VOLVO Complaints

MY 2008 VOLVO XC70 SPONTANEOUSLY ACCELERATED AS I PREPARED TO PARK. THIS HAPPENED ON TWO OCCASIONS SO FAR, AND I AM FRIGHTENED TO GET BEHIND THE WHEEL AGAIN. THE EXPERIENCE IN BOTH CASES WAS ALMOST IDENTICAL. THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD SUDDENLY AS I SLOWED THE CAR TO PARK IT. IN BOTH CASES, MY FOOT WAS DEPRESSED FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE. THE CAR ONLY ACCELERATED TO A FEW MILES PER HOUR, BUT BOTH TIMES THE CAR STOPPED ONLY ONCE IT COLLIDED: THE FIRST TIME WITH A FENCE, AND THE SECOND TIME WITH A PORCH. THE BRAKE WAS SEEMINGLY USELESS. A FIELD ENGINEER INSPECTED OUR CAR AFTER THE SECOND CRASH BUT CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. MY RESEARCH ONLINE HAS REVEALED THAT SUDDEN ACCELERATION IS AN ISSUE THAT VOLVO DID STRUGGLE WITH IN MANY OF THEIR EUROPEAN MODELS; HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO VOLVO, IT WAS LIKELY RELATED TO THE FACT THAT THEY RAN ON DIESEL FUEL. I HAVE FOUND ACCELERATION ISSUES LIKE MINE REPORTED WITH UNLEADED FUEL ENGINES IN THE US, BUT NEVER WITH A 2008 XC70. VOLVO HAS YET TO MAKE REPARATIONS AND WE HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A CAR FOR A MONTH. *TR

LOW COOLANT WARNING LIGHT COMES ON EVERY 2 - 3 MONTHS. VEHICLE CONTINUES TO NEED COOLANT ADDED AT REGULAR INTERVALS. DEALERSHIP HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND LEAK OR FAULT WITH WARNING LIGHT TO DATE. I AM CONVINCED THERE'S A MALFUNCTION YET TO BE DETERMINED. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY 2006 VOLVO S60 AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM SHUT OFF AND I WAS NOT EVEN ABLE TO PUT THE FLASHERS ON SO THAT OTHER DRIVERS COULD KNOW THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD (WITH DIFFICULTY SINCE THE POWER STEERING NO LONGER WORKED) AND PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND RESTART IT. *TR

MY CAR WAS AT TRAFFIC LIGHT, ON GREEN LIGHT, I TRIED TO ACCELERATE , I HEARD A BIG NOISE FROM SOMEWHERE IN ENGINE AREA. AFTER THAT NOISE, A LIGHT COME ON WITH A MESSAGE " TRANSMISSION SERVICE URGENT". THE CAR HAS REAL HARD TIME TO ACCELERATE. EVEN AT 4000 RPM, IT DID NOT ACCELERATE. BROWSE ON INTERNET FOR 3 HOURS AND FINALLY COME TO KNOW THAT THIS PARTICULAR MODEL HAS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. *TR

CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TWO HEAD ON COLLISIONS AND PROBLEM WITH AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED THE COLLISIONS INVOLVED TWO DIFFERENT VOLVO TRACTORS.

THE DIM/DRIVER INFORMATION MANUAL/DASHBOARD DISPLAY BROKE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE DUE TO THE LOSS OF WARNING LIGHTS AND TURN SIGNAL DISPLAYS. *TR

I AM A RESIDENT OF TEXAS. I JUST BOUGHT A 2002 VOLVO S60 ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO, AND I'VE NOTICED A STRONG FUEL SMELL IN AND AROUND CAR. THERE IS A LEAK IN THE FUEL PUMP AND WHEN CAR IS PARKED, FUEL FORMS A PUDDLE UNDER CAR. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE A CAR IN THIS CONDITION, BOTH FOR MYSELF BUT ALSO FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC. I SEARCHED ONLINE ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING RECALL INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION WEBSITE: MAKE: VOLVO MODEL: S60 MODEL YEAR: 2002 MANUFACTURER: VOLVO CARS OF N.A. LLC. MFR'S REPORT DATE: DEC 17, 2009 NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V483000 NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE09039 COMPONENT: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP RECALL STATES THAT AS REMEDY FOR THIS ISSUE: "DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FUEL PUMP INSTALLED IN THE VEHICLE, AND IF NECESSARY REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP WITH A PART OF A MODIFIED DESIGN. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JANUARY 15, 2010. " HOWEVER, WHEN I CONTACTED ROGER BEASLEY VOLVO OF AUSTIN, TX, I WAS TOLD I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR TO THE TUNE OF $720. *TR

