What breaks most · 1990 to 1998 model years
Volvo 940 problems by year
Owners have filed 122 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Volvo 940 across model years 1990 to 1998. Three years stand out: 1994 for air bags complaints, 1995 for air bags complaints and 1993 for air bags complaints. The quietest years are 1990, 1991 and 1992.
- Years to check closely: 1994, 1995, 1993
- Fewest complaints: 1990, 1991, 1992
- Complaints on file
- 1221990 to 1998, all trims
- Worst year
- 199441 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 345 fires · 25 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 119kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 3Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Steering (1) | |
| 11 | 1 | 2 | Air bags (3) | |
| 16 | 3 | 0 | Air bags (5) | |
| 23 | 8 | 1 | Air bags (5) | |
| 41 | 11 | 0 | Air bags (20) | |
| 27 | 10 | 0 | Air bags (9) | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (1) | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | Air bags (1) |
What fails on the 1994 Volvo 940
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 49% |
20 | 11 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 12% |
5 | 2 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 1994 Volvo 940 |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 10% |
4 | 0 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1994 Volvo 940 |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 10% |
4 | 1 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1994 Volvo 940 |
| Tires | 7% |
3 | 0 | — |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 7% |
3 | 0 | Shop suspension parts for the 1994 Volvo 940 |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 2% |
1 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 1994 Volvo 940 |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 2% |
1 | 0 | Shop all visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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Consumer was waiting with engine on and foot on brakes when vehicle started to surge/ accelerate on its own. Consumer had to put both foot on brakes with great force , and vehicle started to creep foward, and would not stop. ABS brakes kicked in. Consumer had to shift into park, and turn off ignition.*ak
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Noticed gas smell every time i filled gas looked under car and noticed gas puddling under car. Also gas puddling after parking of car. Have not taken tank down as of yet to trouble shoot problem but believe it to be a cracked gas tank as the amount of gas put into tank before leaking has steadily decreased.
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Auto-tran: shifted from drive to park, with foot still on brake, engine accelerated forward/backward; unusually high acceleration; vehicle hit wall/other cars.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Volvo 940 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1994, 1995, 1993 carry the most filings on the Volvo 940. The 1994 alone has 41 complaints, led by air bags.
What is the most common Volvo 940 problem?
On the 1994 model year, the most-reported component is air bags with 20 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Volvo 940 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Volvo 940 complaints that include mileage is about 119,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.