A 2.4 D5 is the lesser risk in a Volvo V70, with bills for its cambelt at 96,000 miles or 8 years and its tensioners, as a thrown belt wrecks the engine; skip a 2.0 D4 without recall proof.
4 known faults, 2 rated high severity in our database; owners report 41.9 mpg, 85% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
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Check a Volvo V70 advert (free) →The lesser risk in a V70 is the 2.4-litre five-cylinder D5, but only with bills showing the cambelt was changed at 96,000 miles or 8 years and any work done on the tensioners and idler pulleys. That's because the five-cylinder diesel has a serious known fault: between 46,000 and 65,000 miles a tensioner or pulley can give out before the belt's due, throw the belt and ruin the engine.
It isn't trouble-free beyond the belt. A 2010 service bulletin covered D5s with a particulate filter getting diesel into the sump during regeneration, the Geartronic auto behind the D5 185 has had a servo valve fault that brings bad hesitation, and the 205 twin-turbo has had oil level gauge failures and a noisy low-speed turbo. Check the oil level and drive an auto hard from a standstill before you commit.
The 2.0 D4 four-cylinder of the later cars needs the most proof. Volvo recalled UK 2.0 diesels sold between 2014 and 2018 because the plastic intake manifold could melt out of shape with a risk of fire, and the fix included a redesigned EGR coolant circuit and new software. Its EGR system clogging with soot is a known fault too, so don't buy one without the recall done and receipts for any EGR work.
The 2.0 five-cylinder D3 shares the D5's belt fault and has several owner reports against it, including a 2013 car that cracked its block at 95,000 miles despite oil changes every 18,000 miles. The 1.6 diesel has a known fault of its own, its particulate filter clogging on cars kept to short runs, so neither is an easy way round the D5's belt or the D4's EGR worries.
Every V70 diesel has something against it, and the 2.4 D5 is the lesser risk only when its belt work is proven. Its cambelt is due at 96,000 miles or 8 years, but the belt fault on the five-cylinder shows between 46,000 and 65,000 miles, when a tensioner or idler pulley can let go early and throw the belt. Fuel getting into the oil during particulate filter regeneration is a known fault too, and diluted oil needs changing.
D5 185s have drawn complaints of sluggish acceleration, put down to the engine software limiting pulling power in first and second to protect the gearbox and, on manuals, the dual-mass flywheel. On that engine the Geartronic automatic has had a servo valve problem that causes bad hesitation when you accelerate. The 205 twin-turbo D5 has had its electronic oil level gauge fail, bringing up a service-required message, and its low-speed turbo can get noisy.
The 2.0 D4 four-cylinder has its cambelt due at 90,000 miles or 10 years, with the aux belt and tensioner checked or changed at the same time. It's the diesel with the thickest file: the intake manifold fire recall on 2.0 diesels sold from 2014 to 2018, plus a known fault where its EGR system clogs with soot (one 2014 car needed a new cooler at 63,000 miles), one owner reporting failing injectors and diesel getting into the oil during regeneration on a 2015 car.
The 2.0 five-cylinder D3 isn't a safe haven, as it shares the belt fault (one 2011 car's aux belt snapped at 46,790 miles), and one 2013 car cracked its block at 95,000 miles. The 1.6 diesel (1.6D and D2) has a known fault on 2005 to 2014 cars, where the particulate filter can't cope with a diet of short journeys and brings warning lights and lost power, reported between 44,000 and 50,000 miles. One 2014 D2 auto's Powershift gearbox failed at 70,000 miles.
Pull the dipstick on any diesel before the test drive: oil sitting well above the MAX mark means fuel's been getting into the sump during regeneration. One owner's nearly new 2015 D4 did it, and a 2010 D3 covering 7,300 miles a year had half a litre of excess oil drained out. Oil that smells of diesel or an engine service warning on the dash points the same way, so don't buy a car showing either.
On any five-cylinder diesel, look at the belts, tensioners and pulleys and ask for the bill for the last cambelt change. Listen for a squeal or chirp from the belts from cold, and watch for a battery or power steering warning, which means the auxiliary belt has come off. Check the coolant level too: one 2010 D5 kept needing top-ups for 18 months before a blown head gasket was found at 58,000 miles.
On a 2.0 diesel sold from 2014, ask for proof the intake manifold recall was done and for receipts covering any EGR valve or cooler work. Make sure the engine warning light goes out and there's no reduced performance message. Flash the headlamps, since a control module under the front passenger floor on some V70s throws up several faults when that's used, and lock and unlock it to check the alarm doesn't go off.
On a Powershift auto, ask for the gearbox oil and filter receipts; on a Geartronic, feel for hesitation pulling away. On a five-cylinder manual, check the clutch, as the master and slave cylinder seals can fail, and on a 1.6 D2 listen for driveline clunks at low revs, put down to the dual-mass flywheel. Ask for proof of the two 2009 recalls, for wipers that didn't work properly and brakes that didn't perform as they should.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Volvo V70 advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 41.9 mpg across the Volvo V70 engines with data, about 85% of the official figure, from 697 submissions.
Volvo V70 Real MPG by engine →A 2.4 D5 is the lesser risk in a Volvo V70, with bills for its cambelt at 96,000 miles or 8 years and its tensioners, as a thrown belt wrecks the engine; skip a 2.0 D4 without recall proof. Our database holds 4 known Volvo V70 faults, 2 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Pull the dipstick on any diesel before the test drive: oil sitting well above the MAX mark means fuel's been getting into the sump during regeneration. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Volvo V70 fault before you travel.
Owners report 41.9 mpg on average, about 85% of the official figure, from 697 submissions. Belt (2.0 D4, D4204T): 90,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Volvo V70 Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Volvo V70 buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 38 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
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The Volvo V70 is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
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