1998 Volvo V70

I OWN A 1998 VOLVO V70 THAT HAS PROBLEMS WITH THE DOOR LOCKS. THE CAR WILL LOCK BUT TWO DOORS DO NOT UNLOCK WHEN THE MASTER OR REMOTE SWITCHES ARE ACTIVATED. ONE HAS TO MANUALLY LIFT THE UNLOCKING KNOB FIRST. MY CONCERN IS THAT IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT OR THE NEED TO LEAVE THE CAR QUICKLY, A YOUNG CHILD OR SOMEONE WHO IS INFIRM MAY NOT BE ABLE TO EXIT THE CAR AND SOMEONE FROM THE OUTSIDE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO UNLOCK THE CAR DOOR EITHER TO HELP THEM. FOR THE FRONT DOOR, IT IS EASY ENOUGH TO LEAN OVER FROM THE OTHER SIDE AND LIFT THE KNOB TO UNLOCK THE DOOR BUT FOR THE REAR DOOR, THE KNOB IS PLACED TOO FAR BACK TO REACH FROM THE FRONT, HENCE THE CONCERN. FROM OPENING THE LOCK, IT APPEARS THAT A SMALL (3 MM) PIECE OF RED PLASTIC IN THE LOCK MECHANISM HAS SNAPPED OFF. FROM SEARCHING THE INTERNET, IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR MY YEAR AND MODEL BUT THAT THE DESIGN FAULT WAS FIXED ON LATER MODELS. ALSO, APPARENTLY THE BREAKAGE APPEARS TO OCCUR WHEN SOMEONE TRIES TO OPEN THE LOCKED DOOR WHILE SOMEONE IS TRYING TO UNLOCK IT  A NORMAL OCCURRENCE. I HAVE CONTACTED VOLVO BUT THEY TELL ME THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE AND SIMPLY WEAR AND TEAR. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.*AK

I OWN A 1998 VOLVO V70. WITH LESS THAN 50,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE BOTH THE AIR PUMP AND THE ABS CONTROL MODULE. THESE PARTS SHOULD NOT HAVE FAILED ON A CAR THAT IS FIVE YEARS OLD. SINCE THE CAR IS PAST ITS WARRANTY PERIOD, VOLVO WILL NOT REIMBURSE ME FOR THESE PARTS (A TOTAL OF $1,273). IN RESPONSE TO A LETTER FROM ME, VOLVO SAID, "IN THE EVENT THAT EITHER OF THESE COMPONENTS IS RECALLED, REIMBURSEMENT COULD BE CONSIDERED AT THAT TIME." PLEASE ADD MY NAME TO OTHERS WHO UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THESE FAULTY PARTS (AIR PUMP - PKS70AP AND ABS/TRAC - 8602266) SO THAT A RECALL CAN BE ISSUED. I WOULD BE GLAD TO SUBMIT TO NHTSA BOTH LETTERS BETWEEN VOLVO AND MYSELF.*AK

ELECTRIC DOOR LOCKS IN DOOR BEHIND DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER DOORS HAVE FAILED. BOTH WILL CLOSE NORMALLY BUT WILL NOT OPEN WITH KEY OR REMOTE. IN DARK PARKING LOT, NOT BEING ABLE TO OPEN DOOR ESPECIALLY WITH REMOTE MEANS IT TAKES MORE TIME TO ENTER CAR LEAVING PASSENGERS MORE VULNERABLE TO ASSAULT. (NOTE: INCIDENT DATE NOT ACCURATE BUT WEBSITE WON'T LET ME PROCEED WITHOUT AN ENTRY.) *AK

