VOLVO Complaints

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ALONE IN HER 07 VOLVO STATIONWAGON ON A ROUTINE ERRAND DOWN THE I-83 INTERSTATE AT 65 MPH ON A STRAIGHT SECTION WHEN SHE HEARD A LOUD BANG; LIKE SOMEONE HAD SHOT AT THE CAR ON THE RIGHT SIDE. HAVING BEEN UNNERVED BY THE LOUD NOISE AND NOT KNOWING WHAT IT WAS, SHE TOOK THE EXIT RAMP SLOWLY, AND THE CAR SLID OUT A BIT TO THE RIGHT LIKE IT WAS ON ICE, BUT THERE WAS NO ICE PRESENT. UPON INSPECTION LATER, THE RIGHT REAR COIL SPRING HAD SNAPPED IN TWO. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND AFTER SOME HAGGLING AND A CALL TO VOLVO FACTORY, THEY REPLACED THE SPRING (NO CHARGE FOR THE PART, BUT WE HAD TO PAY THE LABOR). ADDITIONALLY, THEY AGREED TO A LOANER FOR THE COUPLE OF DAYS IT WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP. VOLVO FACTORY AGREED TO OPEN A "GOOD WILL REVIEW" FILE AND ALERTED THE DEALERSHIP. I WAS 936 MILES OUT OF WARRANTEE. THEY SAID THERE WAS NO RECALL, BUT AGREED TO PAYING FOR THE PART. NO ONE COULD ANSWER WHETHER THE OTHER COILS MIGHT SNAP SPONTANEOUSLY. THEY LOOKED "OK". *TR

THE REAR CAMBER ARMS OF THE VOLVO C 70 ARE FAILING AT AN ALARMING RATE. NOT ONLY ARE TIRES WEARING UNEVENLY AT OWNERS EXPENSE, THE FAILURE OF THE ARMS CAUSES THE CAR TO BECOME TOTALLY UNCONTROLLABLE. VOLVO IN A RECENT PUBLICATION ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM WITH THEIR ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT BUT YET FAILS TO ISSUE A RECALL AND REPLACE ORDER. *TR

I RETURNED TO MY CAR AND FOUND THAT I COULD NOT TURN THE IGNITION SWITCH AND AS A RESULT OF THE SECURITY SYSTEM MY CAR WAS TOTALLY INOPERATIVE. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALER, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A BROKEN IGNITION SWITCH, SPECIFICALLY THE DEVICE THAT READS THE CHIP IN THE KEY HAS FAILED AND WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY KEY. CURRENTLY THE CAR HAS BEEN SITTING AT THE DEALER FOR OVER 4 WEEKS. BECAUSE THE KEYS AND SWITCHES ARE MATCHED WE CANNOT GET AN AFTER-MARKET REPLACEMENT SWITCH. FURTHER, THE PARTS ARE BACK ORDERED AT THE DEALER, BACK ORDERED AT VOLVO NORTH AMERICA, BACK ORDERED AT VOLVO IN SWEDEN, AND THEY CANNOT EVEN GET ME A DATE WHEN THE PART MIGHT BE AVAILABLE. AS AN RELIABILITY ENGINEER, THE IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE WOULD BE CLASSIFIED AS A CRITICALITY 1, SINGLE POINT FAILURE, IN OTHER WORDS IT RESULTS IN LOSS OF VEHICLE. THERE IS NO INDICATION OF PENDING FAILURE, AND NO WAY TO MITIGATE THE PROBLEM IF IT OCCURS. YOU ARE STRANDED WHERE EVER THE CAR WAS LAST PARKED. AND WORSE, IN THIS CONDITION THE CAR HAS NO RESALE VALUE, EXCEPT MAYBE AT A "CHOP SHOP", SO I CANNOT EVEN TRADE IT IN FOR A NEW CAR. *TR

