2012 Volvo XC60

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.

JUST BOUGHT THE CAR AND DROVE APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES AND THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM LIGHT CAME ON. DROVE ANOTHER 10 MILES HOME AND ARRANGED FOR AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER FOR CORRECTION/REPAIR. NOTICED THAT THE ERROR WARNING DID NOT COME ON INITIALLY AFTER VEHICLE WAS PARKED BUT, SEEMED IF I DROVE ABOUT 25 MILES OR MORE THE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND STAY ON, AND THIS IS WHAT OCCURRED UNTIL I WENT TO HAVE IT SERVICED. DEALER GET ME FOR 4 HOURS AND TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT GET THE TIRES TO READ. THE DEALER THEN MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH VOLVO FOR CORRECTION/SERVICE, AND THEY KEPT ME FOR 3 HOURS AND SAID THEY CHECKED THE TIRES AND RESET THE SENSORS, AND BELIEVED IT WAS THE BATTERY BECAUSE THE VOLTAGE WAS NOT HIGH ENOUGH. SO THEY WERE TRYING TO GET THE BATTERY TO FAIL...THIS DID NOT EVEN MAKES SENSE. ANYWAY THEY SAID, THEY CLEARED THE CODE AND DROVE IT AND IT WAS FINE. I LEFT AND GOT ABOUT 20 MILES AWAY AND THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. THE THIRD TIME I TOOK MY CAR BACK TO WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR (NOT VOLVO) WHO TOOK IT TO ANOTHER VOLVO DEALER AND IT ONE WEEK TO TELL ME, THE TIRE PRESSURE INDICATED ON THE DOOR PANEL WHICH IS 35PSI IS INCORRECT AND IT REALLY SHOULD 38PSI AND THE CODES WERE CLEARED AND THEY DROVE IT AND ALL WAS CORRECTED. I LEFT AND DROVE ABOUT 25 MILES AND THE TPMS ERROR LIGHT WAS ON AGAIN. NEEDLESS TO SAY THEY CANNOT DETECT WHAT WAS WRONG. *TR

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?

UNCONTROLLABLE ACCELERATION, OVERRIDING BRAKE: UNEXPLAINED ACCIDENT OCCURRED AS I HAD PULLED INTO ANGLE PARKING SLOT, FOOT ON BRAKE READY TO SHIFT TO "PARK" . SUDDENLY THE CAR UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATED FORWARD ABOUT 5 FEET AND LURCHED INTO THE WOODEN PARKING BARRIER THAT DELINEATES THE EDGE OF THE PARKING LOT, CRACKING IT. ENGINE WAS REVVING. I SHIFTED INTO REVERSE TO GET BACK INTO PARKING SPOT (FOOT ON BRAKE NECESSARY TO SHIFT INTO REVERSE) AND CAR ACCELERATED BACKWARD TOTALLY OUT OF MY CONTROL, ONLY STOPPED AFTER BACKING INTO CAR PARKED ON OPPOSITE SIDE. PASSERBY SAID HE HEARD THE ENGINE REVVING FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LOT! AT THIS POINT I SHIFTED INTO "DRIVE" AND, WITH CAR NOW UNDER MY CONTROL, RETURNED TO ORIGINAL SPOT. I REFUSED TO DRIVE CAR AGAIN WHEN POLICE ASKED ME TO SHOW WHAT HAD HAPPENED- HAD IT TOWED, VOLVO USA TECHNICIAN REPORTEDLY FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR, ( THE REPORT IS AN INTERNAL VOLVO DOCUMENT NOT AVAILABLE TO ME). THIS WAS A FRIGHTENING, HORRIFYING INCIDENT, WITH RAPID ACCELERATION OCCURRING BOTH FORWARD AND IN REVERSE, DESPITE FOOT ON BRAKE. CAR IS EQUIPPED WITH MULTIPLE SAFETY FEATURES. PEOPLE COULD HAVE BEEN HURT- LUCKILY NO ONE WAS. OVER NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, I WENT OVER EVERY POSSIBILITY, BUT MUST CONCLUDE IT WAS A MALFUNCTION OF THE CAR. *TR