VOLVO Recall 2020 (seat belts)
 

As mentioned in the media left and right today we have a quite a hefty safety recall related to the front seat belt fastening across majority of VOLVO cars manufactured since 2006 until 2018. Wow!

Details:

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/own/mai.../notifications

Worth dropping vehicle breakdown (model, year, production dates) here, methinks:

Model - Model Year - Production Dates

S80 - 2007-2016 - 2006-02-07 / 2016-04-08
S60 - 2011-2018 - 2010-05-21 / 2018-08-14
V70 - 2008-2016 - 2007-03-14 / 2016-04-27
XC70 - 2008-2016 - 2007-05-09 / 2016-05-30
S60 Cross Country - 2016-2018 - 2015-04-13 / 2018-05-30
V60 - 2011-2018 - 2010-06-22 / 2018-08-27
XC60 - 2009-2016 - 2008-03-18 / 2016-04-22
V60 Cross Country - 2015-2018 - 2014-12-04 / 2018-08-21

You can check if your vehicle is affected by entering its VIN here:

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/Own/Mai...rranty/Recalls

I did and surprisingly (or perhaps not) my chariot is affected:

Status: Recall INCOMPLETE

Just checked and my MY2010 V70 is affected.

Thanks for the heads up.

Just checked my XC70 against the VIN information and it tells me that I am affected, just as above .. or maybe that should be 'could be affected'.

Why? I called my local dealer (Marshall Volvo Cambridge) and was told: They had only been notified about a possible seat belt issue today, 1 July. The issue is possible fraying of the seat belt ... where was not disclosed. I was advised that if I was passing the dealership they can have a look at the belt and tell me immediately if my car is affected ... even though the VIN info indicates a recall for you, your car (or rather the seat belts) may not have an issue. I was further advised that it could be November before matters are sorted / organised.

So, next time I am passing I will let them have a look.
Cheers, Phil

It's not the belt itself, it's a wire in the belt lock assembly that may deteriorate over time. No accidents have happened because of this, but unlike all other manufacturers, who also use seat belt technology from Autoliv, Volvo has chosen to fix the possible issue in their cars. No other manufacturer has announced any recall so far, in spite of them having exactly the same parts in their cars.

A few cars have been found where this is a possible issue, but Volvo takes their responsibilty and recall them all.

I have a MYwhich is affected, but I have also noticed on this car that ejecting the buckle can be hit or miss to get it to eject. If I pull hard on the belt it is very hard to eject the buckle from the holder. I can only imagine this could be a problem if after a crash and the car was upside down, the weight of somone would make it very hard to get out of their seat. Anyone else found this?

OK ... so not a fraying issue then.
Cheers, Phil

Just found more info:
“It's a very rare problem, and we don’t have any reports of it, but after our due diligence and research, we found that there was a way in which the customer could move the seat belt and seat belt buckle where over time it could rub and damage the cable,” says Jim Nichols, a spokesperson for Volvo. “We're doing this out of an abundance of caution.”

The problem: A steel cable that anchors seat belts to the car can become worn in certain situations and reduce the seat belts' ability to restrain occupants in a crash.

The above helps .....
Cheers, Phil

If I push the top part of the belt handle towards the center of the car, while pressing the red button, the lock opens easily.
Pull the top part of the handle towards the chair's backrest, and it doesn't release easily at all.

I'll give it a try.

The Drivers seat belt buckle on my 2010 XC70 is difficult to release on most occasions, so being due for a Service in a week or so, hopefully the dealer will rectify this problem at the same time.



2010 XC70 D5SE Lux 205 Geartronic

Try my suggestion above.