2021 Volvo S60: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2021 Volvo S60
On the 2021 Volvo S60, the failure owners report most often is ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure, with 3 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 70,000 miles.
What breaks on the 2021 Volvo S60
Owners have reported 10 named failure modes on the 2021 Volvo S60, and the three most-reported carry 50% of everything filed.
Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure leads with 3 reports and about 1.7 per 1,000 vehicles.
Electrical fire or melted wiring follows with 2 reports.
Other visibility problem follows with 2 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into electrical (7), glass (2) and engine (2).
When these failures get reported
Too few of the reports on this year carry an odometer reading to describe the timing: 2 of them do. The mileages quoted elsewhere on this page come from the modes that have enough of them.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
What happens when these parts fail
Nothing in the reports on the 2021 Volvo S60 mentions a crash, a fire or an injury. That is the ordinary case and it is worth stating: most defect complaints are about a car that stopped working, not one that hurt somebody.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.93, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at $250–$1,500, electrical fire or melted wiring at $1,500–$9,000, other visibility problem at $150–$1,400 and head gasket failure at $1,400–$4,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
14% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | electrical | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.7 | $250–$1,500 | High |
| Electrical fire or melted wiring | electrical | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $1,500–$9,000 | Critical |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Head gasket failure | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $1,400–$4,000 | Critical |
| No-start or intermittent start failure | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 100 | — | 0.6 | $200–$1,800 | Moderate |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Premature brake pad or rotor wear | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $300–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.6 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 1 | 1 | — | 140k | — | 0.6 | $250–$1,800 | High |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2021 Volvo S60 draws about 8.0 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 88th percentile of complaint rates among 2021 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 1,740 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2021 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2021 model year
NHTSA has issued 3 recall campaigns covering the 2021 Volvo S60, affecting an estimated 2,295 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover electrical system:software, air bags:frontal and seat belts. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE
7,483 vehicles 2025-03-24- Defect
- Volvo Car USA, LLC (Volvo Car) is recalling certain 2020-2021 S90, 2020-2022 S60, V60, XC60, XC90, and 2022 V90 plug-in hybrid vehicles. The high-voltage battery may experience a short circuit within the battery module when the battery is fully charged and the vehicle is parked.
- Consequence
- A short circuit in a high-voltage battery increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to charge their vehicles until the remedy has been completed. Dealers will inspect and replace the high-voltage battery module as necessary. In addition, dealers will update the software to monitor the battery. All repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 28, 2025. Owners may contact Volvo Car's customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo Car's number for this recall is R10312.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
346 vehicles 2023-11-21- Defect
- Volvo Car USA, LLC. (Volvo Car) is recalling certain 2019-2024 S60 vehicles. The passenger air bag may not be secured properly, which can cause the air bag to deploy improperly.
- Consequence
- An air bag that does not deploy properly in a crash increases the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and tighten the bolts securing the passenger air bag, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 5, 2024. Owners may contact Volvo Car customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo Car's number for this recall is R10254.
SEAT BELTS
19,149 vehicles 2021-09-01- Defect
- Volvo Car USA, LLC (Volvo Car) is recalling certain 2021 XC40, XC 40 Recharge, V60CC, V90, V90CC, XC90, and 2021-2022 V60, XC60, S60 vehicles. The seat belt automatic locking retractors may deactivate early, which can prevent the child restraint system from securing properly. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Consequence
- An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 13, 2021. Owners may contact Volvo Car customer service at 1-888-458-1552. Volvo Car's number for this recall is R10111.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Better and worse years of the same car
Across the 17 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2007 comes out best at 63 and 2020 worst at 79.
Within the 2019–2022 generation specifically, 2022 is the strongest year at 64 and 2020 the weakest at 79.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2019-2022 generation, 2022 Volvo S60 scores best at 64 and 2020 Volvo S60 worst at 79.
Where these figures stop being useful
14 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 14 reports, 2 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 14% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2021 Volvo S60?
The most-reported failures are ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure (3 reports), electrical fire or melted wiring (2 reports) and other visibility problem (2 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Which year of the Volvo S60 is best?
Within the 2019–2022 generation, 2022 scores best at 64 out of 100 and 2020 worst at 79. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed