Buyer Research

2013 Volvo S60 — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $7,000–$11,000. There is 1 high-severity known issue you need to know before handing over a check.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 14 Volvo S60 years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Same story as the 2012, a little quieter: 36 of 85 complaints are the five-cylinder T5 burning oil until it runs dry, and one owner quotes a 2023 letter from Volvo acknowledging excessive oil consumption on certain 2013–2016 cars. The oil-pressure-warning recall that covered 2011–2012 does not extend to this year, so a 2013 T5 can still go quiet and then knock. Two later recalls — door latches and front seat belt anchors — need a VIN check. It is a lovely car to sit in; buy a T5 only with oil-change receipts and a dipstick reading you took yourself, or find a T6.

What we checked

Reconciled against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 85 owner complaints for the 2013 Volvo S60, and 4 recall campaigns.

A big number here usually means a lot of these were sold, not that it is a bad vehicle — popular models collect more complaints for the same rate of trouble. So the total on its own says little. What is worth reading is the shape of it. 42% of them are about one thing — the engine. That much concentration is a genuine pattern rather than background noise, and it is the first thing to check on any example you look at.

4 recall campaigns cover this model year. Recalls are repaired free, for any owner, with no time limit on most safety campaigns — but only if someone books it in. Ask the seller to show it was done, or have any dealer check the VIN; it takes them a couple of minutes and costs nothing.

Looked at and set aside: airbags (7) — Five of seven complaints are airbags that did not deploy in a crash, which a buyer cannot inspect for; one is a deployment at 30 mph with no impact. The only airbag recall on this year, 12V439, was an SRS control unit replaced at the port before the cars were sold. Nothing here names a part a buyer can check.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2013 Volvo S60

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Five-cylinder T5 oil consumption — engines run dry and knock, some replaced twiceHigh — wallet impact

Forty-two percent of the record. The 2.5L five-cylinder's piston rings let it burn a quart every few hundred miles, and owners describe the oil light flashing at 40 mph with a dry dipstick, an engine knocking a thousand miles before its next change, and one car whose replacement engine failed the same way. One owner quotes a 2023 Volvo USA notice acknowledging the problem on certain 2013–2016 models — ask a Volvo dealer whether this VIN was covered and whether the repair was done, rather than trusting a listing. Check the dipstick yourself, look for blue smoke on a hard pull, and ask for every oil-change receipt. The T6 six-cylinder is not part of this pattern.

Repair cost (estimate): $2,500–$4,500 for pistons and rings; $6,000–$9,000 for a replacement engine — more than this car is typically worth

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (36).

Door latches can break (recall), and doors that stop locking or set off the alarmMedium

Recall 19V849 replaces all four door latches on 2011–2017 S60s because a part inside can fracture and leave a door unlatched while looking shut. The electrical complaints on this year line up with it: a driver's door that has to be slammed to lock, a trunk that ignores the fob, a door that triggers the alarm when opened, and one car with corrosion in the door wiring that killed the windows and locks. The same cluster holds a dead blower motor and a TPMS light no dealer could calibrate away. Shut and lock every door from the fob and listen for the confirmation beep; run the blower through all speeds.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed; $150–$400 for a blower resistor or motor; $300–$700 for a lock actuator

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under electrics and electronics (7); 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Front seat belt anchor cable can fail (recall)Medium

Recall 20V378 covers 2011–2018 S60s: the steel cable tying each front seat belt to the seat can wear through with years of use and may not hold in a crash. Both cables are replaced free. The recall was issued in late 2020, when these cars were already changing hands on the used market, so the notice often went to a previous owner. Check the VIN, and pull each front belt fully out to feel for smooth travel and look at the lower anchor for fraying.

Repair cost: $0 with the recall — verify it was performed

Source: 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on this model year.

Exhaust leak at the turbo — fumes in the cabin, no warning lightMedium

One owner found a loose bolt at the turbocharger letting exhaust into the cabin, with no code and no light. It is a single report, but a turbo-to-manifold or downpipe leak on a car this age is common enough to be worth a sniff: with the engine cold, start it and stand at the open driver's window for a minute. An exhaust smell inside, or a ticking from the engine bay that fades as the metal warms, is a gasket or stud, cheap if caught early and expensive if the stud has to be drilled out.

Repair cost (estimate): $200–$600 for a gasket or studs; $800–$1,500 if the manifold or turbo flange is damaged

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the engine (36).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Dipstick below the minimum mark on a car the seller says was just serviced
✗Blue smoke from the tailpipe under hard acceleration
✗Ticking from the engine bay on a cold start that fades as it warms
✗Driver's door that needs slamming before the lock beep sounds
✗Either 2019 or 2020 recall still open on the VIN lookup

Good Signs

✓Volvo dealer invoice for new pistons and rings, or a replacement engine, with mileage at repair
✓Recalls 19V849 and 20V378 shown closed on the NHTSA VIN lookup
✓T6 six-cylinder engine, which is outside the five-cylinder oil consumption pattern
✓Oil-change receipts at 5,000-mile intervals with the level noted at each visit
✓Blower fan working on every speed and all four doors locking on the fob with the beep