Complaint 1711618

Complaint Summary

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Owner Narrative

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON IN OUR SON'S 2018 VOLVO XC90 ON OCTOBER 14, 2020. WE SELECTED THE VOLVO BRAND SINCE IT IS SYNONYMOUS WITH "SAFETY". *BF I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE INTO VOLVO SERVICE ON OCTOBER 15, 2020 AND LEARNED THAT THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL WELL LEAK DETECTION PUMP WAS DAMAGED DUE TO RODENTS CHEWING THROUGH THE WIRING. SAFETY ISSUE #1: THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT PASS INSPECTION UNLESS THE DAMAGE WAS FIXED. LEARNED THAT THE WIRING IS MADE OF A SOY BASED MATERIAL. I DID MY OWN RESEARCH AND LEARNED THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS INSTANCES FOR VOLVO OWNERS AND ACROSS OTHER BRANDS OF RODENTS BEING ATTRACTED TO SOY BASED WIRING AND CAUSING HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF DAMAGE. THIS TYPE OF DAMAGE IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTIES THUS COSTING THE CONSUMER UNNECESSARILY FOR A MATERIAL CHOICE MANUFACTURERS ARE MAKING. SAFETY ISSUE #2: THE REPAIR WAS MADE WITH ANOTHER SOY BASED WIRE. HOW LONG IS THE PROBLEM REALLY FIXED FOR? SAFETY ISSUE #3: IF A FOOD PRODUCT IS BEING USED IN CAR COMPONENTS, THIS BECOMES AN ONGOING SAFETY ISSUE AS ONE CANNOT CONTROL RODENTS BEING ATTRACTED TO IT AND/OR PREDICT THE TYPE OF DAMAGE AND SAFETY ISSUE THEY MAY CAUSE TO A VEHICLE. MY RESEARCH UNCOVERED THAT SOY BASED WIRING HAS BEEN USED FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS. THE ISSUE OF RODENTS HAVING A FEAST ON THESE WIRES CONTINUES, AS SHARED IN ARTICLES BY VOLVO AND OTHER BRAND OWNERS TOO WHICH JEOPARDIZES THE INTEGRITY OF A VEHICLES SAFETY. SAFETY ISSUE #4: IN MY CASE, GIVEN THAT THE FUEL DETECTION PUMP HAS TO DO WITH THE FUEL SYSTEM/EMISSIONS AND FUEL IS WHAT IS NEEDED TO POWER THE CAR, THIS POSED AN ISSUE OF THERE BEING A POWER FAILURE IF THE PROBLEM WASN'T FIXED. I AM LUCKY THE CAR DIDN'T SUDDENLY STOP WHILE DRIVING IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. *JS

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.