VOLVO Complaints

FOR BOTH OUR 2001 VOLVO S60 2.4T AND OUR 2003 VOLVO XC90 2.5T AWD THERE HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR A TRANSMISSION DEFECT (ESSENTIALLY SAME TRANSMISSION IN BOTH VEHICLES PER VOLVO TECH SUPPORT). BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD THERE IS . INTERMITTENT/UNPREDICTABLE FAILURE TO ENGAGE 3RD IN TIMELY FASHION WITH RESULTANT LOSS OF ACCELERATION AS VEHICLE IS FUNCTIONALLY IN NEUTRAL WITH ENGINE RACING FOR 0.5 TO 2.5 SECONDS. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY WHEN PULLING ON TO A HIGHWAY. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED 2 NEAR COLLISIONS (ALMOST BEING STRUCK FROM BEHIND). VOLVO TECH SUPPORT ACKNOWLEDGES A FLAW IN DESIGN CAUSING SERVO FLUID AIR LOCK IN THE 2001. A NEW TRANSMISSION IS SCHEDULED TO BE REPLACED FOR OUR S60, BUT IF THE PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURING IN OUR 2003, WILL THIS CORRECT THE PROBLEM? THE 2003 XC90 THEY SAY CAN BE REPAIRED WITH "UPGRADED SOFTWARE" (WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR THAT VEHICLE) BUT THIS REMEDY FAILED WHEN PERFORMED ON OUR 2001 S60. WE HAVE LET THE DEALER KNOW WE FEEL BOTH VEHICLES ARE UNSAFE WITH THIS PROBLEM AND WE ARE NOW STUCK WITH THEM TRYING TO REMEDY BOTH GLARING SAFETY DEFECTS. WE ARE NOT AWARE OF A FEDERALLY MANDATED RECALL TO REPAIR THIS ACKNOWLEDGED (SAFETY) DEFECT.*AK

FOR BOTH OUR 2001 VOLVO S60 2.4T AND OUR 2003 VOLVO XC90 2.5T AWD, THERE HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR A TRANSMISSION DEFECT (ESSENTIALLY SAME TRANSMISSION IN BOTH VEHICLES PER VOLVO TECH SUPPORT). BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD THERE IS. *AK INTERMITTENT/UNPREDICTABLE FAILURE TO ENGAGE 3RD IN TIMELY FASHION WITH RESULTANT LOSS OF ACCELERATION AS VEHICLE IS FUNCTIONALLY IN NEUTRAL FOR 0.5 TO 2.5 SECONDS. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY WHEN PULLING ON TO A HIGHWAY. WE HAVE EXPERIENCED 2 NEAR COLLISIONS (ALMOST BEING STRUCK FROM BEHIND). VOLVO TECH SUPPORT ACKNOWLEDGES A FLAW IN DESIGN CAUSING SERVO FLUID AIR LOCK IN THE 2001 MODEL. A NEW TRANSMISSION IS SCHEDULED TO BE REPLACED FOR OUR S60, BUT IF THE PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURING IN OUR 2003, WILL THIS CORRECT THE PROBLEM? THE XC90 THEY SAY CAN BE REPAIRED WITH "UPGRADED SOFTWARE" INSTALLATION (WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR THAT VEHICLE) BUT THIS REMEDY FAILED WHEN PERFORMED ON THE 2001. WE HAVE LET THE DEALER KNOW WE FEEL BOTH VEHICLES ARE UNSAFE WITH THIS PROBLEM AND WE ARE NOW STUCK WITH THEM TRYING TO REMEDY BOTH GLARING SAFETY DEFECTS.

XC90 DOES NOT START - THE PROBLEM PERSISTED FOR OVER 4 WEEKS AND DEALER COULD NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *NLM

MY NEW VOLVO V70 WITH ONLY 7000 MILES ALMOST TOOK MY LIFE AS WELL AS MY 18 MONTH OLD SON'S LIFE! I WAS DRIVING DOWN A FOUR LANE ROAD WHEN ANOTHER DRIVER MOTIONED ME TO PULL ASIDE. I THOUGHT I HAD A FLAT TIRE SO I PULLED OVER. THE CAR WAS ON FIRE! WHEN I LOOKED BACK THE CAR HAD FLAMES SHOOTING OUT FROM UNDER THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEATS FROM THE UNDER CARRIAGE. WITHIN 5 MINUTES THE FLAMES ENGULFED THE CAR AND THE GAS TANK EXPLODED! I WAS ABLE TO TAKE NOTHING WITH ME, I LOST EVERYTHING IN THE CAR DOWN TO MY PURSE! THE SADDEST PART ABOUT MY STORY IS THAT NOTHING IN THE VOLVO WARNED ME I WAS ON FIRE!! MY HUSBAND NOTIFIED OUR LOCAL VOLVO DEALERSHIP WHO IN TURN CONTACTED VOLVO NORTH AMERICA. ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2003 WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM A [XXX] THAT STATED "A VOLVO FIELD TECHNICAL SPECIALIST THOROUGHLY EXAMINED YOUR VEHICLE. THERE WAS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO YOUR VOLVO AND BASED ON OUR INSPECTION AND AVAILABLE INFORMATION, WE DID NOT CONCLUDE A VOLVO PRODUCT RELATED CONDITION AS THE CAUSE OF THE SITUATION YOU REPORTED." I AM DUMBFOUNDED! I WOULD LIKE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY MY NEW VOLVO CAUGHT FIRE AS I AM DRIVING 35 MPH AND THEN BURNT TO THE GROUND!! I AM EXTREMELY UPSET MY THE WAY VOLVO NORTH AMERICA RESPONDED TO US IN THEIR LETTER. I RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL RESPONSE ON 10/6/03 FROM HER AFTER SHE RECEIVED THE ABOVE. WE ARE SORRY OUR PREVIOUS REPLY WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND WE REALIZE THAT THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN THAT MAY OCCUR. AGAIN, WE REGRET TO LEARN OF YOUR UNFORTUNATE EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR 2002 VOLVO V70. AS WE PREVIOUSLY STATED, THERE WAS EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO YOUR VOLVO AND BASED ON OUR AVAILABLE INFORMATION FOR THE INSPECTION, WE DID NOT CONCLUDE A VOLVO PRODUCT RELATED CONDITION AS THE CAUSE OF THE SITUATION YOU REPORTED. WHILE WE REGRET YOU MAY NOT CONCUR WITH OUR DETERMINATION, UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO FURTHER CONSIDER THIS MATTER. SINCERELY, [XXX]. *NLM INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

