Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Volvo S80 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driving on freeway at night, experienced a sudden loss of power. Engine check light came on. Fortunately coasted to a stop on an exit ramp. Upon stopping observed smoke coming through the edges of the hood. Turned off the ignition and exited the car. Noticed a flame under the engine compartment. Within one minute the front end of the car burst into flames and burned in a bright yellow fireball estimated to be 20 feet high. It burned until the fire trucks arrived 20 minutes later. The heat was extremely intense. The hood vaporized, metal parts of the engine melted, tires exploded. Car had a full tank of gas and strongly suspect malfunction of fuel system. Had we been trapped in the car on the freeway, there could have been four fatalities.
Tl contact owns a 2000 Volvo S80. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact noticed smoke and pulled the vehicle off the road. He opened the hood and noticed flames. He was unsuccessful at extinguishing the fire and called the fire department, who stated that the cooling fan caused an electrical fire. The contact's mechanic informed him of a recall regarding the cooling fan. The VIN and NHTSA campaign id number were unknown. The failure and current mileages were 78,000.
As I was driving I heard a bang and saw smoke coming from underneath and behind the passenger seat and quickly fire spreading throughout the back of the vehicle. The rear window blew out. The car would not stop as I drove the vehicle off the street. I had to throw myself out of the vehicle. The entire vehicle was inflamed and exploded.
My wife was driving the car and making a left turn across traffic (with plenty of room to make the turn). As she decelerated to make the turn, the car died. As this happened, of course all power steering and brakes were lost. She narrowly avoided an accident, as she was stuck out in the intersection. I have spent some time researching this problem and its causes and I have found ample supporting information that many owners of this vehicle are having this problem of the car dying on deceleration. The problem is apparently due to an electronic throttle module (etm). This is a unique system installed by Volvo that does away with the traditional throttle cable. Apparently these devices are failing regularly, and must be replaced to the tune of about $1000 cost to the owner of the vehicle. …
At 70mph my car said reduced performance, and within 30 sec. My cruise control failed, the car reduced to 5mph, and there was no acceleration. I was in 5 lanes of rush hour traffic doing 70-80mph. An eighteen wheeler skidded approx. 50 feet in order to avoid hitting me. He then had to block off two lanes of traffic to assist me to the shoulder. My car would only coast. It was a near death experience for me. I'm thankful my children were not with me. After being turned off over night, my husband attempted to drive it to the Volvo dealership. He experienced the same. We were told that it was due to a computer chip malfunction. A chip which controls the throttle, fuel-injection, and cruise control. Wow! The service rep. "we haven't seen anymore problems after replacing the chip". We asked why has this not been recalled. The rep. …
Shortly after my vehicle's 60K mile service, I noticed slight hesitation while crusing around 60 miles per hour on highway. Once I experience the hesitation, the enginer service light would come on then the "engine system service urgent" message would come on as well. When the hesitation starts, I would feel as if I no longer have the full control of the gas throttle as it does not respond at all. Eg. When I take off my foot off the gas pedal, I would feel a sudden surge in vehicle acceleration! While waiting to get the car serviced by my dealed to take a look at the problem, the warning lights would come and go. Finally, during my trip to get my car serviced, the gas throttle stop responding thus the car cruised to a full stop. I was able to restart the car after about 15 minutes and continue with my journey. …
I get performance reduced messages on my 2000 Volvo S80 message console, and the car will slow down almost to a stop. This has happened more than 100 times to me - even at highway speeds. I have to put the hazard lights on, and make my way off of the road on to the shoulder. If I turn the car off, and restart the car, (often several times), the car seems to "reset" and I can often drive on. Westside Volvo of cleveland, ohio has quoted me between $1,200 and $2,000 to fix this problem, and has told me it is the "etm". My car has 106,000 miles on it. The dealer has told me that the unit was "designed only to last until 100,000" miles, and that only a Volvo dealer can replace it - because of computer software that must be encoded on the part. …
My 200 Volvo S80 stalled intermittently in 2003, so I had the throttle body 2000 cleaned at 48,989 miles when my car was still under warranty. A service on April 19, 2005 showed "no codes" though my car has been stalling periodically again since March of this year in a variety of dangerous settings: pulling up to a crowded curb at my kids' school, attempting to stop at a stop sign in a crowded intersection, driving 40 MPH on a busy street, driving around a traffic circle in a mountain town, etc. My car has stalled 10-15 times since March. Each time, it was extremely difficult to steer, to brake and attempt to put my car in neutral and restart it when it stalled. Almost all of the times it stalled, it created a dangerous situation for me, for other drivers around me and for pedestrians. A visit to the service center today reveals that I need to spend $1,150 to replace the throttle body. …
Over the course of ownership of a 2000 Volvo S80 (I.e., four years), I have the transmission overhauled at 67,000 miles;had the throttle replaced when my car choked ( luckily on a side street); had a bar on the sunroof drop off; engine mounts broken; wheel stops broken; and, most recently replaced an ABS panel. Not withstanding in any of these incidents is the cooling fan and ball joint replaced due to recall. Truly this car has been more expensive than any other known to be driven. Every trip to the dealership is easily $1000 plus. At the time of purchase, the research was scant in terms of problems. I have truly been dismayed by Volvo's commitment to its product and is design flaws and/or defects. After, the transmission was corrected at the dealership, I went to trade the car in---to purchase another car. …
Driving in the city and when trying to stop on a traffic light the brakes became hard and engine was not running well. When I tried to drive off in the green light the speed control of the gas pedal was very chaotic. I got a message of engine system service required. I took the car to the local Volvo dealer and he diagnosed a faulty throttle etm asking 2000 $ to replace. After researching I found that there was already a recall on that by Volvo and when I asked the dealer he said that this was true but my car was more than 10 years old ( although he could have informed me about that in the first place). He informed me that a software service on the etm of my car was done in 2006 ( after the recall?) but this did not fix the problem as apparently the problem is with the etm design ( faltering potentiometer). …
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling › Cooling system › Fan
On certain passenger and sport utility vehicles, under certain operating conditions, some electric cooling fans May overheat potentially causing heat damage and, in rare instances, a fire in the engine compartment.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the cooling fan. The recall began on November 29, 2004. Customers should contact Volvo cars at 1-800-458-1552.
Engine complaints in other S80 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2000 Volvo S80?
NHTSA has 71 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2000 Volvo S80, 22% of the model year's 318 complaints. The component named most often is engine (19 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Volvo S80 engine problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 04V-451 (fan, Sep 13, 2004). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2000 Volvo S80 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 78,000 miles, and 6% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 4 fires and 1 injury 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.