2012 VOLVO XC60 Steering Problems

OVER A PERIOD OF THE LAST 45 DAYS ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS,IN RAIN, AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF 55MPH+, THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE DRIVER INPUTS FAILED TO FUNCTION. WHEN DRIVING, TURNING THE WHEEL TO LEFT/RIGHT TO CHANGE LANES OR PULL TO THE SLOW LANE; MADE THE CAR FEEL AS IT WANTED TO SPIN OUT UNCONTROLLABLY.TO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL LEFT, THE CAR WANTED TO GO RIGHT. WHEN GOING STRAIGHT THERE WAS A WOBBLY UNSTABLE FEELING, AND WAS NOTICEABLE TO PASSENGERS IN THE CAR. THE ISSUE DID NOT OCCUR AT LOWER SPEEDS AND CAR PERFORM NORMALLY. THE SENSATION WAS SIMILAR TO THE INPUT ON A BOAT. THE ONLY CORRECTION WHICH WORKED WAS TO SLOW DOWN TO 40-45 AND TAKE SIDE ROADS. AT LOWER SPEEDS BRAKE TESTING AND OTHER MANEUVERS WERE PERFORMED WITHOUT ISSUE.

LAST EVENING WHEN TURNING A CORNER MY FINGER WAS CUT BY THE METAL PORTION OF THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN I GOT HOME, I NOTICED THAT AT THE "6 O'CLOCK" POSITION THERE WAS SHARP METAL THAT HAS COME LOOSE AND THAT IS WHAT CUT MY FINGER. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR. ALSO, UPON CALLING THE DEALER THIS MORNING THEY SAID THEY KEEP A NUMBER OF THE REPLACEMENT PARTS IN INVENTORY BECAUSE IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. MUCH TO MY SURPRISE THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SAFETY RECALL. THE DEALER SAID THEY WILL WORK WITH ME ON THE PRICE, BUT WOULD NOT COVER IT BECAUSE MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I REALLY THINK IF PEOPLE ARE GETTING CUT THIS SHOULD BE RAISED TO A RECALL LEVEL.

SUDDEN FAILURE OF THE POWER STEERING, AMONGST OTHERS, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A CROSSROADS. VERY DANGEROUS EMERGENCY STOPPING OF THE CAR, ENGINE STOPPED, ALL ALARMS ON, STEERING NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO USE WITHOUT POWER. HAD TO TOW THE VEHICLE TO SERVICE CENTER. VOLVO CLAIMS THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN A COMMON PLACE ALTERNATOR FAILURE (THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL CAMPAIGN FOR SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH AUXILIARY BELT TENSIONER). POWER STEERING FAILED ALTHOUGH BATTERY WAS FULLY CHARGED. FOUND ON THE INTERNET THIS OCCURRING SEVERAL TIMES TO OTHER XC60 DRIVERS. AS ALTERNATOR FAILURES WITHOUT ANY WARNING ARE SO "COMMON PLACE" AND AS THEY CAN HAVE SUCH VERY NEGATIVE IMPACT ON SAFETY, WHY ISN'T THERE ANY BATTERY-BASED POWER STEERING SURVIVABILITY AS ON MOST OTHER VEHICLES?