VOLVO Complaints

TWO YEARS AGO, I REPLACED MY 1993 VOLVO V90 RADIATOR WITH A NEW VOLVO RADIATOR. IT STARTED LEAKING AT THE SEAM A MONTH AGO. THE RADIATOR IS OUT OF WARRANTY SINCE IT IS OVER 12 MONTHS. I WENT TO THE DEALER TO COMPLAIN. THEY SAID THAT THEY SEE THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM WITH MANY VOLVOS. I WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR. FOR NOW IT LEAKS ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF WATER BUT EVENTUALLY IT COULD HAVE A LARGER LEAK AND THUS OVERHEAT AND DESTROY MY CAR'S ENGINE. *TR

MY 2003 VOLVO XC90 HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES INCLUDING OVER 3 TIMES FOR SAME PROBLEM WHEN I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN 2006. ALL RECALLS HAVE BEEN FIXED, FRONT AXLE, WIPERS ETC. I HAVE PURCHASED 4 SETS OF TIRES, TIRES BOSTON VOLVO INSTALLED AND MY 17 YEAR OLD SON RECEIVED A COMPLETE BLOW OUT BECAUSE WRONG SIZE TIRES. I CONTINUE TAKING TO SAME DEALER AND SINCE OWNING THE CAR HAVE HAD THE SAME NOISES IN FRONT OF CAR. BOSTON VOLVO HAS STATED IN OCTOBER AND SINCE OWNING THE VEHICLE CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG, APRIL DIAGNOSED WITH NEED NEW DRIVE SHAFT AFTER HAVING CAR FOR 2 DAYS BUT COULD NOT REALLY FINE ANYTHING BUT DRIVE SHAFT. A STRONG FUEL SMELL STATED FUEL PUMP DOES NOT NEED TO BE CORRECTED. I NEED NEW MUFFLER AND TAKING TO MY OWN MECHANIC THE REAL ISSUE IS TRANSMISSION SERVICE URGENT AND NEED NEW TRANSMISSION. VOLVO DID NOT DIAGNOSE THIS PROBLEM AND MY SON IS DRIVING THE CAR! MY SON IS DRIVING A LEMON THAT IS A DANGER TO HIMSELF. TAKING TO VOLVO DOES NOTHING, THEY CANNOT EVEN DIAGNOSE AND GIVE WRONG INFO GIVEN TO ME. I AM CURRENTLY UP TO OVER $8,000 IN DAMAGES AND STILL OWE ON THIS LEMON. I NEED NEW TRANSMISSION, MUFFLER, STILL CAR VIBRATES AND FRONT END NOISES FROM WHINING, THUMPING ETC. *TR

DEFECTIVE REPLACEMENT HEADLAMP FIXTURE PARTS (NON-COMPLIANT WITH FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS CRASH AVOIDANCE - STANDARD NO. 108 IN PART 571). THESE REPLACEMENT HEADLAMP FIXTURES (RIGHT AND LEFT) WERE PURCHASED FOR A 1987 VOLVO 240 WAGON. NOTE THESE SAME LAMP FIXTURES ARE USED IN VARIOUS TRUCKS AND RVS. BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT HAND VERSIONS OF THESE NEW PARTS LACKED MUCH OF THE SILVER REFLECTIVE COATING AROUND THE BULB AREA, SUGGESTING THIS IS RECURRING QUALITY CONTROL PROBLEM. JPEG PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST SHOWING HEADLAMP LIGHT ILLUMINATING THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT THROUGH THE UNSILVERED PARTS OF THE REFLECTORS. SO MUCH SILVER COATING IS MISSING FROM THE LEFT SIDE FIXTURE, THE UNLIT HEADLIGHT BULB CAN BE SEEN THROUGH THE REFLECTOR! THE PARTS ARE LABELED ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THE LENS AS "DJAUTO MVV111-C1RO (FOR RIGHT SIDE OR C1LO FOR THE LEFT SIDE) 14V 7H DOT SAE HR00" WITH "HB1" IN THE UPPER OUTSIDE CORNERS. THESE PARTS WERE PURCHASED FROM LAMPSANDLENSES - MVP IMPORTS, LLC - FRANK'S FOREIGN AUTO, 595 VALLEY STREET, ORANGE, NJ 07050, TEL # 973-674-2254 ON 10/22/09. A COPY OF THE RECEIPT IS AVAILABLE. NOTE PARTS ARRIVED IN UNLABELED PLAIN BROWN BOXES AND COST $69.99 EACH OR $139.98 TOTAL. *TR

WE OWN A 2005 VOLVO XC90 AND IT HAS 54K MILES ON IT. WE HEARD A WHINING SOUND FROM THE REAR AND TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THE REAR HUB BEARINGS NEED TO BE CHANGED. WE WERE NOT CONVINCED AND TOOK IT TO OUR AUTO MECHANIC WHO WORKS ON OUR AVALON, HE LOOKED AT IT AND AFTER SPENDING 5HRS ON IT CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT WAS THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL. WE WENT BACK TO THE VOLVO DEALER AND ASKED HIM TO CHECK AGAIN AND SAID IT MAY BE THE TRANSMISSION. THEY CAME BACK AND SAID YES IT IS THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL AND IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THE PRICE TAG WAS FOR $5200. THIS SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM WITH ALL THE XC90'S. WE ARE AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR ON THE HIGHWAY NEVER KNOWING WHEN OUR TRANSMISSION WILL GIVE WAY. *TR

BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE 3 MONTHS AFTER BRAKE SYSTEM SERVICE BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. I HAD MY 2007 VOLVO XC90 SERVICED BY MOMENTUM VOLVO IN HOUSTON TEXAS. THEY HAVE SERVICED BRAKE SYSTEM AND INSTALLED NEW BRAKE PADS. 3 MONTHS LATER, THE BRAKE SYSTEM STARTED TO PERFORM POORLY, CAR WAS UNSTABLE WHEN BRAKING AND BRAKES WOULD MAKE A SCREECHING NOISE. ANOTHER VOLVO DEALER DIAGNOSED FAILURE OF BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS AND INSTALLED NEW PARTS FOR A COST OF $600.00 VOLVO CLAIMS THAT THIS IS NOT WARRANTY RELATED ITEM EVEN THOUGH THE PARTS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED ONLY 3 MONTHS AGO. I BELIEVE, THIS PROBLEM IS SERIOUS ENOUGH FOR CONSIDERATION FOR A RECALL AS CONSUMERS MY NOT BE AWARE OF POOR BRAKE SYSTEM CONDITION SOON AFTER THE BRAKE SYSTEM SERVICE AND THIS MAY LEAD TO AN UNSAFE OR HAZARDOUS SITUATION. *TR

THE SOFTWARE IN MY 1999 VOLVO S70 HAS FAILED, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN AN UNSAFE CONDITION. THE CAR SURGES, BRAKING IS IMPACTED, IT RUNS IRREGULARLY. THIS IS A CONTINUOUS PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED WHEN THE DEALER INSTALLED NEW SOFTWARE IN A RECALL CAMPAIGN. NOW, THE DEALER DISAVOWS ANY ISSUE, CLAIMING THIS WAS A COINCIDENCE THAT THE SOFTWARE FAILED. I HAVE CONTACTED VOLVO WITH NO RESOLUTION. *TR

MY 1999 VOLVO S-70 RECEIVED SOFTWARE UPGRADE CODE #155 IN 2006 SUBJECT TO RECALL AND IN AUGUST 2009 STARTED TO EXPERIENCE RANDOM THROTTLE SURGING AND LOSS OF POWER ,ESPECIALLY ON HIGHWAY DRIVING CONDITIONS(I-95), MAKING VEHICLE UNSAFE TO OPERATE,ALONG WITH INTERMITTENT ETS LIGHT COMING ON. I AM NOW TOLD BY DEALER THAT CAUSE IS DUE TO FAILURE OF ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE & NOT COVERED BY 10 YEAR OR 200,000 MILE WARRANTY AS "IN-SERVICE" DATE ON MY VEHICLE WAS FEB. 2009 AND THEREFORE PAST 10 YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD. HAVING RESEARCHED YOUR DATA BASE INVOLVING SAFETY ISSUES & ACCIDENTS CAUSED DIRECTLY FROM THIS TYPE OF PART FAILURE, I AM AT A LOSS AS TO WHY A FULL RECALL HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED BY VOLVO TO REPLACE ALL ETM'S ON THESE MODEL VEHICLES. I AM NOW OUT-OF-POCKET $1200.00 FOR SOMETHING THAT VOLVO HAS NEGLECTED TO FIX. STATISTICALLY, IT APPEARS THAT MORE OF THESE ETM'S WILL FAIL OUTSIDE OF THE VOLVO WARRANTY PERIOD.

DEFECTIVE REAR SEATBELT (DRIVER SIDE) IN 2000 VOLVO V70. SEATBELT BINDS UP, CANNOT BE PULLED OUT AND WON'T RETRACT. THIS IS THE SECOND OCCURRENCE FOR THIS CAR WHICH HAS 100,000 MILES ON IT. *TR

I PURCHASED THIS 2001 VOLVO V70 XC NEW FROM SWEDEN, FACTORY DELIVERY.THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED @ 19,000MI I HAVE SINCE THEN HAVE TAKEN IT IN FOR VARIOUS TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. SUDDEN SURGES, HARSH UP SHIFTING AND DOWN SHIFTING. THE DEALERSHIP ALWAYS DOES EVERYTHING EXCEPT REPLACING IT AGAIN, I.E. SOFTWARE ISSUES ONLY. BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. THEY ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE TRANSMISSION NO LONGER GOES TO NEUTRAL WITH THE BRAKE ON. THAT FEATURE WAS ORIGINALLY ENGINEERED FOR THESE TRANSMISSIONS, FOR FUEL ECONOMY. VOLVO DECIDED THAT THIS FEATURE WAS MORE TROUBLE THAN IT IS WORTH. I STILL HAVE THE SAME TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WITH THE SURGES, AND HARSH SHIFTING, AND SOON I SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. WITH ALL OF THESE SIMILAR TRANSMISSION COMPLAINTS FROM 100'S OF VOLVO CUSTOMERS SHOULDN'T VOLVO OF NORTH AMERICA ADMIT THAT THERE TRANSMISSION IS JUST NO GOOD PAY FOR THE COSTS. *TR

ENGINE HEATER BLOCK CONTACT SURFACE DOES NOT MATCH CORRECTLY WITH THE ENGINE BLOCK AS INTENDED.,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, COLD WEATHER CONDITION ICE CRYSTALS CAN FORM AT THE THROTTLE IN THE ENGINE INTAKE SYSTEM, PREVENT THROTTLE FROM RETURNING TO IDLE. FUEL SYSTEM , THE FUEL TANK MAY SEEP OR LEAK FUEL AT THE ONTO WHERE THE HEAT SHIELD IS ATTACHED. THESE ARE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND NEED TO BE FIXED NO MATTER IF A TICKET IS OPENED OR NOT. *TR