AutoUtility currently tracks 31 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Volvo XC60. Driver Assistance & Safety Tech issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 10 complaints (32.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 3 filings cite a crash, 4 report one or more injuries.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
9 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
5 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis
3 complaint narratives describe this symptom.
Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The contact owns a 2021 Volvo XC60. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds and turning, the front end of the vehicle made an abnormal grinding sound. Additionally, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized after turning, which required the contact to jam the steering..."
"Rear Center Seat seatbelt buckle does not latch."
"The passenger side rear door locked and could not be open from either the inside or the outside. The dealer concluded that the door lock failed in the locked position. It gained entry to the door panel with the door shut, removed the old lock, opened the door, installed a new lock assembly and..."
"Driving as normal through a major intersection and the car began to jerk and stutter when trying to accelerate. there was no warning or symptom prior to this issue, but upon it happening, the turtle warning light appeared and had the display had an engine system message saying "reduced..."
"Around 10/26/2024 I purchased a 2021 Volvo XC60 from Carvana. Carvana sells vehicles with a 100 day limited warranty. The manufacturer warranty was expired at this time. Carvana states they do an inspection of the vehicle prior to delivery. When I received the vehicle, I noticed the steering wheel..."
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Volvo XC60 | 47 | 3 | 1 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Volvo XC60 | 38 | 2 | 3 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Volvo XC60 | 16 | 2 | 4 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Volvo XC60 | 36 | 4 | 5 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Volvo XC60 | 36 | 5 | 8 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Volvo XC60 | 22 | 0 | 6 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Volvo XC60 Current Page | 31 | 3 | 5 | Current |
| 2022 Volvo XC60 | 70 | 3 | 6 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Volvo XC60 | 51 | 2 | 5 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Volvo XC60 | 23 | 4 | 2 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Volvo XC60 | 32 | 4 | 3 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Volvo XC60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | View 2026 Problems → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 24 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Volvo XC60
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Volvo XC60 is Driver Assistance & Safety Tech, appearing in 10 records (32.3% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Electrical System (9) and Brakes & Traction Control (7).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 31 consumer defect complaints and 5 safety recall campaigns for the 2021 Volvo XC60.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Volvo XC60, 3 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 4 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
NHTSA ODI records list 1 formal defect investigation involving the 2021 Volvo XC60 (all closed).
Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.