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2020 Volvo XC40

Gas

Small Sport Utility Vehicle 2WD
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-10-26

Safety Signal

92 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns 1

Complaints1 crash · 2 injured reported 12

Crash ratingNHTSA overall 5★

Fuel economybest combined, EPA 27 mpg

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018

The 2020 Volvo XC40 is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the XC40 FWD, is EPA-rated at 27 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of A. Owners have filed 12 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Volvo XC40 — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Volvo XC40 · Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Annual fuel*
XC40 FWD	Gas	FWD	2.0L 4-cyl turbo	23	33	27	$2,500
XC40 AWD	Gas	AWD	2.0L 4-cyl turbo	22	30	25	$3,300

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 41503, 41509.

Emissions & certification

Source: EPA emission certificates

Configuration	Smog rating	Emission standard	Where it can be sold new	SmartWay
XC40 FWD	5 / 10	California LEV-III ULEV70 / Federal Tier 3 Bin 70	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards	—
XC40 AWD	5 / 10	Federal Tier 3 Bin 70	All 50 states (federal, all altitudes)	—

Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.

The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.

Specifications filed with NHTSA

Source: NHTSA vPIC

Dimensions Exterior

Body style	Sport Utility Vehicle [SUV]/Multipurpose Vehicle [MPV]
GVWR class	Class 1C: 4,001 - 5,000 lb (1,814 - 2,268 kg)

Engine Basics

Cylinders	4
Displacement	2 L

Engine Output

Horsepower

248 hp

Fuel Economy

Fuel	Gasoline

Seating

Seat rows	2
Seating capacity	5 seats

Transmission

Drivetrain	AWD/All-Wheel Drive
Transmission	Automatic
Transmission speeds	8

Driver assistance

Standard: Anti-lock brakes, Automatic emergency braking, Backup camera, Electronic stability control, Forward collision warning, Lane departure warning, Lane keeping assist, Pedestrian automatic emergency braking

Optional: Adaptive cruise control, Blind-spot monitoring, Parking assist, Rear cross-traffic alert

Filed by the manufacturer with NHTSA under the federal vehicle-identification rule and decoded from the VIN pattern — not a manufacturer press kit, so it describes the configurations we could identify rather than every trim (seen: Inscription, Momentum, R-Design). Figures for the trim you are looking at may differ.

Dimensions & weight

Source: Transport Canada

Length	174.4 in
Width (body, without mirrors)	73.2 in
Height	65.0 in
Wheelbase	106.3 in
Track, front	63.0 in
Track, rear	64.2 in
Curb weight	3,708 lb
Weight distribution, front/rear	59/41

Measured by Transport Canada for its Canadian Vehicle Specifications database, which covers the North American versions of each model — here one configuration: 4-door SUV. Where a range is shown, those versions differ. Width is the body without mirrors, which is why it can read narrower than a brochure figure. Before we used it we checked it against the US manufacturer press kits we hold (27 Sep 2026): wheelbase agreed within 1% on every vehicle we could compare, length on 98%, and the curb weight fell inside the manufacturer's range on 96%. Source dataset. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Licence.

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Recalls (1)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Forward Collision Avoidance

R29998

121,605 vehicles 100% reported repaired

Problem Volvo Cars USA LLC (Volvo Cars) is recalling certain 2019-2020 S60, V60, V60 Cross Country, S90L, V90, V90 Cross Country, XC40, XC60, and XC90 vehicles. Due to a software/hardware incompatibility, the Automatic Emergency Brake (AEB) system may not detect obstacles and engage as intended. Risk If the automatic emergency braking system does not engage as intended, it can increase the risk of a crash. Fix Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will update the Active Safety Domain Master (ASDM) software, free of charge. The recall began April 9, 2020. Owners may contact Volvo customer service at 1-800-458-1552. Volvo's number for this recall is R29998.

Filed with NHTSAOwner letter PDF Remedy instructions PDF

NHTSA campaign 20V144000 reported Mar 12, 2020 Volvo Car USA LLC the full filing, and every vehicle covered →

These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.

Whether any of this applies to one specific XC40

A campaign covers a build range, not a model year, so two identical-looking cars from 2020 can differ. Both of these check a VIN against the manufacturer’s own list, free, in about ten seconds. Volvo publishes its own lookup because federal rule 49 CFR 573.15 requires it to, and to keep it current to within seven days.

