Greensboro, N.C. – Dec. 12, 2016 – Volvo Bus Corporation announced a safety recall of buses suffering from potentially severe engine issues. If left unaddressed, these flaws could create safety problems for drivers and passengers.
The Defect
Volvo is recalling certain buses manufactured between Jan. 7, 2008 and Aug. 25, 2016, according to documents compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The engines in these vehicles have power feed relays that are meant to control both the engines and transmissions. There is a chance, however, that these relays can be undersized, leading to failure. In this instance, the affected engines might stall during operation.
Timeline of Events
- Aug. 18, 2016 – Volvo received reports of potential safety-related issues in some of its buses. At the time, the specific problems had not yet been identified.
- Aug. 19, 2016 – The manufacturer opened its investigation into the vehicles.
- Aug. 25, 2016 – Volvo issued a delivery stop of all buses that may have been potentially affected while conducting the investigation.
- Aug. 29, 2016 – Volvo received information from the investigation detailing the defect and how it might affect vehicles.
- Sept. 14, 2016 – The manufacturer presented its findings to the North America Product Safety Working Group and Volvo Group North
- America Regulatory Affairs.
- Sept. 27, 2016 – Volvo also shared Information shared with the Product Safety Committee.
- Nov. 10, 2016 – Volvo concluded that it had a safety-related defect and issued a voluntary recall.
Resolution
Volvo will notify owners and dealers of its recall program and replace the affected power relays, free of charge. The replacements will separate engine and transmission power into two circuits, which should reduce the load on each and prevent future problems.
