XC40 Recharge

Make
Volvo
Segment
SUV

Despite inventing the seatbelt, even Volvo can get it wrong sometimes. Last year, the Swedish automaker issued its biggest recall ever. That was quickly addressed, but it wasn't the end of Volvo's seatbelt woes. A little over a month ago, BMW experienced a seatbelt problem too, with a recall affecting even Rolls-Royce products. Similar recalls have affected Audi, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, and others, and it seems that Volvo has now been affected by the same supplier, namely Autoliv. On the plus side, while that aforementioned Volvo recall pertained to around 2.2 million vehicles, this one is considerably less widespread, with over 19,000 vehicles implicated.

The problem stems from potentially faulty passenger seatbelt retractors that could make it difficult to securely install a child car seat and affects vehicles from the 2021 and 2022 model years. The NHTSA puts the blame for the issue on the automatic locking retractor being faulty, but neither Volvo nor the NHTSA has specified any specific seating positions that could exhibit the problem. According to the NHTSA, no warranty claims have been made so far, and no accidents or injuries related to the issue have been reported to the agency either. But which Volvo models should one keep an eye on?

The affected models include the 2021 Volvo XC40 and XC40 Recharge, as well as the 2021-2022 V60. Other dual-year models include the XC60 and the S60, while 2021-only models listed include the V60 CC, the V90 and V90 CC, and the XC90 SUV. As always, Volvo is expected to inspect and replace the faulty components at no cost to the owners. Speaking of, owners will begin getting notification mail from the 31st of October 2021. Alternatively, one can always visit the nearest Volvo dealer for an inspection. Hopefully, this will finally be the last of Volvo's seatbelt issues because it has much more important things to focus on.