NHTSA VIN check →Volvo’s own VIN lookup →

Hear about a recall before the letter does

The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2020 Volvo XC40, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

12complaints filed

1 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

5.4 per 10,000 built · Volvo reported 22,263 XC40 built (its Early Warning production report to NHTSA)

Filed per year: 2020: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2023: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2026: 4

Most-cited components

Electrical System 4

Service Brakes 3

Forward Collision Avoidance 3

Power Train 3

Engine 3

Seat Belts 1

In owners' own words

Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.

The cooling system cracked, malfunctioned and caused a domino effect of multiple repair issues costing at least $5,200. My car is currently at a Volvo dealer. My Safety: The possibility of the hot engine and hot wires could have resulted in a fire. This problem HAS been reproduced and confirmed by a Volvo dealer.

Electrical System Aug 19, 2026 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11757999

The rear backup camera display system failed, resulting in a completely blank or black center infotainment screen when the vehicle is shifted into reverse. Yes, the vehicle and its Sensus infotainment system software logs are available for inspection upon request.

Back Over Prevention May 23, 2026 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11739661

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR ODI#11708898. I am providing additional documentation to this ODI case. I had to create a new complaint since there appears to be no way on-line to add this information. Gunther Volvo has not provided ANY status updates of my vehicle which has been in their possession since Sunday, January 4, 2026.

Service Brakes Jan 19, 2026 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11711852

On 01/04/2026, while operating a gas-powered 2024 Volvo XC40, the vehicle experienced a catastrophic Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) event while stationary at a red light. With the service brake fully depressed, the internal combustion engine began to surge and rev uncontrollably, making loud noises.

Power Train Jan 5, 2026 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11708898

Air Bags did not deploy when car hit another vehicle that failed to stop and DUI. Volvo was traveling at 35MPH and vehicle hit was traveling 35+. Vehicle is available for inspection at this time. Driver experiencing bodily injuries (neck, shoulders, back, ribs, and legs, etc. as well as affects of a concussion.

Air Bags Sep 29, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11487120

Vehicle suddenly puts on the brakes, for no reason. Has happened 3 times, 2 in parking lots and 1 while driving down the road, suddenly swerved for no reason. Could cause injuries to driver and passenger

Forward Collision Avoidance Apr 28, 2022 NHTSA owner report · ODI 11462585

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Reported by Volvo itself: 3 death-or-injury claims on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 1 killed, 2 injured, as claimed, not verified — about 13 per 100,000 built. Every XC40 model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

Configuration	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover	Rollover risk
SUV AWD	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★☆	16%
SUV FWD	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★☆	16%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Service bulletins & campaigns

Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications

Communicationsfiled with NHTSA 232

Most recentmanufacturer date 2026-05-23

Kindsas classified by NHTSA 227 service bulletins, 3 others, 2 service campaigns

Most often about: Equipment, Electrical System, Unknown Or Other, Engine, Structure.

33031.6.0 Service bulletin
2026-05-23 · Unknown Or Other
This is a Technical Journal: Text plus 1 .jpg attachment - If remote control key is not detected by the car and shows message in DIM "Car key not found" or if functions such as lock/unlock are not working, please follow advice for detecting key
36496.10.0 Service bulletin
2026-05-07 · Power Train
This is a Technical Journal: Intermittent knocking noise during acceleration. If the sound corresponds to attached sound file, change front drive shafts to the below part numbers.
34521.11.1 Service bulletin
2026-05-07 · Exterior Lighting
This is a Technical Journal: Headlamp condensation inside lens - information/leak test. If the result is not ok (air leak), it is ok to replace the headlamp
35526.1.8 Service bulletin
2026-04-23 · Engine
This is a Technical Journal: Text plus 2 PDFs and 1 .PNG Oil Consumption test. Perform the test. Follow service procedure Description and Service sections updated to clarify that vehicle reports are not required.
37809.1.1 Service bulletin
2026-04-07 · Unknown Or Other
This is a TJ text only - The purpose of this TJ is to be a master reference list to easily identify any components that are on prior approval. This TJ will be regularily updated as items are added or removed from prior approval. Current items under prior approval are listed in the "Service" section
34521.10.0 Service bulletin
2026-03-21 · Exterior Lighting
This is a Technical Journal: Headlamp condensation inside lens - information/leak test. If the result is not ok (air leak), it is ok to replace the headlamp
28874 Service bulletin
2026-01-08 · Unknown Or Other
This is a TJ If detected during Pre-delivery inspection or if customer complaints of chipped/cracked/distorted screen/glass within 6 months in service we request more information, follow advise under "Service".
34521 Service bulletin
2025-12-20 · Exterior Lighting
This is a Technical Journal: Headlamp condensation inside lens - information/leak test. If the result is not ok (air leak), it is ok to replace the headlamp

A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.

