Consumer Complaint Detail

VOLVO / 740 / 1989

Recalls
1 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 002093881 Incident Date: May, 15 2002
Consumer's City: BUFFALO Consumer's State: NY
Vehicle Transmission Type: Manufacturers Name: Volvo Car USA, LLC
Model Name: 740 Model Year: 1989
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Air bags:frontal
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 1
Vehicle's VIN#: YV1FA894XK2 Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jun, 04 2002 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Aug, 31 2092
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: I entered my car and put the key in the ignition. when i turned the key to start the engine, the air bag deployed. my left hand was resting on the steering whell as i turned the key. the air bag ripped my watch from my wrist and lacerated the wrist in numerous places. my neck, chest and both arms were abraised. volvo cars of north america was notified. they sent a "technical specialist to inspect the car. volvo cars of north america sent me a report of his findings which stated, "our tecnhical specialist did observe that the driver and passenger side front flooring had signs of extensive water damage and that the srs sensor was heavily corroded due to the exposure to water. it is due to corrosion of the sensor that caused the airbag to deploy." i live in buffalo, new york. we receive large amounts of snow in the winter. it is almost impossible not to have water accumulate on the front flooring. the sensor is located on the floor under the driver's seat. one would expect that it would be subjected to the accumulated water. the question arises in my mind why is such a critical sensor placed in an area that is vulnerable to water corrosion? it appears to me to be a design error. my auto is 13 years old and has over 200,000 miles on it. maybe it takes that long to corrod. the point is that it did because it was on the floor where water can soak the carpeting. i shutter to think what would have been the result if i was traveling on the highway at 60 miles per hour when it deployed. one thing would be certain, i wouldn't be writing this letter. i would like volvo to replace my steering wheel with a new bag and a new sensor. i also think they should consider placing the sensor in a more secure area. thank you for your consideration.*ak