The contact owns a 2007 Volvo XC70. While sitting in the idle vehicle, the contact stated that the vehicle felt low. Upon driving a half mile down the road, the body of the vehicle collapsed on top of the wheels. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear coil spring failed and all the coil springs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 118,945.

- Boston, MA, USA

My wife was driving alone in her 07 Volvo stationwagon on a routine errand down the I-83 interstate at 65 mph on a straight section when she heard a loud bang; like someone had shot at the car on the right side. Having been unnerved by the loud noise and not knowing what it was, she took the exit ramp slowly, and the car slid out a bit to the right like it was on ice, but there was no ice present. Upon inspection later, the right rear coil spring had snapped in two. We took it to the dealership, and after some haggling and a call to Volvo factory, they replaced the spring (no charge for the part, but we had to pay the labor). Additionally, they agreed to a loaner for the couple of days it was at the dealership. Volvo factory agreed to open a "good will review" file and alerted the dealership. I was 936 miles out of warrantee. They said there was no recall, but agreed to paying for the part. No one could answer whether the other coils might snap spontaneously. They looked "ok".

- Parkton, MD, USA

Initial rear spring failure driver side on 5/23/2011. Car out of warranty at 50,00. Appealed to dealer and Volvo of America with no consideration for failure major suspension component, warranty, and safety issue. Second spring failure on 4/2/2012, passenger side, mileage 67,274.

- Worcester, MA, USA

While traveling on the highway with 3 family members and our dog in the car this last weekend, there was suddenly a loud bang (sounded like something had hit the car). The road was smooth and weather was good. I pulled over immediately and could see nothing. Cautiously driving the rest of the way home (approx. 15 miles) the car seemed to handle normally although there was a new thudding noise when rolling over small road bumps. My wife took the car to a mechanic yesterday who put it up on a lift and discovered that the right rear coil spring had broken. He advised that this is a serious safety hazard, that we were lucky that a tire wasn't punctured or control lost while driving, and that the car should not be driven until the spring is replaced. This car is used in typical Suburban family driving and has been regularly maintained. We do not subject it to heavy loads or use. I am shocked that there was a sudden catastrophic failure of the coil spring. I am filing this complaint because in all my years of driving I have never had such a sudden failure of a key component with potentially deadly consequences. You will have the resources to determine if this was just an isolated random failure or some more general design or manufacturing defect.

- Summit, NJ, USA