The Swedish team with Sofia Åstedt, Louise Hansson, Sara Junevik and Elvira Mörtstrand finished fifth in their heat and ninth overall out of the 12 teams.
The eight best teams advance to the final. Sweden was only 14 hundredths slower than Germany, which finished eighth.
Earlier on Tuesday, Åstedt was eliminated in the 200-meter freestyle, missing out on the semifinals by 42 hundredths of a second.
Åstedt was far ahead in her heat for a long time, but faded on the final length and finished eighth in the heat in 1:59.61.
That was only enough for 24th place. Mörtstrand was second in 1:59.79.
