Report Date: December 13, 2000 01:37:08 PM

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NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 00V405000

Component: LIGHTING:LAMP OR SOCKET:TURN SIGNAL LIGHTS

Manufacturer: VOLVO CARS OF NA, INC.

Mfg. Campaign #: 101

Year: 1999

Make: VOLVO

Model: S70

Potential Number of Units Affected: 245894

Manufactured From: JAN 1997 To: NOV 2000

Year of Recall: '00

Type of Report: Vehicle

Summary:

Vehicle Description: Passenger vehicles. There could be inadequate contact between the bulb and socket which could cause the front turn signal not to function as designed.

This would fail to warn an approaching driver that the vehicle is turning and could lead to a crash.

Dealers will replace the left and right front turn signal bulb and socket. Volvo has not yet provided NHTSA with an owner notification schedule. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact Volvo at 1-800-283-0117. Also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Should you get the recall done even if you don't have the problem (at least that you know of)?

MH

1999 S-70 GLT

Volvo will send you a letter telling you to have the recall done, at that time yes, make an appointment and have the lights changed.

The NHTSA has posted information about 101. Information that should be includes is that owners will receive notification as to when Volvo is ready to replace the sockets and bulbs on your car. The mailings will be spread out over 3 months so the parts can be sent over 3 months, if everyone shows up at the dealer prior to being told to then there will be no parts.

Just a side note, the majority of the turn signals still worked, they just blinked double time, not exactly correct, but they did still work, so some of the safety hype is just that hype.

The problem once identifyed has been worked on for about 2 years, bulb design was changed, the base made wider, the material changed, and now a total change of design, that should really work, so it's not like it has been ignored, just not fixed as fast as some might expect.

Our parts department has these new kits in stock and we've already used them in a few cars (where both sides were NG and the customer wasn't exactly "happy") BUT VCNA has not yet sent out notices OR posted the recall (or campaign) INFO about it yet on their VEN intranet so we who have the parts do not yet have the proper claim # and technically we're jumping the gun by replacing them with the new kit.

I can only assume that it's not yet happening because maybe not all dealers have the parts yet?

In VEN under "Product Information Announncements"/ Info on Recall 101 released 12/1/00 ('98-'00 S/V/C 70s)

The "official" recall is to be posted on or about the week of 12/18 in VEN but the letters aren't to be sent until 1/15 for '98 owners until all the retailers will have enough available parts.

According to this, technically we're not suppose to be using these kits until then so you'll need to be patient with the old sytle replacement parts for now if yours is presently not functioning correctly.

Does anyone know if I have a reimbursement claim against my dealership? I have been charged over $100 to take care of this problem.

Thanks

Mike

"This would fail to warn an approaching driver that the vehicle is turning and could lead to a crash"....ISn't that something? Without having HARD PROOF if such claim, I think that AT LEAST 50% of the drivers in the US do not use their turning signals anyway...They do not believe that their cars came with that..."option"...A lot less accidents would happen if that was INSTILLED in the majority of drivers' minds, through proper and STRICT driver's ed.

Yannis

I agree. To all you guys who dont use turn signals, tail gate, pull in fron of traffic just to turn, roll through "STOP" signs, run stale yellows and keep going through the red, don't get over for merging triffic, cut in front of a long line of cars turing, talk on cell phone while drinking coffee, think your teaching someone a lesson by road raging and flipping the car off, I hope you never experience a death in your familly because some one was doing one of the things I mentioned. We live with rules for a reason. The more I see stupid stuff the more I drive by the book. Stop and wait at stop signs. Dont let the car in thats cutting in front. Keep a nice gap in front of the other car. The more you road rage me the more I will point and laugh right at you.

Wow, I guess I needed to say that........

Thanks to all the good drivers out there.... (they must be Volvo drivers)

Jason

Real "left lane bandits" are those doing 50 in their minivans or trucks, blocking passage for everyone else and causing long lines behind and angering other drivers who then need to vent and whenever there's a window, stomp on it and let it go at full scale, oftentimes starting to race each other. Or idiots going on high beam in the night thinking they "need to see the road better".

I constantly fight with myself in situations like that - I want to get in front of him/her and slam on the brakes to at least make them think "why?".

A real disaster on a 2-lane highway.

That must of been Volvo's thinking as well when they designed and QC'd the turn signals on these cars. Why provide turn signals that work when only half the consumers will use them. The marketing group must of had the final say in the design of the turn signals. If consumers use them half the time therefore instruct the engineers to develop a system that only works half the time as well. Maybe Volvo is dumbing down the cars to the US market if I read Yannis's post correctly.

Touchy, touchy, touchy, huh? :)

I do not think that US-bound Volvos are "dumbed down" (sic). But it is certain that a large number of drivers in this country are..."dumbed down" by the poor habits they either inherited or acquired through INADEQUATE training. Same thing with the perennial "left lane bandits", a phenomenon that exists primarily in this country only!

Yannis

Same thing with

> the perennial "left lane bandits", a phenomenon that exists

> primarily in this country only!

No not just your country, although I wish it was.

OK, drivers today display poor habits, especially with turn signal useage but the real issue here is that many Volvo owners may finally get a fix for the problem of burned out bulbs and signal housings. This has been a weak point in these cars. This is a safety issue and it should not have taken Volvo nearly 3 years to address it. We are talking turn signals here, not exactly rocket science technology. Additionally how about those who have shelled out money to have this repaired ? Hopefully the dealers and VCNA will step up and refund the price of repairs to those who have spent money on this problem.

Well, most of these repairs were done under warranty so I do not recall too many of our customers paying for them. We rarely charged for such repair.

Yannis