NHTSA Complaint #10888739 — 2015 VOLVO S60

2015.5 VOLVO S60 T5 DRIVE-E, LESS THAN 13K MILES. BOTH THE LEFT AND RIGHT FRONT FENDER SURFACES, JUST BEHIND THE FRONT HEADLIGHTS, ARE EXTREMELY HOT TO TOUCH AFTER NORMAL DRIVING. BENDING DOWN TO LOOK UNDER THE CAR, I HAD PUT MY HAND ABOVE THE FRONT WHEEL AND NOTICED THE FENDER AREA WAS EXTREMELY HOT TO THE TOUCH. THE CAR HAD BEEN DRIVEN NORMALLY AND WAS IN MY GARAGE AT THE TIME; THE CAR WAS NOT IN THE HOT SUN. THE AMBIENT TEMP WAS APPROX. 78F. USING A HAND HELD NON-CONTACT THERMOMETER, THE FRONT FENDER SURFACE TEMPERATURE BEHIND THE FRONT HEADLIGHTS WAS MEASURED - IT APPROACHED 140F AT BOTH FENDER SURFACES. SINCE THESE FRONT FENDERS ARE READILY ACCESSIBLE BY SMALL CHILDREN, THESE SURFACES CAN BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FOR SOME TIME AFTER THE ENGINE HAS BEEN SHUT OFF. AS NOTED IN ASTM C1055, SHORT DURATION BODILY CONTACT AT 140F COULD BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CAUSING 1ST DEGREE BURNS. WHEN ONE OPENS THE ENGINE HOOD, IT APPEARS THE HOT FENDER SURFACES ARE THE RESULT OF VEHICLE DESIGN. A BLACK METALLIC UPPER BODY BRACE CONNECTS THE HOT RADIATOR TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT FENDER AREAS. BASED ON THIS OBSERVATION, ONE CAN ONLY ASSUME ALL 2015.5 VOLVO S60'S HAVE THIS ISSUE AND SHOULD BE EASY TO INVESTIGATE/VERIFY. I DON'T BELIEVE THE TEMP I OBSERVED (140F) ACCOUNTS FOR WORST CASE SCENARIOS, SUCH AS UNDETECTED ENGINE FAULTS (EXCESSIVE ENG TEMPS). UNDETECTED FAULTS COULD CREATE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER FENDER SURFACE TEMPS. NO WARNINGS OF HOT FENDER SURFACE TEMPS WERE FOUND IN THE 2015.5 S60 OPERATING MANUAL, NOR WERE THERE ANY STICKERS IN THE CAR NOTING SUCH. NHTSA WEBSITE INDICATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOTED EXCESSIVE TURBO COOLANT HOSE TEMPS. SINCE THIS APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN ISSUE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CAR ITSELF AND THIS IS A POTENTIAL BURN ISSUE FOR UNSUSPECTING SMALL CHILDREN, THIS COMPLAINT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED IMMEDIATELY.