Our Atlanta automobile product defect attorneys have written many blogs critical of automobile manufacturers for delaying or resisting recalls of dangerous products. Now Volvo deserves credit for quickly and voluntarily issuing a recall due to a dangerous defect. Volvo is recalling 9,667 of its 2010 XC60s, most of them in the United States and Canada, because in a crash test the driver’s seat belt came undone.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a side-impact test on the XC60 in early October of this year as part of routine testing to select its Top Safety Pick awards. The test involves a barrier striking the driver’s side at 31 miles an hour. The barrier is supposed to represent the front end of an S.U.V. or pickup truck.
During that test, the driver’s seat belt in the XC60 detached from the point to the left of the driver’s hip at which the belt is anchored to the vehicle.
Volvo said the problem was caused by ribs inside the housing that cover the anchoring point. The belt was not cut, but the impact caused the ribs to put pressure against the permanent mount and the seat belt popped loose.
Volvo said there were no reports that this had happened before and it never happened in any of the about 50 side-impact tests conducted by Volvo.
Despite this being the only reported instance of this happening, Volvo quickly announced the recall and reported the problem to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Volvo announced it will begin to notify owners in two to three weeks. The company said repairs involve modifying the housing of the seat-belt attachment and should take about 30 minutes. The repairs will be made at no charge to the owner.
Volvo deserves credit for this quick action which may save lives.
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