18,000 Volvos being recalled for engine cooling fan

[Lotus99]

Anyone here got a notice for it?

Is Canada affected? I don't see why our cars would be different than the US ones in this regard?

RECALL NOTICE (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/results.cfm?rcl_id=09V218000&searchtype=quicksearch&summary=true&refurl=rss)

Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s):
VOLVO / S80 2008-2009

VOLVO / V70 2008-2009

VOLVO / XC70 2008-2009

Manufacturer: VOLVO CARS OF N.A. LLC. Mfr's Report Date: JUN 09, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V218000 N/A
NHTSA Action Number: N/A

Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN

Potential Number of Units Affected: 17614

Summary:
VOLVO IS RECALLING 17,614 MY 2008-2009 S80, V70, AND XC70 VEHICLES. THE ENGINE COOLING FAN MAY STOP WORKING DUE TO A SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING ERROR IN THE FAN CONTROL MODULE (FCM). DEPENDING ON DRIVING CONDITIONS, THE CUSTOMER MAY EXPERIENCE REDUCED AIR CONDITIONING PERFORMANCE, AND/OR RAPID INCREASE IN ENGINE COOLANT TEMPERATURE.

Consequence:
THIS SITUATION MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF COOLING SYSTEM FUNCTION AND ENGINE FAILURE. THE DRIVER MAY NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME TO REACT TO THE WARNING LIGHT(S) OR THE TEXT MESSAGE IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FAN CONTROL MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING JULY 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT VOLVO CUSTOMER CARE CENTER AT 1-800-458-1552.

Notes:
VOLVO RECALL NO. R214. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

[Magslad]

I presume it will be relevant for all countries, as UK is definitely affected.

Volvo told me about the recall last week when my car was booked in to have the subframe work done. They checked it while doing the other work and told me my car was fine so didn't need the swap-out, apparently it is only a certain range of part numbers for the fan control module that are affected.

[Chilled Man]

Regardless whats the module cost ?

I would pay to have it done .

[s3bcn]

On this matter to be very careful. I sent a letter telling me that my car was affected and it was a mistake Volvo (incredible). Check that your vehicle has 1 fan. If so, I said Volvo is not affected by this issue. Only those affected have 2 fans. Greetings

[Lotus99]

They checked it while doing the other work and told me my car was fine so didn't need the swap-out, apparently it is only a certain range of part numbers for the fan control module that are affected.

Really? When there's 18,000 affected, I'm surprised that's not all the cars they produced. The recall notice doesn't say that only certain ranges are affected, or that it's just a check. I recall in the past I've received the odd recall notice, and it would state if it was just a check or certain VIN's only.

[Magslad]

Really? When there's 18,000 affected, I'm surprised that's not all the cars they produced. The recall notice doesn't say that only certain ranges are affected, or that it's just a check. I recall in the past I've received the odd recall notice, and it would state if it was just a check or certain VIN's only.

What the dealer told me on the day I took the car in was that it was only certain fan modules affected, but they needed to recall all cars to check which fan module was on the car as apparently couldn't tell from just VIN number (which would imply either that their systems don't match up all the various component part numbers on a particular car, or that the problem is potentially so serious that they need to check all cars to double check whether they have the faulty fan module). The dealer said that there had been cases of the faulty module causing an engine fire, so this would imply a fairly serious issue.

When I picked the car up, they said that they had checked the module and that mine was not one of the affected ones so replacement wasn't needed. I may ring them back to double-check, but this implies to me that they are very sure exactly which ones need to be replaced, as I can't believe they would take any risks with such a serious safety issue.

[Magslad]

Regardless whats the module cost ?

I would pay to have it done .

Not sure whether this was in reply to my original post, but why would I want to pay to have it replaced? Either I have a faulty fan module in which case I would have had it replaced for free, or (as is the case) I don't have a faulty fan in which case why would I pay to have a non-faulty part replaced?

Apologies if I've misunderstood your post.

[Lotus99]

Magslad, you're probably right. I doubt they'd take a chance on something like this and just tell you that it's ok without properly checking. They'd have nothing to gain I suppose. I'd just make sure the work order you get back states it. I've had recall notices done, and the dealer at first just tried to give me a verbal "everything's ok", but I insisted on paperwork showing they'd done the check and their conclusion, just in case in future if I have to hold them to it should an issue arise.

[jesbo]

I got a written notice from Volvo NA this weekend by mail.

Says in part: "a defect related to motor vehicle exists in the engine cooling fan module on certain model year 2008 and 2009 S80, V70, and XC70 vehicles."

The corrective action will be to upgrade the Fan Control Module (FCM) software by replacing the Fan Control Module.

I will be scheduling the service this week.

[OKCXC70]

Got mine on Saturday as well. My 08 was built in Feb 08. Wonder if there was a particular run of dates where the module turned up bad. Anyone?

[Lotus99]

I just called Volvo NA, and they were able to confirm via my VIN that my car's affected. Will need to go in soon as we're doing a road trip in 2 weeks and I want to get this done before it.

[jesbo]

Mine was replaced this morning. I waited while the dealer did it; took about 45 minutes total.

[jesbo]

Really? When there's 18,000 affected, I'm surprised that's not all the cars they produced. The recall notice doesn't say that only certain ranges are affected, or that it's just a check. I recall in the past I've received the odd recall notice, and it would state if it was just a check or certain VIN's only.

I asked the dealer about this when I took mine in this AM. He said specifically this recall was strictly a "replace" procedure, not a "inspect/replace". Thus they were required to replace the unit. I have what appears to be a single fan, and the FCU module was replaced. It's attached to the right side of the fan motor, so I can tell it's a new unit.

[Lotus99]

Got mine on Saturday as well. My 08 was built in Feb 08. Wonder if there was a particular run of dates where the module turned up bad. Anyone?

According to someone else's post I read, "Production dates 2008-02-06 - 2008-11-03 and chassis numbers between 0028521-0060272." Not sure the source of their info.

Here's what the letter looks like:

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp42/rovermark/recall1.jpg

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp42/rovermark/recallpage2.jpg

[Lotus99]

Thus they were required to replace the unit. I have what appears to be a single fan, and the FCU module was replaced. It's attached to the right side of the fan motor, so I can tell it's a new unit.

I'm a noob when it comes to the engine parts...:) Can you pls. give me some more direction where to look, so I can check out the before and after?

[PRSguy]

We bought my wife's '08 XC70 at the end of June 2009. I actually had to reach out to Volvo NA today to see if the car was subject to the recall. I used the e-mail support feature. I was dissapointed that they didn't contact us first. At least they replied w/in a couple hours. We've scheduled the recall visit for this weekend.

[Magslad]

Just to update on this issue, I've just had my second fan module replaced.

I had it done last year under the original recall (dealer didn't replace at first, as per my original posts in this thread, as they said it wasn't affected - but when i took the car in for service I insisted on them replacing it anyway as a precaution).

Then a couple of weeks ago I was sitting in traffic in London, during our hot spell, and noticed the air con performance degrading pretty rapidly. Within 3-4 mins the "high engine temp stop engine" message came up. Didn't happen again over the next few days, but the car was due in anyway for the auxiliary belt tensioner recall, and the dealer confirmed that the fan module was faulty and they replaced it.

Obviously all done under warranty, I asked the dealer whether there was an ongoing issue with the fan module and he said mine was the first car he'd seen that needed another replacement other than the original recall. no way of knowing whether this is true or not, but thought I'd better post anyway in case anyone starts seeing same symptoms but discounts fan module because they've already had it replaced.

Still love the car though [thumbup]