There are 4 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2003 Volvo S60in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
DT: 2003 VOLVO S60. VEHICLE STALLED AT LEAST 6 OR 7 TIMES AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED DUE TO STALLING. *AK
THE TRANSMISSION OF MY S60 INADVERTENTLY MIS-SHIFTS AT A VARIETY OF SPEEDS. THE PROBLEM HAPPENS AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN BACKING OFF BETWEEN GEARS AND FEELS LIKE IT UP SHIFTS AT AN INAPPROPRIATE TIME AND SPEEDS UP. OTHER TIMES THE TRANSMISSION WILL MIS-SHIFT UPON ACCELERATION CAUSING HIGH REVS, WITH NO POWER. TALKED WITH VOLVO SEVERAL TIMES AND FIRST SERVICE VISIT PAID $100 FOR A SOFTWARE UPGRADE THAT DID NOTHING. NEXT TIME TO SERVICE THEY CHECKED THE SERVOS AND STATED THEY WERE OK. LAST TRIP TO SERVICE ADDRESSED ISSUE W/ SERVICE REP AND REQUESTED TO HAVE IT DOCUMENTED. SERVICE REP STATED CAR HAD A 100K GUARANTEE DISMISSED REQUEST. CAR HAS 80K ON IT AND PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE INCREASING. AFRAID IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE DUE TO LACK OF CONTROL. *JB
VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ROW WHEN CONSUMER REMOVED FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WHEN DRIVING UP AN INCLINE. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED, AND THEY INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT WAS THE NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THAT VEHICLE. *AK
FOR BOTH OUR 2001 VOLVO S60 2.4T AND OUR 2003 VOLVO XC90 2.5T AWD THERE HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR A TRANSMISSION DEFECT (ESSENTIALLY SAME TRANSMISSION IN BOTH VEHICLES PER VOLVO TECH SUPPORT). BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD THERE IS . INTERMITTENT/UNPREDICTABLE FAILURE TO ENGAGE 3RD IN TIMELY FASHION WITH RESULTANT LOSS OF ACCELERATION AS VEHICLE IS FUNCTIONALLY IN NEUTRAL WITH ENGINE RACING FOR 0.5 TO 2.5 SECONDS. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY WHEN PULLING ON TO A HIGHWAY. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED 2 NEAR COLLISIONS (ALMOST BEING STRUCK FROM BEHIND). VOLVO TECH SUPPORT ACKNOWLEDGES A FLAW IN DESIGN CAUSING SERVO FLUID AIR LOCK IN THE 2001. A NEW TRANSMISSION IS SCHEDULED TO BE REPLACED FOR OUR S60, BUT IF THE PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURING IN OUR 2003, WILL THIS CORRECT THE PROBLEM? THE 2003 XC90 THEY SAY CAN BE REPAIRED WITH "UPGRADED SOFTWARE" (WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR THAT VEHICLE) BUT THIS REMEDY FAILED WHEN PERFORMED ON OUR 2001 S60. WE HAVE LET THE DEALER KNOW WE FEEL BOTH VEHICLES ARE UNSAFE WITH THIS PROBLEM AND WE ARE NOW STUCK WITH THEM TRYING TO REMEDY BOTH GLARING SAFETY DEFECTS. WE ARE NOT AWARE OF A FEDERALLY MANDATED RECALL TO REPAIR THIS ACKNOWLEDGED (SAFETY) DEFECT.*AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026