PULLED INTO A PARKING SPOT ON THE STREET, PUT THE CAR IN PARK, BUT WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE KEY TO TURN THE CAR OFF. IT TOOK ME ALMOST 20 MINUTES OF JIGGLING THE KEY AROUND AND SPRAYING WD40 INTO THE IGNITION CYLINDER BEFORE BEING ABLE TO VERY SLOWLY GET THE KEY TO TURN ENOUGH TO TURN THE CAR OFF. I AM NOT A WEAK PERSON AND WAS HONESTLY AFRAID THAT THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE I WAS APPLYING WAS GOING TO CAUSE THE KEY TO BREAK OFF IN THE IGNITION. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE CAR TO THE NEAREST VOLVO DEALER (CHERRY HILL, NJ) AND SINCE THIS HAPPENED ON A SUNDAY MORNING, I HAD TO LEAVE THE KEYS WITH AN EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM ON A DROPBOX FORM. WHEN I CALLED THE SERVICE DEPT TODAY, THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO CUSTOM ORDER A REPLACEMENT PART FROM SWEDEN AND THAT IT COULD BE A WEEK BEFORE MY CAR IS REPAIRED. THE SERVICE PERSON SAID THAT THIS SOMETIMES HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE ATTACH A LARGE AMOUNT OF KEYS TO THEIR CAR KEY AND IT CAUSES STRESS ON THE IGNITION CYLINDER. I HAVE NEVER, EVER DONE THAT. I ALWAYS KEEP MY CAR AND HOUSE KEYS SEPARATE FOR SAFETY PURPOSES, SO THERE IS NO REASON THIS SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. AFTER LOOKING FOR MORE INFO ON THE INTERNET, IT APPEARS AS THOUGH THIS HAPPENS ON A FAIRLY REGULAR BASIS WITH OTHER OWNERS. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS CAR AND AM RELIGIOUS ABOUT KEEPING IT IN GOOD RUNNING ORDER WITH ROUTINE, SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. FAILURE TO BE ABLE TO SHUT A CAR OFF WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING SHOULD CERTAINLY BE CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE. THANKS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 VOLVO XC90. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE RADIO AND ALL OF THE INTERIOR LIGHTS TURNED OFF INDEPENDENTLY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG AND BRAKE WARNING LAMPS ALSO ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS BECAME INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE CENTRAL ELECTRONIC MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 113,000.

THE SUNROOF DRAIN HAS A DESIGN FLAW THAT CAN CAUSE WATER TO ENTER THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT AND/OR ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS. THIS CAN PRESENT SIMPLY AS WATER ON THE FLOOR BOARDS. BUT IT CAN ALSO PRESENT IN MORE SUBTLE WAYS WITH WATER COMING IN CONTACT WITH ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND BEING DRAWN THROUGHOUT THE CAR THROUGH COPPER WIRES ACTING AS CONDUIT (THIS EFFECTS SPEAKER QUALITY, RADIO FUNCTION, CRUISE CONTROL FUNCTION ETC). MOST IMPORTANTLY, WATER CAN ACCUMULATE IN THE COMPARTMENT UNDER THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT THAT HOUSES THE DYNAMIC STABILITY TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM PUTTING SAFETY AT RISK. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS WITH OUR XC90 BUT SEE MANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING OTHER VOLVO MODELS. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY CONCERN BUT MOST CONCERNING BECAUSE OF ITS SUBTLE NATURE, SLOW PROGRESSION, AND PROHIBITIVE COSTS TO REPAIR. MANY PEOPLE ARE DRIVING AROUND WITH COMPROMISED SYSTEMS AND ARE NOT YET AWARE, UNABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE CAUSE, OR UNABLE TO FUND THE REPAIR. *TR