On november 9th my wife was driving our 2001 volvo s80 to church. She parked the car but it began to move. It accelerated and she wound up driving into a tree to avoid hitting other cars. She was also worried that children from the school might be around. The car was in park. The engine was off. The emergency break was on. The steering wheel was tight, making it difficult to steer since the engine was off. The church secretary observed the incident. She saw smoke coming out of the back of the car which would indicate the emergency break was on. When she first reached the car with my wife in it she noted that the car was in park.
Volvo S80 fire or smoke problems
25 of the 954 owner complaints about the Volvo S80 describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 2000 model year.
- owner complaints
- 25
- worst model year
- 2000
- typical mileage
- 83,000
Is there a fix? There are 6 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Loss of power 2Won't start 1Stalling 1Overheating 1Oil consumption 1Headlights 1Fuel pump 1Fuel leak 1
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 volvo s80. While stationary, the vehicle leaked fuel onto the ground. Wallace volvo in stuart, florida diagnosed the vehicle as having a mass air flow failure. The vehicle was repaired by don imports auto service in vero beach, florida. In addition, while driving 2 MPH, the vehicle caught fire underneath the driver's seat. A police report was filed. The contact extinguished the fire with the assistance of a neighbor. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to wallace volvo in stuart, florida. The vehicle was not destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage and VIN were unknown.
My volvo s80 spontaneously combusted in my driveway, when I was away from home. The car had not been driven for approximately two hours, when it caught fire (under the hood) and burned.
Tl* the contact owned a 2003 volvo s80. While parked, the battery compartment caught fire without warning. The fire department extinguished the fire and filed a report. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The vehicle was destroyed.
As I was driving I heard a bang and saw smoke coming from underneath and behind the passenger seat and quickly fire spreading throughout the back of the vehicle. The rear window blew out. The car would not stop as I drove the vehicle off the street. I had to throw myself out of the vehicle. The entire vehicle was inflamed and exploded.
While driving between 35 to 40 miles per hour for approximately 5 minutes, I began to smell something burning. There was no engine nor temperature indicator lit up on the dash. Assuming it was from a passing vehicle, I continued to drive for 1 to 2 minutes. Then looking in the rear view mirror, I could see black smoke coming from the trunk. Upon opening the trunk, the car burst into flames. The fire seems to have started in wiring located in the trunk then proceeded through to the speaker in the back seat. Even after turning off engine, the fireman on the scene noticed that the radio and air conditioning were still running. The battery had to be disconnected to shut electrical items off.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 volvo s80. The contact stated that as the vehicle was being started, a strong burning odor began to circulate inside of the vehicle. Immediately, the contact exited the vehicle and noticed flames emitting from the exhaust pipe. The contact then extinguished the flames. The vehicle had been repaired four times prior to the recent fire for a severe oil leak. The turbo oil trap pcv was replaced each time. The repairs were performed by an authorized dealer. The contact also replaced the part himself. The vehicle had not been repaired for the most recent failure. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
Driving on freeway at night, experienced a sudden loss of power. Engine check light came on. Fortunately coasted to a stop on an exit ramp. Upon stopping observed smoke coming through the edges of the hood. Turned off the ignition and exited the car. Noticed a flame under the engine compartment. Within one minute the front end of the car burst into flames and burned in a bright yellow fireball estimated to be 20 feet high. It burned until the fire trucks arrived 20 minutes later. The heat was extremely intense. The hood vaporized, metal parts of the engine melted, tires exploded. Car had a full tank of gas and strongly suspect malfunction of fuel system. Had we been trapped in the car on the freeway, there could have been four fatalities.
Driving through a flat newly paved parking lot. Car stalled, tried to restart twice, wouldn't start. Opened drivers door to find large amount of gasoline maybe 3-4 gallons under the car. Can not believe that it didn't ignite. Towed to dealer, fuel pump nipple cracked (part of fuel pump) sending gas all over the hot exhaust. Dealer claimed this the first failure of this kind they had seen, but had the fuel pump in stock. (doesn't sound right) I feel very lucky that this car didn't go up in flames / or even explode with myself or my children in this car.
B+ battery cable at starter solenoid shorted to starter case and grounded. Causing a fire in engine compartment. Car shut down without warning. Engine went off, lights went out all in an instant. Emergency flashers were inoperative. Pulled off to the side of the road and stopped using the emergency brake. Smoke was coming from under the hood. Opened the hood and found the front of the engine on fire. Extinguished the flames. Disconnected the negative terminal on the battery located in the trunk, car towed to dealer, in process of repair.
