Volvo defect petition DP15006
Ride Quality. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this defect petition about the suspension on 4 model years (2013–2016). Opened Sep 28, 2015, closed Apr 8, 2016 after 6 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Defect Petition (DP) assessment in response to a defect petition received from owners of a 2015 Volvo VNL 780 tractor. Prior to submitting the letter the owners had submitted two Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ).Their concerns included: cab sway, cab alignment , and loss of control. The petitioners further allege that due to a failure of the suspension system caused by cab misalignment one of them sustained a back injury while seated at the work station in the sleeper berth while traveling. The office received a total of six (6) complaints (1 via telephone) related to ride quality on 2013 -2016 Volvo VNL vehicles. Two (2) of the complaints were filed by the petitioners. Of the five (5) unique complaints, three (3) were received during the course of this evaluation. During this evaluation, the Owner/Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) published an article in their magazine, Land Line, prompting the additional two reports. One owner reported owning three Volvo trucks, all of which had a tendency to sway and lean, yet he preferred the ride over other manufacturers peer vehicles. ODI sent an Information Request (IR) letter to Volvo asking about the three concerns identified in the petition. The response indicated Volvo's cab air ride design has been in use since 2005. When evaluating each of the three concerns raised by the petitioners, ODI found that the complaint and warranty data did not establish existence of a defect trend for cab sway or loss of control. There were no reported injuries or loss of control events and less than 0.02% of the population had a cab sway concern. The majority of claims and complaints received involved cab alignment. The 2015 MY did stand out from the other MYs with over 1% of the 2015 population reporting cab alignment issues. This may indicate there is a defect in the design or production of the cab mounting, however there was no indication it created a safety risk. ODI test drove the petitioners' vehicle, employing an investigator with significant experience driving similar vehicles. This test drive revealed a degree of cab sway that appeared to exceed that of peer vehicles. Nonetheless, the ODI driver did not experience any difficulty controlling the vehicle. For additional details see the attached Evaluation Report. This defect petition is denied. The agency has not identified an actionable trend or unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. Should new information become available the agency will take whatever further action is appropriate. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following complaint identification numbers:10747593, 10715844, 10701592, 10781242, and 10822454
A Defect Petition is a petition from a member of the public asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; the agency grants or denies it and publishes the reasons. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2013 Volvo VNL; 2014 Volvo VNL; 2015 Volvo VNL; 2016 Volvo VNL.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs DP15006 a recall?
No. A defect petition is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is DP15006 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 8, 2016 without a recall.
Which vehicles does DP15006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 4 model years: 2013 Volvo VNL, 2014 Volvo VNL, 2015 Volvo VNL, 2016 Volvo VNL. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.