NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Defect Petition DP15-006: Ride Quality
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Defect Petition DP15-006 on September 28, 2015 and closed it on April 8, 2016. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2013–2016 Volvo VNL for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- DP15-006 (also written DP15006)
- Investigation type
- Defect Petition A petition asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; NHTSA grants or denies it, and granting one opens an investigation.
- Status
- Closed April 8, 2016
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Volvo Trucks North America
- Component
- Suspension
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2013–2016 Volvo VNL
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 Defect Petition DP15-006.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Defect Petition (DP) assessment in response to a defect petition received from owners of a 2015 Volvo VNL 780 tractor.
Prior to submitting the letter the owners had submitted two Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ).
Their concerns included: cab sway, cab alignment , and loss of control.
The petitioners further allege that due to a failure of the suspension system caused by cab misalignment one of them sustained a back injury while seated at the work station in the sleeper berth while traveling.
The office received a total of six (6) complaints (1 via telephone) related to ride quality on 2013 -2016 Volvo VNL vehicles.
Two (2) of the complaints were filed by the petitioners.
Of the five (5) unique complaints, three (3) were received during the course of this evaluation.
During this evaluation, the Owner/Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) published an article in their magazine, Land Line, prompting the additional two reports.
One owner reported owning three Volvo trucks, all of which had a tendency to sway and lean, yet he preferred the ride over other manufacturers peer vehicles.
ODI sent an Information Request (IR) letter to Volvo asking about the three concerns identified in the petition.
The response indicated Volvo's cab air ride design has been in use since 2005.
When evaluating each of the three concerns raised by the petitioners, ODI found that the complaint and warranty data did not establish existence of a defect trend for cab sway or loss of control.
There were no reported injuries or loss of control events and less than 0.02% of the population had a cab sway concern.
The majority of claims and complaints received involved cab alignment.
The 2015 MY did stand out from the other MYs with over 1% of the 2015 population reporting cab alignment issues.
This may indicate there is a defect in the design or production of the cab mounting, however there was no indication it created a safety risk.
ODI test drove the petitioners' vehicle, employing an investigator with significant experience driving similar vehicles.
This test drive revealed a degree of cab sway that appeared to exceed that of peer vehicles.
Nonetheless, the ODI driver did not experience any difficulty controlling the vehicle.
For additional details see the attached Evaluation Report.
This defect petition is denied. The agency has not identified an actionable trend or unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.
Should new information become available the agency will take whatever further action is appropriate.
The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following complaint identification numbers:10747593, 10715844, 10701592, 10781242, and 10822454
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Defect Petition DP15-006. 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
All Volvo recallsWhat 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.
Volvo VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for DP15-006
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.