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2012 Volvo C70

The Verdict

95 Smooth Ride

The 2012 Volvo C70 has 23 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are body (21 complaints) and transmission (2 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 95/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Volvo C70, consider the 2010 model year which has 82% fewer complaints.

Safe Bet

The 2010 has 82% fewer complaints

View the 2010 Volvo C70 dashboard →

95

Klunk Score: Smooth Ride

This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.

How is this calculated?

The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.

Get notified if a recall hits this car.

We email you when NHTSA issues a new recall on the 2012 Volvo C70. No spam, no marketing.

Under the Hood

Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.

YearBodyBrakesElectricalEngineTransmission
2000801260
200150110
200250022
200310222
200430633
200651201
2007102500
2008201100
200960121
201020101
201171320
2012210002
201360320

By Category

Body
21
Transmission
2

By Severity

1
13
2
10

Worst Problems

Complaints

Body 1

Door unlocking while driving

1mo ago
Body 1

The drivers side door keeps opening while driving. I see recalls for other volvo models but not mine. This is very concerning when driving on the highway

11mo ago
Body 1

While in transit, the passenger door periodically unlatches on its own. There is a safeguard that prevents the door from completely swinging open when this happens. This problem has not been inspected by a professional. The warning light appears after the door unlatches while in motion. Because I never have a passenger, I am not able to immediately close the door. The last time this happened was at 65 mph on [XXX]. This problem has existed for years. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The cause is unknown, and timing is unpredictable. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

12mo ago
Transmission 1

The car developed an electronic communication issue that would cause random failure messages for the ABS, anti-skid system, transmission control and a "brake failure" message that would put the car into limp mode even at highway speeds. If you come to a complete stop, it would not allow you to pull away at any speed which makes you a traffic hazard and at risk for a rear end collision. I took the car to the dealer and they said it was the steering module so I had them replace it which ended up not resolving the problem. More alarming, the mechanic said that the factory original windshield had become unbonded and needed resealed. He showed me by flexing the windshield out at the top. I paid a windshield shop to reseal the windshield but I am reporting this since it's bond to the body is integral to keeping occupants from being ejected in the event of a rollover and the owner is unlikely to ever notice the issue.

15mo ago
Body 2

There is a know defect with the chassis used for several Volvo car models. My car is a Volvo C70, year 2012. My car is affected by this defect. The defect wasn't disclosed to me at time of sale. I only learned about it literally 10 years later when Volvo of Gilbert (dealership) advised me to install a costly part on the rear suspension of my car because of "excessive negative camber". According to the Volvo repair department, they've known for years of an internal repair "recommendation" memo issued by Volvo that Volvo actually pays for on other models, but won't pay for on mine, to correct this "negative camber" on the rear of the car. ***** The negative camber causes tire walls to fail early and abnormally wear the internal edges of the tires. I've experienced early tire failure on multiple sets of tires on my Volvo C70 and never knew why. Now I know. **Volvo has always known.** I have to replace all of my tires almost every two years due to the inside edges wearing out, despite faithfully rotating my tires several times a year. My tires have worn down to the belt on the inside edges despite having plenty of good tread left in the middle of the tire itself. About two years ago I had a dangerous blowout on the freeway because of a tire that failed early -- now I know it's because of the negative camber. More recently, two of my tires wore down all the way to the belts despite being less than two years old. ***** Volvo knows about this issue. There is a good paper trail of the issue being documented both by Volvo and their customers, but they failed to warn us of the dangerous car suspension and failed to provide the fix to all of us (while providing the fix to some of their customers). ***** Please listen to this 2-minute recording with the Volvo technician (Judd) who disclosed the known defect to me: [XXX] ***** This needs to be rectified for all of us with the faulty chassis'. Thank you. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

30mo ago
Body 2

The driver side seat belt gets stuck and is very hard almost impossible to unlatch once it is locked over driver

45mo ago
Body 2

door opened on its own while driving. three times this week. door appears locked and warning illumination indicator does not recognize that door is open. door cannot be locked when in this condition but it indicates that it is locked. appears identical to issue in NHTSA campaign 19v849000.

58mo ago
Body 2

This occurred after driving for about an hour. While driving at a fairly high rate of speed, I felt the driver's door move slightly. The dome light came on indicating that the door had opened. The windows were down so I cannot state if they would have slightly lowered as they normally do when the door is opened. I pushed outward on the door to see if it was fully open. The latch held the door. Using the interior door handle, I then opened and closed the door. The doors were then locked as extra security. Approximately 30 minutes later this happened again on a busier highway. I then had to worry about the door opening on me again while I was driving, however, there was no further occurrence. Later after returning home, I performed an internet search to see if something like this had happened to others. After seeing other comments of C70 doors opening & door latch problems, I decided to report the problem to get it on record.

59mo ago
Body 2

Drivers door without warning while driving at high speed suddenly unlatches, hazard light and warning indicator that door is open is shown .Besides being very dangerous it is very scary .My problem has not been confirmed by dealer but was reported to dealer as far back as 7 years ago.

62mo ago
Body 1

The doors open when driving, first the passenger door opened about 3 months ago. The warning light comes on and stated that the door is open. The safety on the door keeps it from completely opening but the door is ajar just not completely opened. Last month it happened twice to the drivers door while in drive. I am aware that there is no recall but Volvo recalled 144,937 S60 sedans and V60 wagons from the 2011 through 2017 model years because their doors may open unexpectedly while the car is in motion. I had to pay $2000 to have this flaw fixed when in actuality it should have been a safety recall.

