VOLVO Complaints

I HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY MY VOLVO DEALER (DON BEYER VOLVO, FALLS CHURCH, VA) DURING ROUTINE SERVICE THAT THERE IS AN INTERNAL FAULT IN THE ABS MODULE IN MY 1999 VOLVO V70 WAGON. THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THIS PROSPECTIVE REPAIR IS $951. I UNDERSTAND FROM CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER 1999 AND 2000 VOLVO OWNERS, AS WELL AS A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET, THAT THIS IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH VOLVO'S DURING THIS PRODUCTION PERIOD. SINCE THE ABS CONTROL MODULE DOES NOT DETERIATE FROM NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR BUT, INSTEAD IS A COMPUTER BASED SYSTEM WHICH SHOULD LAST MUCH LONGER THAN 3 OR 4 YEARS, I AM REQUESTING YOUR ORGANIZATION TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER THIS PROBLEM IS A LATENT DEFECT AND SHOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF A RECALL AND PAID FOR BY THE MANUFACTURER.

THE FOLLOWING IS A SYNOPSIS OF ORIGINAL E-MAIL I SENT TO VOLVO CARS OF NORTH AMERICA FOR YOUR RECORDS. *AK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I FINALLY HAD MY 2003 VOLVO S40 SERVICED FOR EXCESSIVE BUMPY RIDE PROBLEM THAT IVE COMPLAINED ABOUT SINCE THE TIME I BOUGHT IT FROM HOWARD ORLOFF IN MAY 2003. IM APPALLED TO LEARN THAT FOLKS AT HOWARD ORLOFF LEFT THE SPRING SPACERS IN PLACE ALONG THE FRONT SUSPENSION WHEN THEY SOLD ME THE CAR; AND AFTER SEVERAL COMPLAINS (OF WHICH YOU FOLKS HAVE ALL THE RECORDS OF MY E-MAIL COMMUNICATIONS) AND TEN MONTHS, VOLVO OF LISLE FINALLY FIGURED THE ISSUE OUT. I DONT KNOW WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE THIS MAY HAVE CAUSED TO MY CAR FOR ALL THESE MANY MONTHS. AS OF WRITING THIS MESSAGE, MY CAR IS DANGEROUS AND PRECARIOUS MORE THAN EVER. AFTER ALMOST LITTLE OVER A WEEK OF DRIVING SINCE I GOT MY CAR BACK, THE CARS RIDE IS WORST THAN EVER; THE STEERING WHEEL HAS BECOME EXTREMELY SENSITIVE AND DOES NOT AFFORD CONTROL OF THE CAR; QUITE OFTEN DASHBOARD ICONS FLASH AS I HIT EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BUMP ON THE ROAD; THE REAR RIGHT WHEEL SEEMS TO GET AIRBORNE WHILE THE LEFT FRONT END STAYS DIPPED INTO THE PAVEMENT. BEFORE VOLVO OF LISLE ADDRESSED THE SPRING SPACER PROBLEM, THE CD-PLAYER KEPT SKIPPING THE TRACK INCLUDING THE TUNER MODE CHANGED FROM CD TO TAPE OR AM/FM MODE 3 OR 4 TIMES SOLELY DUE TO THE CAR HITTING A BUMP WHILE DRIVING. AT THIS RATE, IM AFRAID IT IS GOING TO CAUSE MORE DAMAGE TO TIRES, WHEEL RIMS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND OTHER INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR COMPONENTS OF MY CAR. IM DEFINITELY CONCERNED AND EVEN SCARED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY AND MYSELF ALONG WITH OTHERS ON THE ROAD WHEN DRIVING THIS CAR. IN LIGHT OF THE SAME RECURRING PROBLEM, VOLVO SHOULD REPLACE MY CAR WITH A NEW ONE AT NO EXTRA COST TO ME. I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU BY MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2004 OR SOONER.

