Volvo V50 Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 36 consumer complaints across the 3 model years of the Volvo V50 (2005–2007) that have at least 5 complaints. 2005 has the most, with 18. Across all years, the part named most often is fuel system (10 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All V50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 6 | 10,300 | 2 | 199 | — | Not enough data |
| 2006 | 12 | 30,000 | 3 | 203 | — | Not enough data |
| 2005 | 18 | 61,200 | 3 | 220 | — | Stable |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Fuel system10 24%
- Other or unknown6 15%
- Engine cooling6 15%
- Electrical system6 15%
- Suspension5 12%
- Tires3 7.3%
- Steering3 7.3%
- Transmission and drivetrain2 4.9%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2006: “When I drive my car it stalls out on me all the time.. I am an 88 year old woman who has one car for myself my great grand daughter who is 15 and my son who is 50. This is extremely scary because I have to get on highway 50 to get to any stores. It has stalled out on me 4 times in one trip before and there are times when it can take over an hour to restart, other times it may take a few minutes. I am desperate for some help. By me using me own car I am endangering not only my family but others. Can you please help me.”
NHTSA complaint #11000792, filed 2017-06, 140,000 miles2007: “Issue: car would not start and steering locked, please try again error message was displayed. The wheel is not locked, I can turn it, but the engine will not start and it keeps on giving me the same message. I had to have my car towed to the dealer who explained this is a part failure and is charging me $434.00 to repair it. I see this being a potential safety issue since the steering may lock on me at some point when the car is running. This should be a recall issue and Volvo held accountable for repairing these vehicles at their cost.”
NHTSA complaint #10520551, filed 2013-06, 62,000 miles2005: “1. The car, Volvo V50 2005, was driven in a busy highway at 65 MPH suddenly the speed dropped to 25 MPH quickly. The dashboard started showing warning reduced engine performance. This was very dangerous when I had my children in the car in a busy highway. I searched in the web, reduced engine performance happens a lot in Volvo vehicles. 2. Second instance, the car stalled out when the car was at 25 MPH. 3. All the problems were related to malfunction engine control module (emc) sensor and fuel pressure regulator.”
NHTSA complaint #10420013, filed 2011-08, 48,000 milesOther 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