1998, VOLVO, COMMERCIAL TRACTOR SERVICE, BRAKE PEDAL RIGHT ON THE FLOOR AND HARD TO REACH. *AK

IN EARLY OCTOBER 2003 THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE SYSTEM (ETS) LIGHT APPEARED ON MY CAR'S PANEL. THIS AFFECTED THE DRIVABILITY OF THE VEHICLE. I PURCHASED AN ADDITIONAL WARRANTY FOR MY VEHICLE WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR IN MAY 2000. THE DEALER INDICATED THAT MY WARRANTY WOULD NOT COVER THIS PROBLEM AND THAT IT WOULD COST APPROXIMATELY $900 TO REPAIR IT. I DECLINED THE SERVICE. THE LIGHT CONTINUES TO COME ON FREQUENTLY (I.E., EVERY 2ND OR 3RD DAY OF THE WEEK). WHEN THIS HAPPENS, I WILL PULL OVER AND TURN OFF THE CAR FOR A MOMENT. WHEN I START IT UP AGAIN, THE LIGHT DOES NOT APPEAR AND DRIVABILITY IS NORMAL. AS A VOLVO OWNER FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS, I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED ANY SIMILAR MALFUNCTIONS. I HAVE OWNED A 1982 VOLVO 240, A 1992 VOLVO 240 AND MY CURRENT VOLVO S70. I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU WOULD RESEARCH THIS MALFUNCTION TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED (OR THE MANUFACTURER) COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER VOLVO OWNERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. *NLM

WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, AND THE KEY WAS OUT OF THE IGNITION, THE PASSENGER FRONT AIR BAG DEPLOYED INADVERTENTLY. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. THE CAUSE HAD NOT BEEN DETERMINED. *AK *SCC *JB

MY 1999 VOLVO S70 HAS FAILED TO START AFTER SHORT TRIPS. MY WIFE HAD MENTIONED THIS PREVIOUSLY, BUT TWO RECENT INCIDENTS MADE THIS REPORT NECESSARY.*AK THE FIRST INCIDENT WAS ON THE MORNING OF 11/18/2003. AFTER A 30-MINUTE TRIP, I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND LEFT THE CAR TO GATHER PAPERS FOR WORK. I LEFT THE CAR LESS THAN 5 MINUTES. WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR, THERE WERE LIGHTS IN THE DASH AND THE FUEL PUMP PRIMED, BUT NO IGNITION. THERE WAS NO CLICKING, BUT IT SEEMED THAT THE CAR HAD POWER. CAR WAS TOWED TO A VOLVO DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE. THEY FOUND A WEAK BATTERY, AND REPLACED IT. THAT APPARENTLY FIXED THE PROBLEM, AND CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME. THE SECOND INCIDENT WAS THE FOLLOWING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER23. DROVE THE CAR TO THE LOCAL HARDWARE STORE. I SHUT OFF ENGINE, GOT OUT, AND MADE MY PURCHASES. WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES, I RETURNED AND TRIED TO START THE CAR. DASH INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON, BUT NO CLICKING. TRIED TO START THE CAR A FEW TIMES, SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL TO ROLL THE CAR, STILL WOULD NOT START. THE CAR WAS TOWED AND RETURNED TO THE DEALERSHIP. MONDAY MORNING, TECH AT THE DEALERSHIP TRIED AND IT STARTED IMMEDIATELY. THEY FOUND NO TROUBLE, AND ASKED TO RETURN MY CAR. I HAVE REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE CAR UNTIL THE TROUBLE, HOWEVER INTERMITTENT, IS ISOLATED, DIAGNOSED, AND CORRECTED. I AM CURRENTLY DRIVING A LOANER CAR FROM THE DEALERSHIP. BATTERY REPLACEMENT DOES NOT FIX THIS. MAY BE A "DEAD SPOT" IN THE STARTER, WHICH COULD EXPLAIN WHY THE CAR WOULD START AFTER SOME MAJOR MOTION (BEING TOWED, ETC). MAY BE ISSUES WITH THE CHARGING SYSTEM, TO EXPLAIN THE WEAK BATTERY IN THE FIRST INCIDENT. COULD BE A GREATER HAZARD FOR OTHERS WHO MAY BE TRAVELING, AND FIND THEMSELVES STRANDED.

WHILE DRIVING, THE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. BOTH LIGHTS STAYED FOR THE DURATION OF TRAVEL. *AK *JB *NM

CONSUMER STATED THAT 6 MONTHS AGO HE REPLACED REAR BRAKES AND CALIPERS AT 15,000 MILES. CURRENTLY, CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR REGULAR MAINTENANCE, AND WAS TOLD THAT HE NEEDED TO REPLACE FRONT BRAKES AND ROTORS. *AK