DRIVER SUSTAINED ABRASIONS AND CHEMICAL SKIN BURNS TO BOTH ARMS WHEN THE DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED INADVERTENTLY. *PH *MR

THE CAR ONLY STARTS INTERMITTENTLY. IF I TRY TO START IT AND IT SIMPLY TURNS OVER WITHOUT STARTING, I PULL THE KEY OUT, REINSERT IT, AND TRY AGAIN. THIS ONE RETRY OFTEN WORKS. HOWEVER, IF IT DOES NOT, AND I REPEAT THIS PROCEDURE ENOUGH TIMES, THE CAR WILL EVENTUALLY START. THIS SAME THING HAPPENED DURING THE FIRST YEAR I OWNED THE CAR AND IT WAS REPAIRED BY THE DEALER UNDER WARRANTY. I WAS TOLD MY "SMART KEY" LOST ITS INTELLENGENCE. I WAS A FEW DAYS OUT OF WARRANTY WHEN I BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE DEALER FOR THE SAME THING, AND WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE RECREATED, THEREFORE IT COULD NOT BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. I ASKED THEM TO CHECK MY HISTORY, AND WAS TOLD THAT BECAUSE IT COULD NOT BE RECREATED, MY HISTORY DIDN'T MATTER - THAT IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY.*AK

WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT CONSUMER'S VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A REAR ENFD COLLISION. CONSUMER WAS WEARING THE SEAT BELTS, BUT DURING THE COLLISION LOCKING MECHANISM FAILED TO WORK. CONSUMER SUSTAINED A FRACTURED NOSE. *AK

TRANSMISSION FAILED AT HIGHWAY SPEED. REPAIR FACILITY UNABLE TO OBTAIN NEW PARTS FOR REBUILD AND REMANUFACTURED ORDER THROUGH VOLVO AT SOME OWNER EXPENSE ABOVE WARRANTY (MILEONE ELITE: WWW.MILEONE.COM) ALLOWANCE. REPAIR FACILITY VISUALLY DESCRIBED FAILURE AS A HARD PART FAILURE (TECH SAID IT LOOKED AS THOUGH IT "EXPLODED" DUE TO EXCESS PRESSURE FROM THE VALVE BODY). THE CAR WAS REPAIRED AND RETURNED TO THE OWNER OVER 4 WEEKS LATER. DELAY WAS CAUSED BY WARRANTY COMPANY UNABLE TO DELIVERING THE CORRECT USED TRANSMISSION (3X). OWNER EXPENSE WAS INCURRED WHEN DECISION WAS MADE TO PURCHASE A REMANFACTURED TRANSMISSION. *LA

THROTTLE BODY (ACCORDING TO DEALER) FAILURE CAUSES VEHICLE'S COMPUTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO REDUCE PERFORMANCE UNEXPECTEDLY. THIS UNEXPECTED FAILURE AND PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION POSES HIGH RISK IF TRAVELING ON BUSY HIGHWAY AT TIME OF FAILURE. *LA

THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER#03V474000 REGARDING THE ELECTRIC BRAKE VACUUM PUMP. THE DEALERSHIP STILL DOES NOT HAVE THE PARTS AVAILABLE TO CONDUCT THE RECALL. *NM

WHEN MAKING A SHARP TURN THE VEHICLE FELT LIKE IT WAS TAILING AND DID NOT TRACK PROPERLY. IT ALSO FELT LIKE IT WAS GOING TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN CONTACTED SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THE CAUSE OR A REMEDY TO THE PROBLEM HAD NOT BEEN FOUND. *JB

UPON MERGING ONTO THE HIGHWAY AT 35 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLOW OUT. THIS ALMOST RESULTED IN LOST OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THIS WAS CAUSED BECAUSE THE TIRE LEAKED AIR. THE CONSUMER ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE THE BLOWN OUT TIRE WITH THE SPARE, BUT THE SPARE WAS LEAKING AIR ALSO. THE CAUSE OF THE TIRE LEAKING AIR HAD NOT BEEN DETERMINED, HOWEVER ROAD HAZARD HAD BEEN ELIMINATED. *JB