Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Volvo S60 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2004 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the instrument panel would not illuminate or operate. During the failure, the fuel gauge, speedometer, odometer, and other information was unavailable to the driver. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 157,000.
Like many others who are on Volvo websites have reported I too had a fire on the drivers seat left side due to my seat heater. I now have a half dollar sized hole in the side of my seat. The first sign of this was a smell and then a lot of smoke. Luckily I was able to pull over quickly and had a towel handy to snuff it out, otherwise I would have burned hands or other parts. I've been a lifelong Volvo owner, I have to say I'm surprised Volvo hasn't at least warned their dealers about this problem. I did see another drivers seat totally blackened and burnt out last time I took my car in, was amazed that it could even happen let alone be a common occurrence. Now after searching online this is a prevalent problem.
Driver's side seat started smoking within a few seconds of starting the vehicle while backing out of parking place. Seat heater was on. Immediately stopped and turned off seat heater and smoking stopped. Quarter size hole was burned into the leather seat bottom on the driver's side outside panel. Took it to darrell waltrip Volvo/Subaru in franklin, tn, and they said it was the seat heater and took the fuse out. Said it wasn't covered under warranty and no recall out. Hope no one has this problem driving down the interstate. Best regards and thanks for all your hard work, [redacted]
Car was in park and running when electrical wires to the windshield wipers caught fire. The bundle of wires are housed in a rubber tube. My understanding is rubber is quite fire-resistant. There have been 5 recalls on this model, two which were related to electrical fires. Neither applied to this particular car fire. Local Volvo dealership wants nothing to do with the situation; they send us to corporate customer service and they, in turn send us back to the local dealership . Service manager said he was not a knowledgeable fire inspector and suggested that we hire an expert in that field.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Volvo S60. While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled and was pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was restarted and there were no warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Volvo S60. While driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled and the check engine light illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, restarted the vehicle, and resumed driving. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
Volvo s60r seat issue. Turned seat heater on, felt very warm sensation on my left hip/leg after a few minutes. Turned seat heater off and got out of car to check what was happening. Seat heater burned through the leather and also my jeans. Is there a recall/fix? Seems extremely dangerous.
This is what is happening to me with my 2004 t2.5 S60 Volvo. I called Volvo and they said no recalls yet I see this same thing happening to other, it has to be a defect with the car. My happens when the weather gets hot here in california. I had no problems this winter, but yesterday it was in the mid to high 80?s and the problem happened again! No warning to the events. On numerous occasions, the car feels as if it has hit a large object, temporarily lurches and appears to momentarily stall creating a temporary loss of vehicle control. This is followed by an immediate loss of all instrument gauges, air conditioner, window controls and door locks. The fan did continue to work. The ABS warning light also indicated as well as a warning that no brakes function existed. The SRS service air bag urgent indication is illuminated. …
Purchased this car in 2010 with 51,000 miles. Shortly after purchase check engine light came on with service engine soon message. Car worked fine. Then brake failure message came on, brakes worked fine. Took vehicle to Volvo dealership and they found a way to "reset" system. Go in trunk, remove black battery cable, touch it to red battery cable for approx 10 seconds and the system will. We've reset the system countless times and it continues to be a problem. About 3 months ago all gauges would quit working and car would randomly brake at about 45 MPH. Plus after coming to stop, car would barely move but after it got going it would be fine. Reset system and it worked for about 3 miles and happen again. Volvo mechanic found AWD (dem) control module failure. Replaced this at $1500 for the part and after 50 miles, gauges still work, no random braking and acceleration is normal. …
I own a 2004 Volvo s60r that has turn signal issues. There was no event leading up to the failure. Simply one day it no longer worked 100% of the time. When using the turn indicator stock to signal a left turn it will not do so if I fully depress it into the lock position. If I hold it only part of the way before it locks into the position it sometimes works. If I do put it into the fully locked position and turn the steering wheel sometimes it May work and sometimes it May not. This only effects the left turn signal and not the right. I saw the following article (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-26/Volvo-suvs-examined-for-electronics-flaws-u-s-says.html) about the 2004 - 2005 xc90 exhibiting the same behavior with the turn signal stalk intermittently working. …
Electrical complaints in other S60 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2004 Volvo S60?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the electrical system of the 2004 Volvo S60, 11% of the model year's 198 complaints. The component named most often is ignition (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Volvo S60 electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2004 Volvo S60, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Volvo S60 electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 107,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 4 fires and 0 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.