> my family received a notice from Volvo cars of North America, via us mail, dated February 2005 > notice explains that: "in certain cases, after prolonged exposure to extreme heat, the fuel tank in model year 1994-1997 Volvo 850 vehicles may develop seepage at the heat shield attachment. When this occurs, a fuel odor may be present." >this is a serious understatement and, in my opinion based on my family's recent experience on our Volvo 850 listed ed in the recall, borders on criminal neglect. > we experienced this problem with our own Volvo 850 within the last two weeks, and it was much more than fuel vapor. I will explain: - a very strong intermittent fuel odor became noticeable, followed several days later by sever leaking from near the top of the gas tank down onto the cars exhaust pipe. I am really surprised it had not caught fire while we were driving the vehicle. - gas was dripping from the tank at a rate of one drop every two to three seconds. My wife and I noticed this after a quick trip to the grocery store where we had parked on level ground, allowing the gas to pool under the car. - we had to call the fire department to secure the vehicle; they had em move the car to a sloped gravel area to keep the gas to one side of the tank and to absorb the dripping gas. > the dealer took care of the problem immediately. The point that I am trying to make with all this is that if the notice had been worded more strongly and indicating the potential severity of this problem, we would have had the car in a lot sooner. I'm just glad we didn't have the car parked in a garage attached to our residence. Feel free to give me a call or E-mail and I will be glad to forward a copy of this notice to your office for review. John dominski fairfax, va.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

Caller received a recall letter but the consumer feels the dealer did not repair the problem. The manufacturers recall #140 and the NHTSA recall #04V368000 were to replace a heat shield. The caller said she feels the dealer did not do the recall because after the repair fuel leaked when she filled the tank. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer have been contacted about the problem.

- Windsormill, MD, USA