At the New York inspection station

Source: New York State DMV

New York inspections 0.96%

failed emissions

1,046 initial inspections of 1,023 vehicles.

Measure	The 2020 XC40	Every 2020 vehicle	Behind it
Failed the emissions check	0.96%	2.2%	1,046
Failed the safety inspection	0.86%	1.6%	1,046
Air-bag warning lamp stayed lit	0.10%	0.19%	1,046
Miles driven a year	9,103	9,980	odometer at inspection
Average odometer	57,319	62,630	odometer at inspection

New York’s emissions test on these model years is an on-board diagnostics check: it fails a car whose check-engine light is on or whose self-tests have not finished. First inspections only, so a car that failed and came back is counted once; private and special plates, not taxis, livery or commercial plates. A rate appears only where at least 200 inspections stand behind it. “Every 2020 vehicle” is every 2020 model-year car, SUV and pickup inspected in the same window, all makes. This is the state’s record of test results, not a reliability score by itself. Source: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Inspections (data.ny.gov, Open NY terms).

XC40 by model year

all years, side by side →

Year Safety Recalls Complaints

2026 A 0 1 27 mpg 2025 A 2 11 26 mpg 2024 C 4 28 293 mi 2023 D 5 48 223 mi 2022 C 4 37 223 mi 2021 D 6 52 208 mi 2020 this page A 1 12 27 mpg 2019 D 4 30 Do not drive 2018 A 1 0 27 mpg

Common questions about the 2020 XC40

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Does the 2020 Volvo XC40 have any recalls?

NHTSA has posted 1 recall campaign for the 2020 Volvo XC40. The most serious on file is 20V144000, covering Forward Collision Avoidance. Check your own VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a recall applies to specific build ranges, not every car.

How safe is the 2020 Volvo XC40?

NHTSA gave the 2020 Volvo XC40 5 stars overall in its New Car Assessment Program tests — 5-star frontal crash, 5-star side crash, 4-star rollover. WhichTrim also grades it A (92/100) on its recall record, which is a different question from crash protection.

What is the fuel economy of the 2020 Volvo XC40?

Across the 2 EPA-rated configurations of the 2020 Volvo XC40, the best EPA combined figure is 27 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.

What are the dimensions of the 2020 Volvo XC40?

Transport Canada measured it at 174.4 in long, 73.2 in wide (body, without mirrors), 65.0 in tall, on a 106.3 in wheelbase. Curb weight: 3,708 lb. Those are its measurements of the North American versions; every figure is in the table above.

What do owners complain about on the 2020 Volvo XC40?

Owners have filed 12 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Volvo XC40, most often about electrical system, service brakes, forward collision avoidance. Of those, 1 involved a crash, 2 reported injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.

How clean is the 2020 Volvo XC40?

The EPA smog rating for the 2020 Volvo XC40 is 5 out of 10. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III ULEV70, Federal Tier 3 Bin 70 — which the table above lists per configuration.

Are there service bulletins for the 2020 Volvo XC40?

The manufacturer has filed 232 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2020 Volvo XC40, most often covering equipment, electrical system, unknown or other. The most recent is dated 2026-05-23. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.

How does the 2020 Volvo XC40 do at state inspection?

In New York’s inspection lanes over the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, the 2020 Volvo XC40 failed the emissions check on 0.96% of first inspections — lower than the 2.2% for every 2020 model-year vehicle inspected; and the safety inspection on 0.86% (every 2020 vehicle: 1.6%). The figures are New York State DMV’s own inspection records, first inspections only, and the table above sets each one against every vehicle of the same model year.

What we hold, and what an empty row means

Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.

Data	Held	Source	What it covers — or what empty means
Fuel economy & configurations	2 configurations	EPA certification records	Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures.
Emission certificates	2 configurations	EPA emission certificates	Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new.
Recalls	1	NHTSA recall campaigns	A complete federal register: every campaign covering this model year, with severity and advisory flags.
Owner complaints	12	NHTSA complaint database	Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold.
Crash ratings	2 tested	NHTSA NCAP	Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them.
Service bulletins	232	NHTSA manufacturer communications	Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall.
Investigations	none	NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation	No defect investigation has been opened.
Driver-assist crash reports	none	NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01	No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like.
Specifications filed with NHTSA	11 fields	NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns	What the manufacturer filed under the federal VIN rule — a configuration, not the full trim ladder.
Measured dimensions	7 fields	Transport Canada, Canadian Vehicle Specifications	Length, width, height, wheelbase, track and curb weight, measured on the North American versions.
Trims, pricing & equipment	none	Manufacturer press kit	We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind.

Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.

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