2012 Volvo S60: check engine light

Filed Jun 7, 2026 · Airbags · WA

The driver's side seat airbag system failed. Specifically, diagnostic trouble code SRS-B002011 was retrieved, indicating a circuit short to ground in the left side airbag deployment control system. The technician found a broken clip on the airbag connector housing, causing an intermittent connection failure between the connector and the seat airbag itself. The airbag cannot be relied upon to deploy in a crash. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I purchased this vehicle on May 10, 2026, and drove it as my primary means of transportation. During that time, the driver's side seat airbag was non-functional due to a circuit short to ground and a broken connector housing. Had I been involved in a collision during that period, the driver's side airbag may not have deployed, significantly increasing the risk of serious injury or death. I was not informed of this defect at the time of purchase and had no knowledge that the airbag system was compromised. I drove the vehicle believing it to be equipped with functioning safety systems. The defect was confirmed by Volvo Cars Tacoma (O'Brien Auto Group), a franchised manufacturer-certified Volvo dealership in Tacoma. Technician #2101608 performed a comprehensive inspection using Volvo's proprietary VIDA diagnostic system dated May 16–30, 2026. The inspection retrieved diagnostic trouble code SRS-B002011 confirming a circuit short to ground in the left side airbag deployment control system, and physically identified a broken clip on the airbag connector housing. The technician documented: "There is likely an intermittent failure at the connection between the airbag connector and the seat airbag itself. Need to start with replacement of airbag and repin connector." The check engine light illuminated within days of my purchase. This prompted me to bring the vehicle to Volvo Cars Tacoma on May 16, 2026 — six days after purchase. I personally did not observe an SRS warning light.

Filed Jul 7, 2024 · Engine · AL

Discovered that my engine is burning oil. There was no warning from my vehicle or from Volvo (during regular maintenance) that this was happening. It was just sudden that the check engine light went on and I checked the oil and found that it was basically empty. Volvo confirmed that the engine is burning oil and that this model and make was discovered to have this engine issue. Volvo did not offer a solution other than to buy a new vehicle to replace this one. In my research online, this problem is common for this model and make 2012 S60 T5, may other have reported the same issue and it seems that there is a recall for this problem but my vehicle (VIN) does not report this to be a problem for my car. I’m not sure what to do.

Filed Feb 7, 2024 · Engine · 137,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2012 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she smelled a burning odor in the interior of the vehicle, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact became aware that the engine was without oil; however, the low oil warning light was not illuminated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 13V592000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.

Filed Mar 1, 2022 · Engine · NH

On December 1, 2021 I was driving my 2012 Volvo S60 T5, that I purchased 3/2021 with 99,489 miles on it, on the highway and it stalled without warning after almost crashing. There were no warning alerts or check engine light that came on the dashboard and the car had 1,000 miles until the next oil change. After browsing the internet, we realized that the car had a recall because their vehicles were not warning the driver that there was low oil pressure allowing the driver to continue driving until the engine seized (Recall #R29436; the federal safety agency campaign #13V592000). The recall was repaired by Prestige Auto on 1/2014. I contacted Volvo of North America who opened up a case and then had the car towed to Portland Volvo in Scarborough, Maine for an appointment on December 14, 2021. On December 15, 2021 Portland Volvo informed us that the vehicle’s engine was beyond repair because of an unfortunate mechanical failure due to lack of lubrication. Later that evening I received an email from Volvo of NA stating that they would cover $750 of the repairs. I emailed back asking to wait for a quote from Portland Volvo on how much it was going to be to repair the vehicle. On December 16, 2021 I was informed by Portland Volvo that she spoke with the district manager and that a used engine costs between $10-14,000. Volvo of North America has now decided to retract their $750 offer to help because the car is now out of warranty but it was due to a manufacturer's defect. I spoke with Prestige Auto (the dealership who fixed the repair) and was told that if the repair was actually fixed then it would have done its due diligence and alerted the driver that there wasn't any oil pressure. I have also read articles on these kinds of issues and it states that a recall is to be repaired until it fixes the issue, and obviously the issue wasn't fixed the first time. I asked for an appeal, was denied and now Volvo wont respond back to emails or calls.

Filed Dec 17, 2021 · Engine · NH

This in regards to a vehicle I purchased on March 30, 2021. It is a 2012 Volvo S60 T5 VIN #[XXX]. When I purchased the car it had 99,489 miles on the odometer and when the vehicle became an issue it was at 104,409 miles on the odometer. I purchased it on Craigslist from a physician in Maine. On December 1, 2021 my husband was driving the vehicle on the highway and it stalled without warning after almost crashing. He was able to pull over, start the car back up and drive it home. There were no warning alerts or check engine light that came on the dashboard. After browsing the internet, we realized that the car had a recall due to an oil consumption level issue in 2014 (Recall #R29436; the federal safety agency campaign #13V592000). I contacted Volvo of North America who opened up a case (case #[XXX]) and then had the car towed to Portland Volvo in Scarborough, Maine for an appointment on December 14, 2021. On December 15, 2021 Portland Volvo informed us that the vehicle’s engine was beyond repair. Later that evening I received an email from [XXX] at Volvo of NA stating that they would cover $750 of the repairs. I emailed her back asking her to wait for a quote from Portland Volvo on how much it was going to be to repair the vehicle. On December 16, 2021 I was informed by [XXX] at Portland Volvo that she spoke with the district manager and that a used engine costs between $10-14,000 and that Volvo of North America has decided not to help because the car is now out of warranty but [XXX] from Portland Volvo admitted it was a manufacturer's defect. Not only has the car been seen periodically throughout its lifetime at Volvo dealerships and was seen in July 2021 due to two recalls that needed to be fixed at Volvo in Exeter, NH. They did a multi-point inspection on the car and everything passed and only 3,500 miles had been put on the car since. I have all the paperwork proving all of this. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Jan 16, 2021 · Engine · 130,000 miles · GA

