The defect
Volvo Trucks North America (Volvo) is recalling certain model year 2009-2015 Volvo VN trucks manufactured April 14, 2008, to December 23, 2014. The affected vehicles may experience corrosion of the ball joints due to the seals being compromised, possibly resulting in accelerated wear and failure of the ball joint.
The risk
Failure of the ball joint may cause separation of the socket and a complete loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the drag links, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Volvo issued an interim notification to owners on October 28, 2015. Replacement parts are now available. Notices to owners were mailed on March 1, 2016. Owners may contact Volvo customer service at 1-877-800-4945 option #1. Volvo's number for the vehicle inspection is RVXX1508. Volvo's number for the replacement of drag links is RVXX1509.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Volvo VN | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Components: SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT | SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:UPPER BALL JOINT
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volvo VN | 2009 | 0 | 4 |
| Volvo VN | 2010 | 0 | 4 |
| Volvo VN | 2011 | 0 | 2 |
| Volvo VN | 2012 | 2 | 2 |
| Volvo VN | 2013 | 1 | 2 |
| Volvo VN | 2014 | 2 | 1 |
| Volvo VN | 2015 | 0 | 1 |
Other suspension recalls in 2015
64 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the suspension; Volvo Trucks North America filed 105 campaigns in all.
| 15V863000 22 Dec 2015 | Kaufman Trailers |
| 15V838000 14 Dec 2015 | Charmac Trailers Inc. |
| 15V784000 23 Nov 2015 | DS Corp DBA Crossroads RV |
| 15V753000 13 Nov 2015 | Trails West Manufacturing Of Idaho, Inc. |
| 15V727000 3 Nov 2015 | Newmar Corporation |
| 15V725000 3 Nov 2015 | Prevost Cars, Inc. |
| 15V654000 14 Oct 2015 | Newmar Corporation |
| 15V649000 13 Oct 2015 | Great Dane Trailers |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015