2015 Volvo S60

BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE CAR ON THREE OCCASSIONS. BRAKES WOULD SLOW THE CAR DOWN;HOWEVER, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS PUSHED ALL THE WAY DOWN AND THE CAR WAS STILL ROLLING. FIRST TWO FAILURES OCCURRED CONSECUTIVELY. HAD TO SHIFT THE CAR INTO PARK FIRST TIME; SECOND TIME HAD TO PUT THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ON. THIRD OCCASION WAS AFTER TAKING THE VEHICLE INTO VOLVO DEALER IN CHICAGO AND GETTING IT BACK WITH NO REPAIRS COMPLETED BECAUSE COMPUTER DIDNT REGISTER A PROBLEM. THIRD OCCASION WAS FOUR DAYS LATER; CAR WAS SLOWING DOWN BUT WOULDN'T STOP. FORTUNATELY TRAFFIC STARTED TO MOVE AGAIN BEFORE I HAD TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO PARK. FIRST INCIDENT INVOLVED PEDESTRIAN CROSSING THE STREET, LAST INCIDENT INVOLVED ANOTHER VEHICLE. ALL THREE INCIDENTS WERE ON CITY STREETS. TOOK VEHICLE INTO SECOND DEALER IN DETROIT. THEY CONTACTED VOLVO TECH SUPPORT. VOLVO SUPPORT RECOMMENDED CHANGING MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER AND DRAINING BRAKES LINES. APPARENTLY THIS SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED ON ANOTHER S60 AND THIS FIX WORKED. THE DETROIT DEALER DID THE RCOMMENDED REPAIR AND SO FAR VEHICLE IS OK. HOWEVER WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR SAFETY..NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE ON THREE PREVIOUS OCCASIONS IS UNSAFE FOR US AND OTHER MOTORISTS/PEDESTRIANS. WE ARE NOT TOTALLY CONFIDENT THAT THE VEHICLE WILL BE ABLE TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP 100% OF THE TIME IN THE FUTURE.

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.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 VOLVO S60. WHILE DRIVING 5 MPH PULLING INTO THE GARAGE, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED TO 60 MPH. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT LOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000.

STATIONARY VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH KEYLESS IGNITION AND AUTO ENGINE "START/STOP" FEATURE. VEHICLE WAS STOPPED IN DRIVEWAY. ENGINE STOPPED, DRIVER STEPPED OUT OF CAR, ENGINE RESTARTED AND MOVED FORWARD, DAMAGING HOME AND BARELY MISSED PINNING DRIVER AGAINST WALL. EXPERIENCED DRIVER, MOMENTARILY DISTRACTED, ASSUMED ENGINE WAS OFF, AND HAVING PREVIOUSLY DISABLED START/STOP FEATURE, BELIEVED THAT VEHICLE WAS IN PARK AS PART OF NORMAL SHUTDOWN - OWING TO ALREADY QUIET ENGINE. CALL TO DEALER SERVICE REVEALED "SEVERAL PEOPLE" COMPLAINED OF AUTO START/STOP FEATURE BUT SAID THERE WAS NO WAY TO RESET DEFAULT FOR THIS FEATURE - THE SOLUTION WAS TO REMEMBER TO DISABLE EACH TIME DRIVER ENTERED CAR (VOLVO HAS A DISABLE BUTTON ON CONSOLE WHICH DEFAULTS TO THE AUTO START/STOP AND REQUIRES DRIVER TO MANUALLY DISABLE EACH TIME CAR IS STARTED).

BY DEFAULT, THE AUTO STOP/START FUNCTION IS ENGAGED EVERY TIME YOU START THE 2015.5 VOVO S60. THE CAR HAS ABOUT 1,800 MILES AND WAS PICKED UP AT THE END OF AUGUST, 2015, LEASED AS NEW. MY WIFE WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, ON A RELATIVELY FLAT ROAD. THE CAR TURNED OFF THE ENGINE USING THE AUTO-STOP/START. WHEN SHE TOOK HER FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND PUT IT ON THE ACCELERATOR, THE CAR TURNED OFF COMPLETELY. THE DASH TURNED OFF. SHE HAD TO PUT ON HER HAZARD WARNING LIGHTS, PUT THE CAR INTO PARK AND PRESS THE STOP/START BUTTON TO START THE CAR. SHE THEN WAS ABLE TO PUT IT BACK INTO DRIVE AND CONTINUE. THIS IS NOT HOW THIS IS SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION. THIS REPRESENTS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT COULD RESULT IN SOMEONE GETTING REAR-ENDED OR NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCELERATE FROM A STOP IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION--IMAGINE IF AN AMBULANCE, FIRETRUCK OR POLICE CAR WAS COMING THROUGH AND YOU HAD TO MOVE THROUGH AN INTERSECTION OR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BUT THE CAR DIED?

I WAS IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC ON A LEVEL SURFACE STREET. AFTER I CAME TO A STOP, THE STOP-START SYSTEM SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. WHEN I LET UP ON THE BRAKE SLIGHTLY, THE CAR STARTED TO ROLL FORWARD, BUT THE ENGINE DIDN'T START (IT NORMALLY DOES THIS). WHEN I LET UP LIGHTLY MORE AND QUICKLY USED THE ACCELERATOR, THE ENGINE FELT LIKE IT STALLED. ONCE STALLED, THE DASHBOARD SCREEN READ "PRESS START." PRESSING START DIDN'T DO ANYTHING OR PROVIDE ANY FEEDBACK, AND SUCCESSIVE ATTEMPTS DIDN'T HELP. AFTER NOT HITTING ANYTHING FOR A ~MINUTE, I FINALLY GOT FEEDBACK: THE CAR WASN'T IN PARK. AFTER PUTTING IT IN PARK FROM DRIVE, I WAS ABLE TO START IT. THIS ALL MAKES SENSE FOR A CAR WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, BUT "STALLING" AN AN AUTOMATIC, THEN GETTING INCORRECT INSTRUCTIONS WAS UNNERVING. IF THE CAR HAD AN ACTUAL KEY, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE TRIED TURNING IT OFF, FAILED, THEN REALIZED THE CAR WAS STILL IN DRIVE, BUT THE PUSH-BUTTON START DOESN'T MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT STATE THE CAR IS IN. I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I INITIALLY CAME TO A STOP OR WAS < 1MPH. I ALSO CAN'T REMEMBER IF I APPLIED THE BRAKES AS THE ENGINE STARTED TO START BACK UP, THEN LET UP ON THE BRAKES, OR IF I ONLY LET UP ON THE BRAKES ONCE.