The car displayed a low oil warning, so I checked and the oil was a little low so I added a quart. The light disappeared. The next day, same thing happened, but oil level was full. The light again went out. Later that day, the low oil light came back on, so I pulled over and had the car towed to my house. Decided to change the oil, and saw metal shaving in the filter. I disassembled the engine and metal was everywhere. The culprit was a shattered oil pump, which spewed metal all into the crankshaft and bearings. A quick search online found numerous cases similar to mine, where the engine blew with no type of warning or check engine light. This was caused by a defective oil pump that breaks down and shatters inside the engine block, causing metal to enter the engine and destroy it.

Filed Nov 1, 2020 · Engine · 82,000 miles · PA

2012 volvo 60, needs new engine. Volvo states its not worth repairing at 81k miles. Vin # [xxx] this car was purchased certified in 2015 from bill gray volvo, 2897 murrysville road pennsylvania, 15317 I bought a certified 2012 volvo s60 t5, VIN # [xxx] in 2005 from a dealer in pittsburgh, pa, with 17/k. I maintained the car, with all the required service. The car drives runs well, the check engine was on and when I took it for a state inspection, I was told it had internal engine issues: mis-firing, no compression on cylinder # 1 and low compress on #2 cylinder. I was told it's too expensive to repair. It's well under the 100k warranty, with only 82/k miles but over the 5 year warranty period. I was told replacing the engine is not an option because it will cost 13k even a used engine will not work. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed May 20, 2020 · Fuel system · 81,300 miles · NJ

There was one incident that my car was not accelerating on the highway. The car would stall for a bit and when I tried to maintain the same speed I was going at, I would press the gas pedal and the speed would not change, it continued to slow down. Fortunately, I was able to pull over to the side of the highway and put my car on park. This when I put the car in neutral to check the RPM, to see if the gas was working. The RPM would go up every time I pressed on the gas pedal. From there, I turned my car off and on, and tried to see if the car was able to accelerate. Once I turned the car back on, the check engine light had turned on. I managed to get home from work driving on the left lane and at a slow speed. That is when I scheduled an appointment with my mechanic. The following day, the mechanic had found out that there was an issue with my fuel pump, there was not enough pressure. Upon doing some research on the issue, I had found out that the federal safety agency had reported a recall with the same issue for the same model and year of my car . I searched my VIN number to see if my car fell under the recall period listed on the website, and it had reported only a door latch issue and not the fuel pump. I would like the federal safety agency to investigate further into the issue with the fuel pump, more specifically, determine whether or not the time period for issue stated under the recall needs to be extended even further.

Filed Nov 19, 2018 · Engine · 124,000 miles · WV

Like many of the complains listed for this make and model, my 2012 volvo s60 is consuming oil between oil changes with no warning light of low oil pressure showing up. There is no smoke or puddles indicating burning oil or an oil leak. We try to keep a close eye on the oil because the dealer said since it's a turbo it needs extra oil between changes. About a year ago the oil trap was changed because it was leaking. Recently, the car started running rough, like it needed spark plugs,(though it was not time) then the check engine light came on. We found out the 5th cylinder stopped firing and I have a warped head now because of the engine getting too hot. The week before, I could smell the car was burning rich, now I realize it was because of the 5th cylinder and very likely the 'gunk' from the stopped up oil trap. Everything leads back to the oil issue.

Filed Jun 9, 2018 · Engine · 80,560 miles · CA

I took my car in for a routine oil change and discovered within 45 miles of driving the car that there was no oil in the vehicle. The oil pressure light never came on nor did the check engine light come on. It wasn't until after I added 4quartz of oil and the engine quieted down that the oil pressure light came on followed by a check engine light and a notification saying to turn off the engine immediately. This happened as I was driving my car to pep boys to see a manager about them not putting oil in the car. I have been fighting with pep boys on the issue for over a month and the mechanic I hired has just pointed out that there was a recall for the issue I am having with my car. Apparently volvo has had an issue with the tire pressure light never coming on which is exactly what I told pep boys that there was absolutely no indication that there was no oil in the car until a knocking sound had started.

Filed Feb 14, 2017 · NJ

<40k miles 2nd owner bought certified from dealer 2015..2012 volvo s60..engine light keeps coming on. Took to dealer in davie florida says engine cooling system problem..fan or as such..im seeing x6 recalls on similar year make and model.my vehicle VIN not showing on recall roster..dealer wants 1200.00 to repair..why would I have to pay if on recall roster .but my VIN number not registered for same issue?

Filed Feb 3, 2017 · Engine · 127,000 miles · CA

Vehicle burned through all oil causing engine failure with no warning from vehicle electronics (check engine light came on as engine began to fail; was able to travel to closest mechanic). Vehicle dealership said this is a known issue that has had previous recall (for oil pressure warning) for other of the same model year but not this particular vehicle.