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2012 Volvo C30

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 4 of 10 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Visibility/wiper. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 1 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

1 reports
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23,328 miles · Apr 23, 2014
Service Brakes

A MESSAGE THAT READ "ABS BRAKE SYSTEM NEEDS SERVICE" CAME ON IN MY 2012 VOLVO C30 TUESDAY, MARCH 18. I CALLED THE SERVICE DEPT OF THE DEALERSHIP - HE SAID HE KNEW WHAT IT WAS AND TO BRING IT IN EITHER THURS OR FRI. I CHOSE FRIDAY MORNING. WEDNESDAY ABOUT 3PM AS I WAS DOWNSHIFTING TO SLOW THEN APPLIED MY BRAKES THERE WAS NO BRAKI…

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A MESSAGE THAT READ "ABS BRAKE SYSTEM NEEDS SERVICE" CAME ON IN MY 2012 VOLVO C30 TUESDAY, MARCH 18. I CALLED THE SERVICE DEPT OF THE DEALERSHIP - HE SAID HE KNEW WHAT IT WAS AND TO BRING IT IN EITHER THURS OR FRI. I CHOSE FRIDAY MORNING. WEDNESDAY ABOUT 3PM AS I WAS DOWNSHIFTING TO SLOW THEN APPLIED MY BRAKES THERE WAS NO BRAKING ACTION. I WAS ABLE TO PULL INTO THE LEFT TURN LANE TO AVOID RUNNING INTO THE CAR AHEAD OF ME AND THEN THE BRAKES ENGAGED. I PULLED OVER AND CALLED THE DEALERSHIP. THEY SAID BRING IT IN RIGHT THEN. I WAS A BIT FLUSTERED AND SO STUPIDLY DROVE THE CAR INTO DEALERSHIP ABOUT 4 OR 5 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I WAS. WHEN I PICKED THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING, I ASKED WHAT THE ISSUE WAS. THE SERVICE PERSON SAID THAT SOME COMPONENT OF THE BRAKE CAME APART (I DON'T RECALL IF HE SAID THE NAME OF THE PART) AND THEY PUT A CLAMP ON IT. I ASKED HOW LONG THIS ISSUE HAD BEEN OCCURRING - HE SAID FOR "MORE THAN A YEAR". I'VE SUBSEQUENTLY CALLED THE OWNER OF THE DEALERSHIP AND HE WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT SAID THERE WAS NO RECALL FROM VOLVO AND HE COULDN'T AFFORD TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM ON ALL THE C30S UNTIL THE ISSUE AROSE AND VOLVO WOULD THEN REIMBURSE HIS DEALERSHIP FOR THE REPAIR. I THEN CALLED VOLVO CUSTOMER CARE APRIL 16TH AND COULD NOT GET A STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM THE PERSON I SPOKE WITH ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE. CLEARLY I WILL BE SELLING THIS CAR BUT WANT TO ENSURE THE PUBLIC IS MADE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF A BRAKE FAILURE ON THE 2012 C30S. UPDATED 5/21/14*CN UPDATED 06/03/2014 *JS

NHTSA ODI #10584502

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.