Volvo 850
Owners filed 569 complaints across 7 model years of the Volvo 850. The 1996 drew the most (192).
Model years7
Complaints569
Recalls13
Fires42
Deaths2
Which Volvo 850 years should you avoid?
Going by 569 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Volvo 850 years to avoid are 1996.
- 19962.1× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (20 fires, 12 crashes, 2 deaths).
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Volvo 850 model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | — | — | Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Cooling Unit and Lines | Routine | |
| 1997 | 107 | 3 | 7 | 7 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | Routine | |
| 1996Avoid | 192 | 3 | 20 | 12 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | Fatalities reported | |
| 1995 | 111 | 3 | 9 | 11 | Air Bags › Frontal | Routine | |
| 1994 | 83 | 3 | 3 | 6 | Tires | Routine | |
| 1993 | 73 | 1 | 3 | 3 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.