995–1996) that have at least 5 complaints. 1996 has the most, with 7. Across all years, the part named most often is brakes (7 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All 855 model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 7 | 98,000 | 2 | 7 | — | Not enough data |
| 1995 | 6 | — | 2 | 7 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Brakes7 54%
- Body and structure2 15%
- Wheels1 7.7%
- Tires1 7.7%
- Seat belts1 7.7%
- Air bags1 7.7%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
1996: “My '96 Volvo 855 has intermittent ABS failure. The ABS light goes off intermittently. The car has 123,000 miles. After a brief search on the internet I found that this was too common problem with ABS control module. It seems that Volvo does not admit it as a systematic problem and there is no recall campaign (that I know of). Just Volvo dealers making a lot of money to diagnose the problem and installing the new ABS control modules. It is irresponsible to let many Volvo cars with either failing ABS system or charge hundreds for the repair of a badly designed system.”
NHTSA complaint #10041632, filed 2003-10, 123,000 miles1995: “The original factory installation of vehicle had plastic clips holding the interior tailgate door assembly in place, with raising and lowering the rear tailgate the interior assembly breaks the plastic clips and loosens which dislodges the center brake tail light, the maufacturer recognized the problem and replaced the plastic clips with a larger more sturdier clip arrangement. Nlm”
NHTSA complaint #560344, filed 2001-03Other Volvo models
1,531 complaintsVolvo S60
1,263 complaintsVolvo S80
953 complaintsVolvo V70
922 complaintsVolvo XC60
654 complaintsVolvo S70
584 complaintsVolvo 850
566 complaintsVolvo S40
491 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology