Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays

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Mon 30 Jan 2012 19:31
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - Mrs Merlin

My volvo v70 heated seat has just burnt a hole through the drivers seat. (back) I thought it had got hot a couple of times and had turned it off but did not know there was a problem until my husband pointed out the hole and I then found that two jackets were damaged. One has a melted patch and hole and the other a burn mark.

We reported it to Volvo locally. Two sales people said they had never heard of this before so not to drive it but return it to them to diagnose the problem. We contacted the AA who came and also said they had not heard of it before and how serious it could have been not only to the car but to me had my clothes caught fire.

He made the seat safe and escorted us to Volvo. We left it there and today they have called to say that as the seat is safe we can collect it. They have offered to replace the seat for £900.

I was expecting a more concerned reply from Volvo. Is this not a defect if the manual says there should be an automatic cut off once temperature is achieved?

Who is resonsible for repair?

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Mon 30 Jan 2012 20:22
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - bonzo dog

Who is resonsible for repair?

The answer is probably in your first word

My volvo v70 heated seat

Although you could argue that the device is faulty, subject to the time you have had the car & claim against the retailer (assuming there was one) under Sale Of Goods that the device was not sufficiently durable.

How old is the car, how long have you had it & did you buy it private or from a dealer?

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Mon 30 Jan 2012 20:34
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - bathtub tom

This happened (a long time ago) to my BIL's 300. He was on a dual carriageway at the time and it had burnt his bum by the time he could stop.

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Mon 30 Jan 2012 20:42
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - unthrottled

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh...

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Tue 31 Jan 2012 00:27
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - bathtub tom

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh...

Feel free, it gets better:

He turned up at my house on a wet Sunday complaining his wipers weren't working. I found a blown fuse and replaced it - it blew. I put an ammeter across the fuse and could see it was drawing a current higher than the fuse rating, I forget the exact details. He was facing a fifty mile journey in the rain with no wipers and in the absence of a handbook or manual to see what the fuse was supplying, I fitted a fuse rated about twice the value of the original, it held. I spent a considerable time in and around the car trying to find what had caused the fuse to blow, but with nothing seeming to overheat, smoke or flames he went on his way with me warning him to get it looked at - of course he didn't. A few weeks later I got a very angry 'phone call from him telling me about the intermittent, partial short circuit in the driver's seat.

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Wed 1 Feb 2012 16:41
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - Mrs Merlin

We bought the car from a local garage dealer on 31.3.2011. Having 62000 on the clock. It now has about 70,300 approx. We have not had cause to use the heated seats until last month so this has occurred after using the heated seat about 5 times max.

The main Volvo dealer in Canterbury say they can not diagnose the problem as it is a sealed unit. They told us it is either the unit or the seat is worn. They told us that there is no fault reporting like the car has for lights etc and they have no diagnostic tools to assess the state of the seats.

When you buy a new Volvo or even second hand I have never had anyone suggest that the heated seat might burn out and thereby become a fire hazard to the occupants as well as the vehicle itself.

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Wed 1 Feb 2012 20:05
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - bonzo dog

Sorry Mrs M but after 10 months & 8,300 miles I'd be amazed if the courts found in your favour on a 62,000 (& I'm going to guess at least 5 years old) car.

When you buy a new Volvo or even second hand I have never had anyone suggest that the heated seat might burn out

All electrical & mechanical items will eventually fail

Nevertheless, the law does allow you to pursue a case for faulty goods under Sale Of Goods Act, against the retailer, for up to 6 years after purchase.

Good luck with whatever course of action you decide to take

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Thu 2 Feb 2012 13:56
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - focussed

www.lemonlawclaims.com/volvo_v70%20defects_and_cla...m

This US website has some details on a similar failure,so you have some justification for stating in your claim that you know that this failure has happened before.

Make : VOLVO Model : V70 Year : 2004
Manufacturer : VOLVO CARS OF N.A. LLC.
Crash : No Fire : Yes Number of Injuries: 0
ODI ID Number : 10182866 Number of Deaths: 0
Date of Failure: February 17, 2007
VIN : YV1SW59V842...
Component: SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLER
Summary:
HEATED SEATS MALFUNCTIONED AND CAUGHT SEAT ON FIRE. *NM

Volvo class action, defect, Volvo lemon law, claim, problem, Volvo defect

Remember all you have to do is google for it-google is your friend Hope this helps.

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Sun 12 Feb 2012 17:36
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - Robert J.

I am sure HJ answered a problem like this on his letters page in the DT a while ago, and I think that was a Volvo as well. The suspicion was that at some stage in the car’s history someone has kneeled on or placed another point load on the seat and damaged the heating element underneath. Since there is no way of checking the elements for damage, I think the advice was to not to use heated seats on older vehicles.

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Tue 22 Oct 2013 10:45
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - wadey1

Good luck luck with getting Volvo to take any responsibility for the safety of their customers. My two year old Volvo caught fire due to a faulty fuse box. Volvo tried to pass this off as arson despite the fire service being satisfied that no accelerant was present.

I will never buy another Volvo.

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Tue 22 Oct 2013 16:59
Volvo V70 - fire hazard/damage who is responsible/pays - pd

Electrics on cars (and other things) sometimes pack up. They just do. A heated seat is basically a toaster so it is a wonder more don't give problems.

I have seen one faulty one on a V70 before but to be fair to Volvo bearing in mind 95% of their cars made in the last 40 years have heated seats it isn't common.

It is no one's fault or responsibility - just life with cars and electrics. Nothing is perfect and things go wrong.

Assuming this is a 2000-2007 model a cheaper option would be to replace the seat with a used one from a breakers.

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?