NHTSA Complaint #10182879 — 1998 VOLVO S70

I HAVE A 1998 VOLVO S70 WITH ABOUT 88K MILES ON IT. I HAD A LOT OF WORK DONE ON IT DEC 20, 2006 INCLUDING REPLACING THE TIMING BELT. ON 2/15, WE WERE DRIVING AND THE ENGINE SUDDENLY STOPPED - WE LOST POWER STEERING AND BRAKING, ETC. WE MANAGED TO SLOW THE CAR AND GET INTO A PARKING LOT AND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER, JORDAN VOLVO IN MISHAWAKA, IN. WE FOUND THAT THE TENSIONER HAD FAILED CAUSING THE TIMING BELT TO SLIP OFF AND CAUSE WHAT APPEARS TO BE VERY MATERIAL (RETAIL AROUND $4K) WORTH OF DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE. VOLVO RECOMMENDS REPLACING THE TENSIONER AT 105K MILES I BELIEVE, BUT I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS CASES ON MESSAGE BOARDS OF PEOPLE HAVING THEIR TIMING BELT BUT NOT TENSIONER REPLACED AND THEN HAVING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE. WE ARE FORTUNATE THAT WE WERE NOT ON A HIGHWAY WHEN THIS HAPPENED, OR ALONG SIDE THE ROAD (IT WAS PROBABLY 5 DEGREES OUT). THE DEALERSHIP HAS OFFERED TO REPAIR THE CAR AT 1/2 PRICE, BUT MAINTAIN THAT THEY FOLLOWED VOLVO'S PROCEDURES. I CALLED MY OLD MECHANIC IN CHICAGO AND HE SAID THAT 90% OF THE TIME HE REPLACES THE TENSIONER TO AVOID JUST WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. WE WERE NOT EVEN WARNED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS HAPPENING NOR GIVEN THE OPTION TO DECLINE THE SERVICE. *NM