1997 Volvo 960 Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 1997 Volvo 960. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 23 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Smelled fuel in engine compartment,opened hood and found a leaking fuel injection supply rail. Leak stems from the end cap used on fuel rail towards the front of the engine near the thermostat housing and proceeds to drip vigorously down towards the intake manifold before evaporating and dripping…”
“Smelled fuel in engine compartment,opened hood and found a leaking fuel injection supply rail. Leak stems from the end cap used on fuel rail towards the front of the engine near the thermostat housing and proceeds to drip vigorously down towards the intake manifold before evaporating and dripping…”
“Customer 1997 volvo 960 engine failed due to timing belt pulley failure. **cc the entire engine had to be replaced because a head bolt had seized in the engine block. *jb”
“Driver side seat belt will not retract out of the retractor. This c leaves the driver without any restraint if involved in a crash. Dealer was notified.*ak”
“Check engine light came on then low coolant light. Suddenly lost power due to engine failure. It seized up due to overheating. Temperature gauge never registered hot. Radiator neck broke off at neck causing lost of coolant. Engine ruined. Dealer will not replace claiming thermostat stuck even…”
“Consumer had an accident during rain storm and air bags did not deploy. Hit tree with frontal impact. Contacted volvo, and volvo replied that vehicle performed the way it should had. *ak”
“Consumer was involved in a collision, and airbags did not deploy. Vehicle hit a tree, and had frontal impact. Consumer sustained injuries. Contacted dealer, and dealer stated vehicle had preformed up to standard. *ak”
“With no indication of overheating the engine overheated and was destroyed. The only idiot light to come on was the check engine light and that was after black smoke was coming from the engine. The temperature gauge never registered outside of the normal range and no other warning lights were…”
Defect investigations
INADVERTENT SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Volvo 960 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.