NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Audit Query AQ18-005: Discrepancies in Required CFR Reporting
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Audit Query AQ18-005 on October 22, 2018 and closed it on August 4, 2023. NHTSA's investigations file lists 10 models from 2 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- AQ18-005 (also written AQ18005)
- Investigation type
- Audit Query An administrative investigation into compliance with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting Early Warning data on time or carrying out a recall.
- Status
- Closed August 4, 2023
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
- Volvo Trucks North America; Volvo Bus Corporation
- Component
- Communication
- Vehicles and equipment
- 10 models from 2 makes, including the Volvo VAH and Volvo VHD
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Audit Query AQ18-005.
On October 22, 2018, an Audit Query (AQ18-005) was opened to assess the completeness and timeliness of Volvo Group's early warning reporting, safety recalls, and communications submissions to the agency.
NHTSA's investigation determined that Volvo Group failed to recall vehicles in a timely fashion and to comply with other recall and reporting requirements, including notifying owners of recalls and reporting death and injury incidents.
NHTSA and Volvo Group entered into a Consent Order on January 27, 2023 to resolve AQ18-005.
As part of the Consent Order, Volvo Group agreed to a total civil penalty of one-hundred and thirty million dollars ($130,000,000), of which, sixty-five million dollars ($65,000,000) was paid on February 21, 2023.
Also, of that total civil penalty, Volvo Group agreed to spend twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) on the specific performance obligation to create a safety data analytics infrastructure to detect and study emerging safety-related defect trends on its vehicles. The Consent Order also holds forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000) of the civil penalty in abeyance pending Volvo Group's satisfactory completion of the requirements of this Consent Order, and its compliance with the Safety Act, and regulations thereunder.
The Consent Order is for a three-year term and may be extended by up to two years if NHTSA reasonably finds that an extension is warranted.
In the Consent Order, Volvo Group agreed to several performance obligations, including enhanced oversight of its compliance with the Safety Act and the terms of the Consent Order through a third-party auditor and regular meetings with NHTSA.The third-party auditor will recommend and oversee implementation of process improvements to enhance Volvo Group's safety compliance processes and oversee the company's review of past recalls and submissions to NHTSA for accuracy and completeness.
Also, via the Consent Order, Volvo Group agreed to create updated written policies, procedures, and training to ensure that its employees understand the requirements of the Safety Act, the regulations thereunder, and this Consent Order.
Volvo Group further agreed to launch a user interface on its websites to allow users to search vehicle identification numbers (VINs) for open recalls and implement a system to support NHTSA's VIN lookup tool.
Based on the Consent Order, this audit query investigation, AQ18-005, is closed.
Closure of this AQ has no bearing on the terms of the Consent Order, including Volvo Group's ongoing performance obligations or legal obligations, and does not represent a determination by NHTSA as to Volvo Group's performance under the Consent Order to date.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Audit Query AQ18-005. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Volvo
Volvo 780
Volvo VAH
Volvo VH
Volvo VHD
Volvo VN
Volvo VNL
Volvo VNM
Volvo VNX
Volvo VT
Volvo Bus
Volvo Bus 9700
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for AQ18-005
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.