2004 VOLVO V70XC — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

I WAS DEPARTING MY HOME VILLAGE ABOUT A BLOCK FROM MY HOME AND I HEARD A LOUD BANG IN THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE AT ABOUT 15 MPH!! NO BUMP.. NOTHING! I LOOKED UNDER THE CAR AND THERE WAS NO OBVIOUS ISSUE AT THE INITIAL LOOK AND I DROVE ANOTHER QUARTER MILE AND HEARD A SLIGHT GRIND OR NOISE ON SMALL BUMPS... THEN A CLANK. I BACKED UP AND THERE WAS A PIECE OF THE COIL SPRING ON THE ROAD!!!! THE FRONT LEFT - DRIVERS SIDE - COIL SPRING SNAPPED IN TWO. AT 101,000 MILES. THE CLEAN BREAK AND NO RUST OR UNUSUAL CORROSION INDICATES A FAULTY METAL. HOW CAN I TRUST THE VOLVO XC AGAIN!! SAFETY AND VOLVO ARE NO LONGER WORDS THAT SHOULD BE USED TOGETHER. MY COMPLAINTS TO VOLVO AMERICA WERE RESPONDED TO WITH NO CONSIDERATION TO THE MAGNITUDE OF THE ISSUE. VOLVO DID NOT STAND BEHIND THE OBVIOUS FLAW IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VEHICLE. MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA AND ONLINE FORUMS INDICATE A COMMON ISSUE WITH VOLVO XC SUSPENSION COIL SPRINGS. SO DANGEROUS!

ENTERING MY VEHICLE I SMELLED A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE. UPON INVESTIGATION, I FOUND THIS WAS DUE TO A CRACKED FUEL PUMP. BECAUSE OF THIS VERY PROBLEM, THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF VEHICLE WAS OFFICIALLY RECALLED BY VOLVO IN 2009 AS PART OF NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : PE09039 NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER : 09V483000 . HOWEVER THE RECALL ONLY APPLIES TO VEHICLES SOLD IN AL, AZ, AR, CA, FL, GA, HI, KY, LA, MS, NV, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA AND THE US TERRITORIES. THE PROBLEM CAN HAPPEN TO ANY OF THESE CARS REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY WERE SOLD. THE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS THAT MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SAFETY HAZARD OCCUR IN NEW ENGLAND AS WELL AS THE SOUTH AND WEST. THE DEFECTIVE PART AND SAFETY ISSUE EXISTS FOR ALL OWNERS OF THESE CARS AND EVERY ONE OF THEM SHOULD BE RECALLED.

THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT WARMER CAUGHT FIRE. IT BURNED A HOLE THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE SEAT COVER AND ALSO CAUSED A MILD BURN TO MY LEG. I STOPPED THE CAR, SHUT OF THE SEAT WARMER, AND WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE WHILE IT WAS STILL SMALL. A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET REVEALED THAT OTHER OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. *TR

FUEL SMELL COMING FROM TRUNK. POSSIBLE COMBUSTION. PREVIOUS RECALL WAS NOT EXTENDED TO COLORADO, BUT AS THE FRONT RANGE SUMMER TEMPERATURES AND DRYNESS ARE AN INDICATOR OF FAILURE, I WORRY THAT THIS RECALL SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO COLORADO OWNERS. *TR

THE FUEL PUMP IN MY 2004 VOLVO XC70 FAILED, CAUSING GAS TO LEAK FROM THE VEHICLE. I UNDERSTAND FROM A NYT ARTICLE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS INTO NHTSA REGARDING A SIMILAR CONDITION IN THE 2004 XC90. THE LEAKING PUMP WAS REPAIRED BY A VOLVO DEALER AT CONSIDERABLE ($1300) COST. *TR