Home · 2011 Volvo XC60 B5 · Complaints

What 36 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Volvo XC60 B5

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (36)Crash / fire / injury (2)Seat belts (8)Visibility & wipers (8)Electrical system (6)Body & structure (3)Engine (3)Steering (3)Airbags (2)Brakes (2)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (2)Equipment (2)

8 of 36 complaints match · Seat belts · clear filters

Jan 23, 2023Visibility & wipersSeat belts

The contact owns a 2011 Volvo XC60. The contact stated that the front driver’s side belt was restraining her extremely tightly and failed to release as needed. No warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated that water had leaked from around the windshield into the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that water was in the vehicle and the sunroof drain needed to be flushed out however, the contact stated that she was denied service unless the sunroof drain was flushed out. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred, and the contact was concerned for her safety. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.

NHTSA ODI 11503120

Aug 8, 2022Seat belts

The front passenger seat belt will not release without much difficultly. If the vehicle started on fire or went into water, the passenger would likely die. I contacted Volvo and they will not help other than charging over $800 to replace the seat belt.

NHTSA ODI 11478196

May 25, 2021Seat belts

This SUV. 2011 Volvo XC60 is our family travel vehicle. I had a bad scenario, The drivers side seat belt Buckle got stuck. Would not release, My girlfriend was in car trying to release buckle. This is not normal. its scary felling she told me. In a MVA. this may be a risk of stuck in car. The Dealer had replaced shoulder harness under recall. But My complaint was the seat belt buckle get stuck wont release. It seems to sit too close to seat I don't know why It was not replaced as an assembly. Does any record show seat belt buckle stuck issues and wont release.? Other than the Seat belt gets stuck wont release. My issue I think the buckle should be at a higher above lower seat to accommodate average size people.

NHTSA ODI 11418442

Sep 2, 2020Seat belts

SEAT BELT RECALL ISSUED JUNE 30, 2020 (INFO BELOW). CALLED THE VOLVO DEALER (AUTONATION IN BELLEVUE, WA) AND THEY REPORTED THAT NO PARTS WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL NOVEMBER 2020 AND THAT I SHOULD CALL BACK THEN. THIS APPEARS TO BE AN UNREASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME TO REPLACE SUCH A CRITICAL PIECE OF SAFETY EQIPMENT. MANUFACTURER RECALL NUMBER: R10029 NHTSA RECALL NUMBER: 204378

NHTSA ODI 11352748

Feb 22, 2020Seat belts

DRIVERS SEATBELT RANDOMLY COMES UNDONE WHEN DRIVING - UNRELATED TO SPEED OR BRAKING.. HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR LAST 15-18 MONTHS ABOUT 1-2 WEEKLY.

NHTSA ODI 11310766

Sep 26, 2019Seat belts

MALFUNCTIONING SEAT BELT LATCHES AND BUCKLES- THE SEAT BELT LATCHES DO NOT RELEASE THE BUCKLE VERY GOOD WHEN NEEDING TO EXIT THE VEHICLE (THEY STICK IN PLACE UNTIL THE LATCH IS HELD AT A SPECIFIC ANGLE WHILE PRESSING THE RELEASE BUTTON) I DONT BELIEVE THIS IS AN INTENDED SAFETY FEATURE. THIS ISSUE IS PRESENT IN ALL 5 SEAT POSITIONS LATCHES AND BUCKLES IN MY CAR. AFTER SPECIAL ATTENTION TO UNBUCKLE MYSELF, I OFTEN HAVE TO WALK AROUND TO THE BACK DOORS TO GET IN THE BACK SEAT SO I CAN UNLATCH MY SONS BUCKLE ALSO. HE IS 6YRS OLD AND HAS NOT EVER HAD ANY PROBLEM UNBUCKLING HIMSELF IN OUR LAST SUV NOR IN OUR OTHER CURRENT CAR. HE HAS LOTS OF ANXIETY OVER THIS, HE PANICKS AND THEN WILL CRY BECAUSE HE FEELS HE IS TRAPPED IN. ALSO, THE BUCKLES DO NOT ALWAYS LOCK INTO THE LATCH WHEN PUTTING THE SAFETY BELT ON WHEN ENTERING THE VEHICLE. OFTEN TIMES WHILE IN ROUTE, THE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT COMES ON TO NOTIFY ME THAT A BUCKLE IS NOT ON IN A SEAT POSITION BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THE BUCKLE SOUNDED AND FELT LIKE IT WAS LATCHED, IT WAS NOT.BUPON CHECKING THE SEAT POSITION THE SYSTEM WARNS, THE BELT FLYS RIGHT UP AND OUT OF THE LATCH, INDICATING IT WAS NOT SECURE AFTERALL. THIS ISSUE ALSO PRESENT IN ALL 5 SEAT POSITIONS LATCH AND BUCKLES. THE ISSUES ARE INTERMITTENT BUT OCCURS MORE THAN LIKELY MORE OFTEN THAN WE THINK BECAUSE WE HAVE GOTTEN USED TO THE DEFECTIVE FUNCTIONING AND HAVE ADAPTED TO DURING NORMAL USE OF THE VEHICLE. I AM CONFIDENT THAT MY FAMILY'S RISK OF HARM DURING A TRUE EMERGENCY IS GREATER BECAUSE OF THESE BUCKLES AND LATCHES AND THEIR MALFUNCTIONING.

NHTSA ODI 11258369

Jun 20, 2019Seat belts

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 VOLVO XC60. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SEAT BELT WAS RESTRAINING THE DRIVER EXTREMELY TIGHTLY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ADJUST THE SEAT BELT AND THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE WAS DIFFICULT TO LOCK AND UNLOCK. VOLVO CARS GLEN COVE (79 CEDAR SWAMP RD, GLEN COVE, NY 11542, (516) 231-2400) WAS CONTACTED AND INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NO FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,000.

NHTSA ODI 11221422

Oct 24, 2011Seat belts

THE SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT DOES NOT STAY ON FOR 60 SECONDS WHEN THE SEAT BELT IS NOT FASTENED. THE DEALER SAID THAT THIS IS NORMAL FOR THE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10432645

Working with the data? Download all 36 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 14, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Volvo XC60 B5 verdict →