1998 Volvo S70 problems & reliability
215 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Volvo S70, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
11 complaints report injuries (16 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 Volvo S70 vehicles were involved in 9 fatal crashes with 7 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 61 | 28% |
| Exterior Lighting | 35 | 16% |
| Electrical System | 31 | 14% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 22 | 10% |
| Service Brakes, Air | 14 | 7% |
| Air Bags | 13 | 6% |
| Structure | 13 | 6% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 11 | 5% |
| Suspension | 11 | 5% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 9 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 82,600 miles (middle 50% between 66,502 and 105,500 miles), based on 68 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I took my car to the sears auto center at 1178 el camino real in san bruno, california (sears store #6909) on september 2, 2018 for front brakes. Sears returned the car to me on 9/2/18 (a copy of my "final invoice" is enclosed). I subsequently learned that the dust boot for the right front brake caliper is missing. I…”
Service Brakes · filed Sep 14, 2018
“The plastic handle of the oil dipstick came off causing half of the oil dipstick to be in the dipstick tube the car was not moving it happened while checking the oil level making sure there was oil in the car making sure that the engine will not seize while driving”
Engine · filed Mar 21, 2018
“The low beam headlights are dim I have replaced the bulbs with brighter bulbs and they are still dim I have to drive with the fog lights on all the time in order to drive at night.”
Exterior Lighting · filed Jan 26, 2017
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- HEADLIGHT FAILURE
Recall Query RQ04004 · opened Jun 8, 2004 · closed Nov 5, 2004 · led to recall 04V504000
- TURN SIGNAL
Preliminary Evaluation PE00031 · opened Aug 15, 2000 · closed Dec 22, 2000 · led to recall 00V405000
- INADVERTENT SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT
Preliminary Evaluation PE99040 · opened Jun 7, 1999 · closed Oct 27, 1999
Technical service bulletins
220 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Volvo S70. The 10 most recent:
Complimentary upgrade c00009 description.
C00009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 21, 2023
Rubber cushion
TJ3656330 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 12, 2023
The Deutronic DBL-1200 is an advanced battery maintainer/charger with the flexibility to be updated as products and repair methods evolve.
Special Tools Bu · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 12, 2022
ICUP/Google Built-In Diagnostic Operations
Service Manager · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 6, 2022
VIDA QR Scanner Mobile App
356EN01 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 9, 2022
Shipping and Handling of Volvo Lithium-ion 48V Mild Hybrid Battery to Global Battery Solutions (GBS)
Service Manager · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 3, 2022
Mandatory Tool List bulletin: Volvo mandatory Special Tools are necessary for technicians to properly diagnose and repair Volvo cars. They are used in development of Volvo labor operations and repair methods, and…
ST-001-2020-09-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2020
This is a Service Manager Bulletin: Service 2.0 Software & Total Upgrade Reminder
SMB00-006-2020-0 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 5, 2020
This is a Service Manager Bulletin: Volvo Lithium-ion Hybrid Battery Packs shipping and handling to Volvo Reman
SMB31-001-2020-0 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 14, 2020
This is a Service Manager Bulletin: Volvo Lithium-ion Hybrid Battery Packs shipping and handling to Volvo Reman
SMB31-001-2020-0 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 3, 2020
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1998 Volvo S70 has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1998 Volvo S70?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 82,600 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.