MODELYEARINDEX

Volvo XC40

273 complaints across 3 scored model years and 13 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Volvo XC40 Full report
F
Grade 2019–2021
2021 vs model median 2.2×
Model median3× median
Driver Assist 16
Electrical 12
Fuel System 7
Avoid

2021

Best

2019 · 2020

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2019
1.00× 22 C
2020
0.51× 13 B
2021
2.15× 65 F
2022 P
1.73× 46 D
2023 P
2.86× 62 F
2024 P
2.08× 45 F
2025 P
0.72× 20 B

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG25.5
City / Highway22.5 / 31
Engine2L, 4 cyl
DriveFront-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,700

Recalls

13 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
25V282000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE 2021–2025 413,151
25V908000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE 2021–2025 413,151
20V144000 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING 2019, 2020 121,605
23V012000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 2023 27,457
21V682000 SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR 2021 19,149
18V800000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE 2019 17,548
24V010000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE 2024 17,409
25V392000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:ELECTRIC:CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE 2024 11,469

+ 5 further campaigns

Others in Subcompact SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Alfa Romeo Stelvio
2018
C
Audi E-Tron
none flagged
C
Audi Q3
20202021
C
BMW X1
2014
C
Buick Encore
2015
C
Buick Encore GX
none flagged
B
Cadillac XT4
none flagged
B
Chevrolet Captiva
none flagged
B

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2021 XC40
Complaints in window
65
Severity-weighted
91.5
Model median (weighted)
42
vs model median
2.15×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
5
Open investigations
0
Score 33.7 F