| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 005035492 | Incident Date: Feb, 27 2005 |
| Consumer's City: TUCSON | Consumer's State: AZ |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO | Manufacturers Name: Volvo Car USA, LLC |
| Model Name: V70XC | Model Year: 1998 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Latches/locks/linkages:tailgate:latch |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: YV1LZ5640W2 | Date added to File: May, 23 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Aug, 23 2005 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Oct, 15 2004 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 5 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: The tailgate lock mechanism on my 1998 v70xc wagon often fails to latch in cold weather. this as not been too big a problem here in arizona - typically occurring if the tailgate is opened in the occasional cold mornings - as the day warms up the mechanism usually always latchs correctly. usually when it begins not to latch a little cleaning and lubricant would cure it for a while. this solution is now producing limited results, and not wanting to drive the kids to school with the possibility of their backpacks falling out of the back of the vehicle, i have decided to replace the latch. while searching the internet for replacement information, i came across numerous owner reports of occurrences of this failure, as well as a recall of the model year 2000 version of this vehicle for the same issue. i made a close inspection of the mechanical part of the latch, and it appears that the two rotating elements that form the catch & lock assembly are not well aligned (are not moving in the same plane), possibly due to the poor forming and/or assembly of the stamped and folded steel housing in which these two pieces are located. this mechanical problem is likely the reason that the cleaning/lubrication solution has always produced limited results. in all other functions (power lock/unlock, latch release, child lock, etc.) the assembly works correctly, it is just the balky rotation of the locking catch that appears to be keeping the latch from operating properly. i called volvo customer care to see if the 2000 model year recall for this problem had been extended to my year vehicle, but was told no. i believe the failure is due to an apparent design and/or manufacturing deficiency and not from just wear and tear. due to the safety issue, i have replaced the latch assembly, though i will not be able to determine if this has corrected the problem until colder weather. |