62mo ago
Body 2

The large coupe doors on this vehicle have a tendency to become unlatched while driving requiring the need to stop the vehicle and re-open and close the doors. This happens when doors are locked as well as unlocked. When this happens on the highway at high speeds, it is very dangerous and difficult to hold the door closed while making your way to the side of the road to correct the problem. This happens with no warning. There are recalls by Volvo for this exact issue on several other models but not the C70. I have reported this issue directly to Volvo customer service. I am also aware this is a widespread issue as I have have seen it identified by several other C70 owners on various Volvo Owner Internet forums.

62mo ago
Body 1

WHEN DRIVING AND OPERATING THE VEHICLE WITH THE TOP DOOR THE DOOR BECOMES AJAR ON THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER SIDE WITH A SLIGHT BUMP IN THE ROSE.

66mo ago
Body 2

DRIVE SIDE DOOR OPENS UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAPPENS AT CITY AND HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE DOOR LATCH, AND SEEMS TO BE AN IDENTICAL ISSUE THAT IS COVERED IN A RECALL FOR THE VOLVO S60 AND V60. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE C70 IS THE CONVERTIBLE VERSION OF THE S60. SINCE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, THE EXISTING RECALL FOR THE S60 SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO THE C70.

70mo ago
Body 1

WE SOMETIMES HAVE DIFFICULTY WHEN OPENING AND CLOSING THE DRIVER'S DOOR. ALSO, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHEN DRIVING A WARNING LIGHT CAME ON INDICATING THE DOORS WERE AJAR. WE WERE ON A HIGHWAY WHEN IT HAPPENED. IT SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO AN ISSUE WITH THE DOOR LATCH. WE WERE TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THERE WAS A DOOR LATCH RECALL ON OTHER VOLVO VEHICLES, BUT NOT THE C70.

72mo ago
Body 1

WHILE ON HIGHWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEED, THE DRIVER DOOR MOVED OUTWARD AS IF IT WAS OPENING. THE OPEN DOOR WARNING LIGHT FLASHED ON THE DASH. MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO FALL OUT OF THE CAR. HAD TO STOP AND CLOSE THE DOOR AGAIN. WOULD HATE TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN WHILE CORNERING. *TR

74mo ago
Body 1

WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE DRIVER WINDOW OPENED SLIGHTLY AND THE CAR DISPLAYED A WARNING LIGHT OF DOOR OPEN. I HAD TO PULL TO THE SHOULDER TO CLOSE AND LOCK THE DOOR. ON MY RETURN TRIP, I CLOSED AND LOCKED THE DOOR BUT AFTER AN HOUR OF HIGHWAY DRIVING, THE SAME THING OCCURRED. I AM TAKING THIS TO THE DEALER TODAY BUT WONDER IF THIS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL OF FAULTY DOOR LATCHES ON THE S60 AND XC60 MODELS. *TR

74mo ago
Body 1

MY HARDTOP CONVERTIBLE HEADLINER IS HELD TOGETHER WITH A STRING LIKE CORD. THE STRING HAS BROKE FOR NO REASON NEAR THE PASSENGER SIDE BACK CORNER. THIS CAUSES A PROBLEM BECAUSE IF I PUT THE TOP DOWN AND THEN WHEN I TRY AND PUT THE TOP BACK UP THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR CORNER PIECE OF THE LINER GETS FOLDED UP AND PREVENTS ME FROM PUTTING THE TOP BACK UP . I HAVE HAD PREVIOUS CONVERTIBLES AND THIS IS MY SECOND VOLVO CONVERTIBLE AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A LINER BEING HELD IN PLACE LIKE THIS OR HAVING THIS PROBLEM. MY VOLVO IS A 2012 AND ONLY HAS 42,000 MILES ON IT. BECAUSE OF THIS I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO USE MY CONVERTIBLE TOP AND THE PLEASURE OF DRIVING WITH THE TOP DOWN FOR ALMOST A YEAR BECAUSE I AM AFRAID THE TOP WILL NOT GO BACK UP ONE OF THESE TIMES AND MY CAR WILL BE LEFT EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS AROUND ME AT THE TIME.

77mo ago
Body 2

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY TONIGHT GOING ABOUT 50 MPH (WITH THE TOP UP) WHEN THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR BECAME AJAR. THE INTERIOR LIGHTS CAME ON, THE WINDOW SLIGHTLY OPENED LIKE IT DOES WHEN YOU NORMALLY OPEN THE DOOR, AND A WARNING CAME ON SAYING THE DOOR WAS OPEN. IT DID NOT FULLY OPEN, BUT WAS COMPLETELY UNLATCHED, I HAD TO REACH OVER AND HOLD IT SHUT WHILE DRIVING UNTIL I FOUND A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE OTHER TIMES, TOO, THOUGH THIS WAS BY FAR THE SCARIEST AND COULD HAVE CAUSED A WRECK. I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS HAPPEN IN ANY OTHER CARS I HAVE OWNED AND IT SEEMS TO BE A VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT, AND I SEE OTHER FOLKS HAVE HAD SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ONLINE,

79mo ago
Transmission 1

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

83mo ago
Body 2

I HAVE A 2012 C70, AND THE "DOOR OPEN" WARNING AND INTERIOR LIGHTS COME ON AND THE DOOR SLUMPS SLIGHTLY AJAR (EVEN THE WINDOW DROPS LIKE WHEN YOU OPEN THE DOOR). THIS HAPPENS DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. CAN BE EITHER DRIVER OR PASSENGER SIDE. DOORS ARE SECURELY CLOSED BEFOREHAND. I HAVE ALSO MASTERED THE STOP, LEAN AND SLAM. IT IS SO ANNOYING AND SCARY!

98mo ago

23 total

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