V70: Body V70/XC70 Windscreen bonding issue (again)

[Tannaton]

Morning all...

A friend whose V70 I maintain has just moved house and now has a sloping drive and they have subsequently discovered they also have the issue where the top edge of the windscreen is not bonded to the car (puddle in passenger footwell if parked nose down the gradient). This is quite a late car for it (2013).

The local dealer is denying all knowledge that's it's a known issue.... does anyone know if there was an official comms from Volvo or technical journal (TJ) number for it? I know a number of members have had it rectified f.o.c. at the dealer.

Thanks...

[Morton]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

The local dealer is denying all knowledge that's it's a known issue.... does anyone know if there was an official comms from Volvo or technical journal (TJ) number for it? I know a number of members have had it rectified f.o.c. at the dealer.

Thanks...

I'll follow this with interest. Just had both our V70 and C70 done having taken the V70 into our local Volvo dealer (Kastner in Exeter, UK) for the seatbelt recall and mentioned that it fills with water. They diagnosed the windscreen and I asked if they should fix it as it's, presumably, structural and a safety issue and it's a factory fitted windscreen. They denied any responsibility and certainly didn't say anything about it being a known issue and quoted, IIRC, £636 for a brand new windscreen ("because it will definitely break when they take it out"). Given that I needed it doing on both cars, I took them to our local indie who got their windscreen bloke to sort them out for just over £100 each and who removed both screens without breaking them. I'm pretty surprised at Volvo's attitude and, if they're doing it FOC at other dealers, I'd love to know which ones are offering this because I'm not going back to Kastner on the strength of this.

[grubby mits]

Interesting. I had my wife's 2007 V70 screen re-sealed at a main dealer (Winchester Hampshire) last month. The procedure was:- Called the main dealer to ask if they could fix a leaking screen; they asked me if it was an original Volvo screen, which I confirmed; they invited me to take it in for inspection. They took photos and made a report to Volvo UK. A week later they called back to say Volvo UK had agreed a re-seal FOC - only I would have to pay if they broke the screen doing the job - which they said was v rare.

In effect they OFFERED to do the work - I didn't have to complain or use any persuasion at all - I was astounded especially as I do not take the car there for regular servicing.

The job was done and the screen is fine.

I can only think that the OPs 2013 model falls outside the age range for the acknowledged original factory fault. You could specifically ask the dealer to refer it to Volvo UK and see what they say.

GM

[yostumpy]

easiest option i feel, is to put a hammer thro the screen, then claim on insurance. new screen, new bonding, £100 excess. job done. A lot cheaper tha a new ecu or a set of carpets.

[Tatsfield]

I have posted on this in other thread before and can tell you an imperfectly bonded windscreen is a safety issue and the manufacturer is liable if the fault is due to inadequate assembly in the factory. The windscreen is part of the overall body structure and if it isn't bonded properly the car would fail its type safety test.

Volvo, and I don't mean stray dealerships who may be Volvo today and something Korean tomorrow, have accepted responsibility for this bonding issue and authorise their dealerships to carry out the work at Volvo's expense. If your dealer doesn't jump to rebonding it, contact Volvo UK or Volvo Sweden directly and seek their assistance.

It was only by accepting rebonding claims that Volvo were able to work out which cars had been improperly assembled and take preventative measures. An improperly bonded windscreen can get the occupants of a car killed if that car is involved in a collision. Volvo can't afford to have that happen.

Windscreens supplied to Volvo by the glass suppliers come complete with pre-treatment of the bonding edge surfaces. The bonding compound is applied by robots and reacts with the pre-treatment to adhere completely to the glass. Since it seems that the separation between the screen and the flange takes place on the glass surface, it is likely that the pretreatment has not been correctly applied. This puts the liability into the hands of the supplier and Volvo can recover from them.

Dealers who carry out rebonding get paid to do it by Volvo. It's only those inept outfits that have not read their recall or manufacturers liability notices that fob off owners because they think that they will not be able to charge for the work. This liability issue will apply to any car that left the factory with an improperly bonded screen whatever the year of manufacture.

[grubby mits]

[QUOTE=Tatsfield;2814366]I have posted on this in other thread before and can tell you an imperfectly bonded windscreen is a safety issue and the manufacturer is liable if the fault is due to inadequate assembly in the factory. The windscreen is part of the overall body structure and if it isn't bonded properly the car would fail its type safety test./QUOTE]

Clearly Volvo don't agree - or they would have instigated a general safety recall for all potentially affected vehicles.

GM

[Tatsfield]

Originally Posted by grubby mits

Clearly Volvo don't agree - or they would have instigated a general safety recall for all potentially affected vehicles.

But when their Head Office gets involved, they never refuse. I suspect that management had suppressed the story because it reflected badly on the company's safety record. This seems to have happened in the Ford ownership period when original Volvo principles were being eroded. Corporate executives don't always behave ethically or sensibly and they have painted themselves into a corner now where shutting up complaining owners is going to save someone's pension!

I've worked on vehicle glazing supply with Volvo Car's once associated company Volvo Trucks, and there is no doubt that the strength of the windscreen and its bonding to the body is part of the strength calculations regarding the integrity of the roof in a roll over accident. It's far worse on trucks with huge window apertures but it equally applies to cars.

[jasons6930]

Originally Posted by Morton

I'll follow this with interest. Just had both our V70 and C70 done having taken the V70 into our local Volvo dealer (Kastner in Exeter, UK) for the seatbelt recall and mentioned that it fills with water. They diagnosed the windscreen and I asked if they should fix it as it's, presumably, structural and a safety issue and it's a factory fitted windscreen. They denied any responsibility and certainly didn't say anything about it being a known issue and quoted, IIRC, £636 for a brand new windscreen ("because it will definitely break when they take it out"). Given that I needed it doing on both cars, I took them to our local indie who got their windscreen bloke to sort them out for just over £100 each and who removed both screens without breaking them. I'm pretty surprised at Volvo's attitude and, if they're doing it FOC at other dealers, I'd love to know which ones are offering this because I'm not going back to Kastner on the strength of this.

Apologies for thread hijack but what is the seatbelt recall?

My drivers side is very sticky when pushing the button to release it so wondered if they replaced that part rather than the belt?

Cheers!

[yostumpy]

Originally Posted by jasons6930

Apologies for thread hijack but what is the seatbelt recall?

My drivers side is very sticky when pushing the button to release it so wondered if they replaced that part rather than the belt?

Cheers!

Don't think so, its the bit near the door that's the problem I believe. I had the sticky button, was hurting my thumb trying to release it. Volvo garage put a squirt of silicon / teflon type lube down there, now it's silkier than a silky thing.

[jasons6930]

Originally Posted by yostumpy

Don't think so, its the bit near the door that's the problem I believe. I had the sticky button, was hurting my thumb trying to release it. Volvo garage put a squirt of silicon / teflon type lube down there, now it's silkier than a silky thing.

Thanks.

All I have is white lithium spray grease I use for the door hinges etc so I guess that should be ok?

I can get some silicone spray if that is better though