Related recalls
Electrical system: wiring: fuses and circuit breakers
- What is wrong
- Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. (Volvo) is recalling certain model year 2016 Volvo S60, V60, V60CC, XC60, XC70, and S80 vehicles manufactured April 8, 2015 to August 19, 2015. In certain driving conditions when using the automatic engine stop/start function, the starter motor fuse may blow, preventing the car from restarting when necessary.
- Risk
- If the vehicle is unexpectedly unable to be started in the middle of traffic, such as when stopped at an intersection, there is an increased risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will replace the existing starter motor fuse with a higher amperage fuse, free of charge. The recall began on October 26, 2015. Owners may contact Volvo customer service at 1‑800‑458‑1552 or by visiting http://volvo.custhelp.com. Volvo's number for this recall is R39574.
Recall number 15V555000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- Volvo is recalling certain model year 2014 S60, S80, XC60 and XC70 vehicles equipped with keyless ignition. In the affected vehicles, the Central Electronic Module (CEM) will not perform as intended. As a result, the front windshield wipers might run continuously when the ignition is on. Also, the turn signals, high beams, and headlight switch might not work.
- Risk
- Malfunctioning head lamps and/or turn signals increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will upgrade the CEM software, free of charge. The recall began on October 3, 2013. Owners may contact Volvo at 1‑800‑458‑1552.
Recall number 13V377000 · Recall details
Electrical system: wiring
- What is wrong
- Volvo is recalling certain model year 2012 s60, xc60, s80 and xc70 vehicles manufactured from may 16, 2011, through october 6, 2011. In these vehicles, the wire harness under the front seats may have not been attached properly to the seat frame. As a result, when the seats are moved to adjust the seating position, the wire harness may get pulled, causing it to disconnect.
- Risk
- In the event of crash, the front and/or side impact air bags may deploy improperly or not at all, increasing the risk of injury. Also, the lap belt pretensioner may not deploy.
- Remedy
- Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, secure the seat wire harness. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall began on april 12, 2012. Owners may contact volvo cars at 1‑800‑458‑1552.
Recall number 12V075000 · Recall details
Electrical system: software
- What is wrong
- Volvo is recalling my 2008-2010 s80, model year 2009-2010 xc70 and model year 2010 xc60 vehicles. Under certain conditions the software within the central electronic module (cem) may not send a signal to the fuel pump electronic module (pem). This missing signal to the pem inhibits the start of the fuel pump. The driver may be able to start the engine in spite of the fuel pump not being activated due to residual pressure in the fuel system. In some cases, the driver may be able to drive the vehicle a short distance at idle but then the engine may stall.
- Risk
- If the vehicle stalls in certain conditions, a crash could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will download software to the vehicles' cem free of charge. The recall began on september 30, 2009. Vehicles in dealer's inventory will be repaired prior to delivery. Owners may contact volvo at 1‑800‑458‑1552.
Recall number 09V343000 · Recall details
Electrical system: software
- What is wrong
- Volvo is recalling 12,303 my 2007-2008 s80 and v70 vehicles. The diagnostic software in the central electronic module (cem) may cause a malfunction of the windshield wiper functionality. If this condition occurs, the windshield wipers may not operate when activated; or in certain cases the windshield wipers may activate when not switched on.
- Risk
- Operating a motor vehicle during inclement weather conditions without functioning windshield wipers can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the cem and upgrade the software free of charge. The recall began on may 15, 2009. Owners may contact volvo customer care center at 1‑800‑458‑1552, or [email protected].
Recall number 09V139000 · Recall details
Electrical system: starter assembly: solenoid
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, due to an error in the factory assembly instruction, the b+terminal may be in conflict with the starter motor solenoid. If this occurs, the conflict between the b+terminal and the starter motor solenoid may develop into a short circuit of the battery cable to ground.
- Risk
- Smoke may appear from under the hood and it may be impossible to start the car. If the short circuit happens during driving, electrical power could be lost resulting in the warning lamps being deactivated. An electrical short could result in a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and increase distance between the b+terminal and the starter motor solenoid by adjusting the terminal. The recall began on january 31, 2006. Owners may contact volvo at 1‑800‑458‑1552.
Recall number 05V529000 · Recall details
Questions about the Volvo S80 fire or smoke
Which Volvo S80 years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2000 (9 complaints), 1999 (6 complaints) and 2001 (3 complaints).
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