The world's most famous car manufacturer in terms of safety recently announced that they have recalled a number of their vehicles. The recall covers different models in Volvo's lineup. The reason behind the recall is the discovered defect on the vehicles' cooling unit which can cause fire in the engine bay.
This development brings to mind the recall announced by Volvo's parent, Ford, due to reported fires in their Super Duty pickup trucks. While for Ford, the problem is in the particulate filter found near the tailpipe, Volvo's problem is more threatening since fire can start in the engine bay area.
The recall was announced after the fault was discovered by Volvo's technicians following a test conducted on their vehicles. The said test was performed at Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The discovery of the problem means that there have been no reported incident of fire caused by the fault in some of Volvo's vehicle's cooling units. The car manufacturer announced that 392 vehicles are currently being recalled in Britain.
The 392 vehicles found with the fault in the cooling unit is composed of different Volvo models which includes the award-winning XC90, the mid-size station wagon V70, the XC70, and the S60 models. These vehicles are known for providing good number of safety features and good performance level. While the fault may have posed a risk to consumers, Volvo has acted swiftly to prevent any untoward accidents which may happen due to the faulty cooling units. In that case, not even a would be of any use to its owner.
The problem was discovered to be a fault in the cooling system with the help of German corporation Robert Bosch which is more simply known as Bosch. It was found out that the cooling unit's metal cover has inadequate corrosion protection. It was inferred that moisture could eventually find its way to the unit's electrical components which would then cause severe damage or even the risk of an electrical fire.
With regards to the expected reaction of Volvo vehicle owners, a spokesman for Volvo said that "it only relates to a small number of cars and we have contacted all the owners." The spokesman also added that "if anyone is concerned they should contact their dealer."
Volvo's immediate response to the discovered fault shows that they are indeed focused on providing safe cars for their consumers. Volvo is the producer of the world's safest cars. The company is the leading car manufacturer in terms of developing safety features for their vehicles. Some of the more notable safety features of Volvo vehicles are the BLIS and the ROPS.
BLIS stands for Blind Spot Information System. It is essentially composed of onboard cameras which monitors the blind spot of a vehicle. The system warns the driver if any vehicle has entered his or her blind spot. ROPS on the other hand stands for Roll Over Protection System. This safety system uses sensors to maintain the car's balance therefore reducing the risk of rollovers.