1993 Volvo 940 problems & reliability
23 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1993 Volvo 940. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
4 complaints report injuries (4 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 5 | 22% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 5 | 22% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 13% |
| Tires | 3 | 13% |
| Electrical System | 2 | 9% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 9% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 4% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | 4% |
| Power Train | 1 | 4% |
| Suspension | 1 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 12 reported components →Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Tl*the contact owns a 1993 volvo 940. The vehicle has dunlop tires, size p205/60r15. The contact stated that the valve stems on three out of the four tires were bad and caused the tires to flatten. He stated that the tires had only been on the road for six months, when during the course of one week, the valve stem…”
Tires · filed Aug 13, 2007
“In january 2002 we purchased a set of 4 dunlop winter sport m2 snow tires 205/55r16 for a volvo 940 turbo sedan. We have had 3 sidewall failures of these snow tires running only 5700 miles, with 2 active blowouts & 1 large sidewall blister. Tires were used only in winter. There is hardly any wear on the treads. The…”
Tires · filed Dec 13, 2005
“While pumping fuel into vehicle, fuel would spill from top of fuel tank and puddle under vehicle. Fuel tank and hoses/fittings were inspected by an independant garage. Investigation revealed a 3 inch split to fuel overflow hose on main hose connecting fuel filler to fuel tank main hose replaced. Dt”
Fuel System, Gasoline · filed Nov 20, 2002
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- INADVERT. AIR BAG DEPLOYS
Engineering Analysis EA94015 · opened Apr 20, 1994 · closed Oct 12, 1994 · led to recall 94V185000
Technical service bulletins
68 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1993 Volvo 940. The 10 most recent:
VIDA QR Scanner Mobile App
356EN01 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 9, 2022
Shipping and Handling of Volvo Lithium-ion 48V Mild Hybrid Battery to Global Battery Solutions (GBS)
Service Manager · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 3, 2022
Mandatory Tool List bulletin: Volvo mandatory Special Tools are necessary for technicians to properly diagnose and repair Volvo cars. They are used in development of Volvo labor operations and repair methods, and…
ST-001-2020-09-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2020
Mandatory Tool List bulletin: Volvo mandatory Special Tools are necessary for technicians to properly diagnose and repair Volvo cars. They are used in development of Volvo labor operations and repair methods, and…
ST-001-2020-06-2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2020
Mandatory Tool List bulletin: Volvo mandatory Special Tools are necessary for technicians to properly diagnose and repair Volvo cars. They are used in development of Volvo labor operations and repair methods, and…
ST-001-2020-01-2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 30, 2020
This is a Technical Journal: Swapping control modules from vehicle to vehicle for diagnostics should be avoided. Swapping control modules may result in consequential damage to the swapped control module and in certain…
TJ31946.1.2-2019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 19, 2019
This is a Technical Journal: Swapping control modules from vehicle to vehicle for diagnostics should be avoided. Swapping control modules may result in consequential damage to the swapped control module and in certain…
TJ31946.1.1-2019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 14, 2019
Software Installation Policy changes.
SMB00-006-2019-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 9, 2019
This is a Service Manager Bulletin: Technician Skillset Requirments
SMB00-438-2019-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 9, 2019
Mandatory Tool List bulletin: Volvo mandatory Special Tools are necessary for technicians to properly diagnose and repair Volvo cars. They are used in development of Volvo labor operations and repair methods, and…
ST-001-2019-10-1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 17, 2019
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1993 Volvo 940 in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1993 Volvo 940?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.