PURCHASED THIS CAR IN 2010 WITH 51,000 MILES. SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITH SERVICE ENGINE SOON MESSAGE. CAR WORKED FINE. THEN BRAKE FAILURE MESSAGE CAME ON, BRAKES WORKED FINE. TOOK VEHICLE TO VOLVO DEALERSHIP AND THEY FOUND A WAY TO "RESET" SYSTEM. GO IN TRUNK, REMOVE BLACK BATTERY CABLE, TOUCH IT TO RED BATTERY CABLE FOR APPROX 10 SECONDS AND THE SYSTEM WILL. WE'VE RESET THE SYSTEM COUNTLESS TIMES AND IT CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM. ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO ALL GAUGES WOULD QUIT WORKING AND CAR WOULD RANDOMLY BRAKE AT ABOUT 45 MPH. PLUS AFTER COMING TO STOP, CAR WOULD BARELY MOVE BUT AFTER IT GOT GOING IT WOULD BE FINE. RESET SYSTEM AND IT WORKED FOR ABOUT 3 MILES AND HAPPEN AGAIN. VOLVO MECHANIC FOUND AWD (DEM) CONTROL MODULE FAILURE. REPLACED THIS AT $1500 FOR THE PART AND AFTER 50 MILES, GAUGES STILL WORK, NO RANDOM BRAKING AND ACCELERATION IS NORMAL. BUT....SERVICE ENGINE MESSAGE AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BACK ON. WAS TOLD THAT ALL MODULES RELATE TO EACH AND IF ONE IS OUT IT CAN AFFECT THE OTHERS. AT ABOUT $1500 PER MODULE, IT IS COST PROHIBITIVE TO REPLACE ALL THESE, 6 TO BE EXACT. VOLVO NEEDS TO RECALL THESE VEHICLES AND REPLACE THESE MODULES. *TR

I HAVE A 2000 VOLVO S70 WITH ETS LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. THE CAR STALLS AND SURGES/LUNGES AT ALL RATES OF SPEED AND IS VERY UNSAFE. AFTER DOING RESEARCH I FOUND OUT THERE WAS A RECALL ON THIS PART. I CALLED MY LOCAL DEALER AND RAN THE VIN#. THEY STATED THE RECALL WAS DONE IN 2009. I CALLED VOLVO CORP. CUSTOMER CARE LINE AND THEY STATED THAT MY CAR WAS TOO OLD AND NO LONGER COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY/RECALL. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING FOR A FAULTY PART BY THE OEM MANUFACTURE WHEN THEY REPLACED THE FAULTY PART WITH FAULTY PARTS. IN MY RESEARCH I FOUND OUT IF MY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACE IT WOULD HAVE A YELLOW LABEL ON IT. MINE DOES NOT. IT HAS THE ORIGINAL WHITE LABEL ON IT. I BELIEVE THAT IT MAY HAVE HAD THE SOFTWARE UPGRADE AND CLEANED BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE THE ACTUAL UNIT WAS REPLACED. I TOOK MY CAR INTO THE LOCAL VOLVO STORE IN WINTER PARK FL WHERE I WAS CHARGED A TOTAL OF $127 AND SOME CHANGE TO TELL ME THAT I NEEDED A NEW ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY AND WOULD REQUIRE A NEW SOFTWARE UPGRADE. TOTAL COST TO REPAIR $880.00 AND QUOTE DOES NOT SAY THAT THE SOFTWARE UPDATE IS INCLUDED. I AM NOT THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE CAR. I BOUGHT IT WITH 75,000 MILES AND CURRENTLY HAVE 92,000 MILES. VOLVOS EFFORTS TO FIX THIS PROBLEM IS NOT WORKING AND IF IT DOES WORK IT DOES NOT FIX THE CAR FOR VERY LONG. WHY IS IT THAT THE WARRANTY FOR THE RECALL PART IS BASED ON THE TOTAL VEHICLE MILEAGE AND AGE INSTEAD OF THE AGE AND MILEAGE OF THE REPLACEMENT PART OR FROM THE TIME THE RECALL WAS ISSUED? I DO NOT HAVE ANY FAITH THAT SPENDING THE MONEY TO FIX THE CAR WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM ONLY DELAY IT FROM RECURRING WITH IN MONTHS OR FEW THOUSAND MILES. THIS IS STILL AN ON GOING PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL CAR AND VOLVO DOES NOT SEEM TO CARE THAT THEY ARE PUTTING LIVES IN DANGER. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLVO S60. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE ACTIVATED THE HEATED SEATS AND AFTER A MATTER OF MINUTES, SMOKE BELLOWED FROM THE SIDE OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT. THE SEAT WARMER WAS DEACTIVATED AND THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT A ONE INCH HOLE HAD BEEN BURNED INTO THE SEAT. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY A MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 300,000. UPDATED 2/12/13 *CN

