Total Complaints
6 filings
VOLVO C70 · model year
6 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2002VOLVOC70 carries 6 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2002 C70 is engine and engine cooling:cooling system with 1 filings, followed by equipment:other:owners/service/other manual (1) and steering (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 28 investigation files overlapping the 2002 C70. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
6 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | 1 |
| EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL | 1 |
| STEERING | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, A COMBINATION OF THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR IRREGULARITIES, A DIRTY THROTTLE HOUSING, AND/OR INEFFICIENT SOFTWARE CALIBRATION MAY CAUSE A WARNING LAMP TO LIGHT AND THE SUBSEQUENT ONSET OF LIMP HOME MODES.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 VOLVO C70. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHIFT PROPERLY. SPORADICALLY, IT WOULD SEEM TO SHIFT INTO PARK WHILE ACCELERATING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT EVENTUALLY, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PERSONAL MECHANIC WHERE THE TRANSMISSION WAS REBUILT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 78,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
Mileage: 70,000
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 VOLVO C70. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION AT 60,000 MILES. THE VEHICLE FAILS TO SHIFT INTO SECOND GEAR. WHEN IT FINALLY SHIFTS INTO GEAR, THE VEHICLE JERKS. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF CONSUMERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME FAILURES. THE DEALER HAS NOT YET BEEN NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
Mileage: 57,000
DURING SUN ROOF RETRACTION A 30" METAL BRACE FELL FROM THE INTERNAL ROOF SLOT FOR THE SUN ROOF ON MY HEAD. THE METAL MEMBER APPEARS TO BE A STURDY CROSS BRACE HELD IN PLACE BY SOME TYPE OF ADHESIVE. I WAS IMMENSELY DISTRACTED AND WAS ALMOST INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT. *TR
Mileage: 108,550
VOLVO C70 - 2002 -- LEAKS POWER-STEERING FLUID SO FAST I CANNOT DRIVE THE CAR. I HAVE HAD IT TOWED TO THE VOLVO DEALER THREE TIMES FOR THE SAME PROBLEM AND IT STILL HAS NOT BEEN FIXED. IT IS UNDRIVEABLE. THE VOLVO COMPANY REFUSES TO GIVE ME ANY ASSISTANCE AS FAR AS REPURCHASING THE CAR. THE DEALER THAT HAS WORKED ON IT HAD NOT GIVEN VOLVO HEADQUARTERS THE REASONS FOR THE CAR BEING IN THEIR SHOP.
Mileage: 3,500
COOLANT WARNING LIGHT CAME ON VOLVO DEALER NOTIFIED. APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED NEXT DAY. OWNERS' MANUAL INSTRUCTS DO NOT USE COOLANT OTHER THAN VOLVO COOLANT. NEITHER MANUAL NOR DEALER ADVISE NOT TO DRIVE CAR. THAT DAY WHILE DRIVING, OIL LIGHT FLICKERS WHILE STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHT. IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER. ENGINE SEIZED AND DESTROYED. CAR HAD ONLY 2250 MILES AND ONLY 60 DAYS OLD. VOLVO DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY. DT
COOLANT WARNING LIGHT CAME ON VOLVO DEALER NOTIFIED. APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED NEXT DAY. OWNERS' MANUAL INSTRUCTS DO NOT USE COOLANT OTHER THAN VOLVO COOLANT. NEITHER MANUAL NOR DEALER ADVISE NOT TO DRIVE CAR. THAT DAY WHILE DRIVING, OIL LIGHT FLICKERS WHILE STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHT. IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER. ENGINE SEIZED AND DESTROYED. CAR HAD ONLY 2250 MILES AND ONLY 60 DAYS OLD. VOLVO DISCLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY. DT
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.