NHTSA Complaint #10144606 — 1998 VOLVO S70

THE ABS ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM IN MY 1998 VOLVO S70 FAILED. THE DASHBOARD LIGHT INDICATED ABS & TRACTION CONTROL (TRACS) FAILURE. NORMAL NON-ABS BRAKING REMAINED. RESEARCH ON SEVERAL VOLVO OWNERS WEB SITES (SUCH AS BRICKBOARD: HTTP://WWW.BRICKBOARD.COM/AWD/?MODEL=S70) SHOWED SYSTEMIC FAILURE OF THE ABS CONTROL MODULE VOLVO PART # 9162675 DUE TO PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD SOLDER CRACKING AFTER 6 YEARS. THE CAR WAS TESTED BY A VOLVO DEALER CONFIRMING ABS CONTROL MODULE FAILEDURE. VOLVO CHARGES A TOTAL $650 TO REPLACE THE UNIT. THE "BRICKBOARD" OWNERS GROUP SUGGESTED A REPAIR SHOP IN CALIFORNIA THAT RESOLDERS THE CIRCUIT BOARD, REPLACES AND UPGRADES FAILED COMPONENTS, TESTS & RETURNS IT FOR $130 PLUS SHIPPING. WE HAD THE OLD BOARD REPAIRED, SINCE A NEW EXACT REPLACEMENT BOARD FROM VOLVO WOULD HAVE THE SAME FAILURE AFTER ANOTHER 5 YEARS. THE REPAIRED ABS CONTROL UNIT HAS BEEN REINSTALLED & THE CAR NOW WORKS PROPERLY, WITH FULL ABS AND TRACS CONTROL. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST PRINTED CIRCUIT FAILURE FROM VOLVO. OUR 1993 VOLVO 940 TURBO HAD TWO BOARD FAILURES: 1, THE RELAY BASE BOARD SOLDER CRACKED, AND RESULTED IN THE OVERDRIVE RELAY NOT WORKING; 2, CRUISE CONTROL OPERATED ERRATICALLY, DUE TO BAD BOARD SOLDER. BOTH OF THESE BOARDS WERE REPAIRED BY OUR LOCAL SERVICE SHOP. WE ARE VERY CONCERNED THAT TWO CRITICAL SAFETY ELEMENTS - THE ABS SYSTEM AND TRACTION CONTROL - ARE FAILING IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, & BECAUSE OF A FAILURE OF WHAT SHOULD BE A SIMPLE ASSEMBLY OF TESTED PARTS. FURTHER, WE ARE MOST DISTURBED THAT VOLVO'S REMEDY IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPLACEMENT, WITH THE SAME FAILURE PRONE PART. WORSE, ALTHOUGH WE OPTED FOR A COMPLETE REPAIR, THERE ARE OWNERS WHO CANNOT AFFORD THE FIX. THESE WILL BE DRIVING WITH FAR LESS BRAKING AND CONTROL THAN THE CAR IS CAPABLE OF PROVIDING. *NM