DRIVING ON COMMUNITY STREET 25MPH HEARD LOUD EXPLOSION . CAR BARELY RAN BUT GOT 1 BLOCK TO AN AUDI DEALER . THEY INSPECTED CAR AND TOLD ME PARKING BRAKE EXPLODED AND GAVE ME LOTS OF METAL PIECES TO SHOW THE VOLVO MECHANIC . CALLED VOLVO OF NORTH AMERICA BUT THEY DENIED EVER HEARING ABOUT THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM AND VOLVO DEALER WANTS TO CHARGE ME $1700 TO REPLACE PARKING BRAKES . TALKING TO OTHER VOLVO OWNERS THEY HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEM AND VOLVO REFUSES TO ISSUE A RECALL . IS THERE ANY WAY YOUR AGENCY CAN ENCOURAGE VOLVO TO DO A RECALL ? THANKS *TR

DRIVER INFORMATION MODULE (DIM) ORIGINALLY STARTED DROPPING OUT AND RETURNING MULTIPLE TIMES DURING A TRIP, NOW IT IS GOING OUT COMPLETELY AFTER ROUGHLY 15 MILES, NO CLUSTER GAUGES OR DASH LIGHTS. WILL COME BACK ON AFTER COOL DOWN TIME OF ROUGHLY 2-3 HOURS. NO SPEEDOMETER, TACH, GAS OR TEMP GAUGES. SIGNAL LIGHTS WORK, BUT NO DASH INDICATORS. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON A LOCAL STREET THE VEHICLE WITHOUT WARNING SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN, BRAKING THE VEHICLE TO A SUDDEN STOP AND LOCKING THE STEERING WHEEL IN THE MIDDLE OF MOVING TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE CAME TO A SUDDEN COMPLETE STOP WITHOUT DRIVER INPUT NARROWLY AVOIDING A COLLISION. VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO START OR BE MOVED AND HAD TO BE PLACED ON A FLATBED BY THE USE OF A DOLLY SYSTEM. IF THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY CONTROL WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST CAUSING A VERY SERIOUS AND MOST LIKELY FATAL ACCIDENT. PLEASE ADVISE THE NEXT STEP IN THIS PROCEDURE AS I FEEL THIS CAR IS UNSAFE, IN THAT NO WARNING WAS PROVIDED IF A MALFUNCTION WERE TO AND DID OCCUR, WHY DID THE CAR COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN, STOPPING THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY AND LOCKING THE STEERING WHEEL. NO CONTROL WAS POSSIBLE DUE TO THIS SITUATION. AS STATED PREVIOUSLY IF THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AT THE TIME THIS WOULD SURELY HAVE BEEN FATAL. *TR

DRIVER SIDE, REAR CHILD SEAT ANCHOR WAS NOT INSTALLED CORRECTLY. THE ANCHOR WAS NOT ATTACHED TO THE FRAME. OUR CHILD'S CAR SEAT WOULD LATCH TO IT, BUT AFTER 2 YEARS OF SON RIDING IN SEAT, WE WERE MOVING THE SEAT TO OTHER SIDE TO ACCOMMODATE A 2ND SEAT AND ANCHOR CAME OUT WITH CAR SEAT. VOLVO ADMITTED MANUFACTURE MISTAKE, BUT REFUSED TO CERTIFY SAFETY OF VEHICLE OR BUY VEHICLE BACK AT BLUE BOOK. TRACY FABER AT VOLVO CARS USA WAS LEAD AND DETAILED LETTER WAS FAXED TO HER IN JANUARY 2013. ANYONE WITH A VOLVO NEEDS TO CHECK SECURITY OF CHILD ANCHORS. I SOLD CAR TO A DEALER UNDER FULL DISCLOSURE AS COULD NOT VERIFY SAFETY OF CHILD SEAT ANCHORS AND A VEHICLE WITHOUT ANCHORS WAS WORTHLESS TO ME. TOOK A LARGE FINANCIAL LOSS ALL BASED ON VOLVO'S MISTAKE. WILL NEVER BUY A VOLVO OR FORD PRODUCT EVER AGAIN BASE DON THIS ISSUE. WE WERE ORIGINAL OWNERS AND WILL GLADLY SHARE OUR EXPERIENCE WITH ANYONE THAT HAS HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE!