Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Volvo S60 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2012 Volvo S60. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she smelled a burning odor in the interior of the vehicle, after which the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle failed to restart. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact became aware that the engine was without oil; however, the low oil warning light was not illuminated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V592000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Volvo S60. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and parked on the side of the road and turned off the vehicle but it was unable to be restarted. The contact stated the vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V592000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Volvo S60. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the drive belt had failed, causing damage to the timing cover and other drive belts. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 62,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Volvo S60. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, an unknown belt fractured, and the vehicle failed to start. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, who informed the contact about diagnostic testing, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
I was on my was home from work and I Engine Started to malfunction In the middle of the street I got help to push out of the street waited a few minutes and it started back up thank God it got me home but now I'm still having problems
I was driving on my way back home. When my car started to knock. As I was slowing down to pull over. My oil pressure light came on. Granted, the reason was unknown. I had just recently checked the oil level. I got out to check the dipstick to find smoke coming out where the dipstick was. Curious as I was, I had no oil which left me puzzled. After some research, I found that my car had a recall on it for oil consumption. I called and asked a rep if they could verify if my vehicle was serviced for the issue. But without a doubt, he said it was. I just want to know if the problem was fixed. I currently can't crank my vehicle. I even dug into it myself and found that I had a bad starter nd battery. After replacing the two. I still can't get my vehicle to turn over. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you, [redacted]
I experienced an engine issue that I believe is related to excessive oil consumption and the lack of an oil pressure light warning. The car was driven out of town when a noise was heard coming from the engine. A visual inspection of the engine revealed smoke coming from the engine department when the oil cap was removed. The dipstick was checked and showed no visible oil on the stick. Later in that evening, 3 additional quarts of oil were added to the engine but the addition of oil did not remedy the noise from the engine. The final result was that the car was towed to a Volvo dealership in Florida for repair. I checked the status of the recalls (oil comsumption and no oil pressure light) and the status is closed. From what I can tell, this issue appears to be directly related to previous recalls for the vehicle.
Discovered that my engine is burning oil. There was no warning from my vehicle or from Volvo (during regular maintenance) that this was happening. It was just sudden that the check engine light went on and I checked the oil and found that it was basically empty. Volvo confirmed that the engine is burning oil and that this model and make was discovered to have this engine issue. Volvo did not offer a solution other than to buy a new vehicle to replace this one. In my research online, this problem is common for this model and make 2012 S60 T5, may other have reported the same issue and it seems that there is a recall for this problem but my vehicle (VIN) does not report this to be a problem for my car. I'm not sure what to do.
Engine has failed and is unrepairable. The car has been maintained well according to the manufacturer's guidelines with regular oil changes. It has only 94,875 miles. The mechanic said that there is probably a piston gasket failure leading to oil leak into the engine. This appears to have been reported with this year/model vehicles. I would like Volvo to take ownership of poor manufacturing and fix the problem to my satisfaction.
It looks as if my car should have been included in the 62Vin recall for engine sensor not stating low oil. Car started to knock and shutoff with no warning for low oil pressure. Diagnostic show oil was issue but even when completely drained car still does not display low oil which caused motor to blow. Contacted volvo and they would not add vehicle to recalls even though car year manufactured period and engine vin matched recall.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling › Engine
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC (Volvo) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 S60 vehicles manufactured June 22, 2010, through May 14, 2012, and equipped with 5-cylinder B5254T5 (VIN code 62) engines. In the affected vehicles, the vehicle may not alert the driver of a low oil pressure situation.
Remedy: Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will update the vehicle's software so that the driver is alerted should there be a low oil pressure situation, free of charge. The recall began on January 10, 2014.
Engine complaints in other S60 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2012 Volvo S60?
NHTSA has 62 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2012 Volvo S60, 51% of the model year's 121 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2012 Volvo S60 engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 13V-592 (engine, Nov 22, 2013). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2012 Volvo S60 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 86,000 miles, and 2% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to engine & cooling 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.