MY 1998 VOLVO V70 AWD. WITH LESS THAN 49,000 MILES THE ABS/TRACS WARNING LIGHT BEGAN TO INTERMITTANTLY COME ON (INDICATES ABS SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED TRACTION CONTROL ARE INOPERATIVE). SUBSEQUENT COMPUTERIZED TROUBLE FAULT EVALUATION BY DEALER'S SERVICE DEPT (PENKUS VOLVO) INDICATED THAT THE ABS CONTROL MODULE WAS AT FAULT AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED (AT ALMOST $800). CAR HAD MILEAGE WITHIN THE WARRANTY LIMIT, BUT WAS BEYOND THE TIME LIMIT TO QUALIFY FOR WARRANTY SERVICE. I HAVE SINCE DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH/INTERNET SEARCHES ON THIS ISSUE (NOTE I AM A RESEARCH SCIENTIST) AND HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF THIS TEVES 20 ABS UNIT FAILING. SPECIFICALLY, I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS 1998 VOLVO MODEL HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY THIS! I RECOGNIZE THAT ALL OF THE HISTORICAL CLAIMS THAT I'VE REVIEWED DO NOT INVOLVE DEATH NOR PERSONNEL INJURY AS A RESULT OF THIS DEFECT, HOWEVER, THERE ARE SOME DOCUMENTED "CLOSE CALLS." I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT YOUR AGENCY, NHTSA, SHOULD INVESTIGATE FURTHER AND PERHAPS MANDATE A RECALL BY VOLVO. YOU PRIMARILY EXIST TO PROMOTE SAFETY IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY AND TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN CONSUMER. PLEASE DON'T WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE IS KILLED OR HURT BEFORE YOU ACT! THANK YOU. *AK

THE VOLVO ABS / TRAC CONTROL MODULE IS FAILING AT AN ABNORMALLY HIGH RATE. LOCAL DEALERSHIP REPLACES IN EXCESS OF 5 OF THESE PER MONTH. VOLVO CORPORATE OFFICE WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ANY PROBLEM WITH THIS SAFETY DEVICE, AND OTHERWISE REFUSES TO DISCUSS THE HIGH RATE OF FAILURES. OTHER RESEARCH, INCLUDING A HIGH DEMAND FOR NON-DEALER ACQUIRED ABS COMPUTER MODULES IN THE AFTERMARKET INDUSTRY STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT THOSE UNITS INSTALLED IN VEHICLES ARE FAILING AT AN ABNORMALLY HIGH RATE. IN MY 1998 V70 WAGON THE ABS & TRAC OFF INDICATORS (WARNING LAMPS) RANDOMLY LIGHT. AS A RESULT THE SAFETY OFFERED BY THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM BECOMES DISABLED OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME. EVERY POTENTIAL CAUSE HAS BEEN RULED OUT EXCEPT FOR THE ABS COMPUTER MODULE (ABS / TRAC CONTROL MODULE). THIS SAFETY ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE NHTSA DUE TO THE IMPENDING RISK TO LIFE THAT CONTINUED FAILURES OF THIS SAFETY DEVICE WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BRING.

FOR OUR 1998 VOLVO V70 XC AWD, THERE WAS A RECALL IN NOV 1999 (99V235/VOLVO RECALL NO. 94). WHEN OUR HEADLIGHT SWITCH SUDDENLY DISASSEMBLED ON THE INTERSTATE AT NIGHT IN MID-SEPTEMBER, LEAVING THE CAR WITHOUT A SINGLE VISIBLE LIGHT, I HAD TO REASSEMBLE IT AND HOLD IT TOGETHER TO REACH HOME. WE CHECKED WITH OUR DEALER THE NEXT DAY. THE COMPUTER RECORDS SHOWED THAT THE SWITCH RECALL HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE FOR OUR CAR, SO I BOUGHT ANOTHER SWITCH. AS I LOOKED CLOSELY AT THE SWITCH THAT WAS REMOVED, I REALIZED I WAS LOOKING AT THE RECALLED SWITCH, STILL IN THE CAR FOUR YEARS AFTER THE RECALL DATE. VOLVO USA AUTHORIZED THE LOCAL DEALER (NOT THE ONE WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE DONE THE RECALL) TO REFUND ME THE PRICE OF THE SWITCH. NO ONE SEEMS INTERESTED IN THE INCORRECT REPORTING OF A RECALL COMPLETION WHEN, IN FACT, THE WORK WAS NOT DONE, LEAVING THE CAR UNSAFE. THE DEALERSHIP REPORTING THE RECALL COMPLETION WAS LEIKIN VOLVO, 38750 MENTOR AVENUE, WILLOUGHBY, OH, 44094. ARE THERE OTHER REFERENCES TO SKIPPED RECALLS INVOLVING THIS DEALERSHIP?*AK