Greensboro, NC — October 13, 2015 — Last month, Volvo Trucks North America released a safety recall alert regarding thousands of recently manufactured trucks. While no reports of accidents have yet surfaced, the affected vehicles could be subject to either wheel end fires or tire blowouts, due to a fault that forces the service brakes to stay in the “on” position.
Repairs are expected to start on October 13, which is also the deadline for owner notification letters and repair instructions. The potential safety issue was first noticed this April, and the manufacturer submitted its official defect report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on August 13.
According to the official Part 573 Safety Recall Report, the trim panel in recalled trucks may have a slot too small for the hand brake to settle after being engaged. As part of the remedy, the newer trim panel will have a longer slot. A total of 2,854 vehicles are possibly involved in this action, including VNL trucks produced between 2011 and 2014.
In the alert document released August 19, Volvo addresses the responsibilities of dealers in this situation.
“Dealers should make their personnel aware of the safety recall. In the event that a dealer has a vehicle included in the safety recall in their inventory to be sold, the condition must be corrected before releasing it to a customer,” the statement reads.
As Land Line magazine notes, other Volvo recalls for trucks have surfaced, including one for the VAH brand concerning vehicles with model years between 2012 and 2016. This pertains to draglink ball socket problems rather than the trim panel.
