2001 Volvo S60 Electrical system Problems
- Complaints
- 31about this part
- Share
- 14%of 223 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 54,868miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 31 complaints about the electrical system of the 2001 Volvo S60, 14% of the 223 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 54,868 miles. 2 a fire, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“When I apply pressure to the brake pedal I get an error message sometimes, not always, that says check brake lights . When the message is up, the left and right brakes in the back of the vehicle do not illuminate, but the middle one in the back of my rear window still does. When the message goes away, all lights illuminate.”
NHTSA complaint #10471195, filed 2012-08, 128,000 miles“Lower brake lights fail while upper rear windshield light continues to work. Had this work done once in 2005 to correct the wiring situation and now it is having to be done again. I feel this is completely dangerous for both brake lights to fail at the same time. Reading online forums has LED me to believe this is a widespread issue with the 2001 Volvo S60.”
NHTSA complaint #10362123, filed 2010-10, 166,800 miles“My wife drove the 2001 Volvo S60 and noticed a noxious burning smell and immediately drove it home. She thought it was something extremely wrong with the heater. I drove the car 3 days later and after 3 minutes noticed the burning smell as well. I turned off the heater, and the smell continued. I saw some smoke to my left side and noticed the seat had a hole that was melting and burning. I turned off the heated seat and ensured the seat did not burn further.”
NHTSA complaint #10554449, filed 2013-12, 108,756 miles“My 2001 s 60 Volvo sedan loses power during acceleration. The rpms race but the vehicle feels like it's going to stall. I have brought this vehicle back to the dealership 5 times for the same complaint. On the fifth time, they replaced the electronic throttle module. That was on august 1, 2005. Since the problem was intermittent, I can't tell yet if the problem has been fixed.”
NHTSA complaint #10131239, filed 2005-08, 20,000 miles“The entire instrument panel went dead and the turn signals would not function. Only the headlights were working. Messages came up saying that there was an srs airbag issue and that there was a brake failure. All of the messages were false and the instrument cluster went dead. This is a concern since the messages are incorrect according to what the dealer told me and have seen several people with the same issue. I think that Volvo should replace all of the dims and cems for every car that exhibits this problem the first time for vehicles under 125,000 miles. …”
NHTSA complaint #10628345, filed 2014-08, 93,522 milesRelated recalls
- 10V566000Nov 8, 2010Volvo is recalling certain vehicles equipped with garmin 760 portable global positioning system (gps) units because the batteries on those units may overheat.Covers: Volvo S60 2001–2009, S80 2000–2010, V70 2001–2010 +6 more
Related service bulletins
- 11007925Aug 14, 2024Information about valid Software partnumbers to order and download Software for "PDS" Pre-Delivery Service
- 10249191Jan 12, 2024This is a Technical Journal: 12V Battery Testing Method
- 10212892Feb 3, 2022Shipping and Handling of Volvo Lithium-ion 48V Mild Hybrid Battery to Global Battery Solutions (GBS)
- 10179681Aug 5, 2020This is a Service Manager Bulletin: Service 2.0 Software & Total Upgrade Reminder
- 10213882Jun 23, 2020Battery Charger/maintainer requirement
- 10173760Mar 31, 2020This is a Service Manager Bulletin: Service 2.0 Software & Total Upgrade Reminder
- 10169394Nov 19, 2019This is a Technical Journal: Swapping control modules from vehicle to vehicle for diagnostics should be avoided. Swapping control modules may result in consequential damage to…
- 10169393Nov 14, 2019This is a Technical Journal: Swapping control modules from vehicle to vehicle for diagnostics should be avoided. Swapping control modules may result in consequential damage to…
- 10169391Nov 9, 2019Software Installation Policy changes.
- 10169390Nov 9, 2019Effective immediately, all 12V batteries may be tested using the hand held battery tester 9513030 (BT3300). The VIDA test is still available but no longer required. For battery…
Electrical system: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 27% |
| 2022 | 4 | 27% |
| 2021 | 4 | 50% |
| 2020 | 4 | 33% |
| 2019 | 6 | 24% |
| 2016 | 5 | 19% |
| 2015 | 9 | 15% |
| 2014 | 3 | 12% |
| 2013 | 7 | 8% |
| 2012 | 17 | 14% |
| 2009 | 1 | 14% |
| 2008 | 1 | 10% |
| 2007 | 7 | 33% |
| 2006 | 3 | 10% |
| 2005 | 6 | 14% |
| 2004 | 21 | 11% |
| 2003 | 54 | 45% |
| 2002 | 36 | 19% |
| 2001 | 31 | 14% |
Other parts of the 2001 Volvo S60
88 complaintsVehicle speed control
42 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
22 complaintsEngine cooling
18 complaintsTires
7 complaintsAir bags
6 complaintsBrakes
6 complaintsExterior lighting
5 complaintsOther or unknown
5 complaintsSeats
5 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
5 complaintsBody and structure
4 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2001 Volvo S60
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.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology