Volvo Trucks North America Inc asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to open a preliminary evaluation regarding a petition filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). The owner-operators petition claims that the Volvo trucks in question have experienced severe vibration, shaking, and noise centered in the front of the vehicle.
"We are prepared to work with NHTSA immediately to clear up these issues" said Christopher W Patterson, executive vice-president of sales and marketing at Volvo. "We have always had an open relationship with the agency, and we encourage them to move forward and open up a preliminary evaluation procedure.
"Volvo has always been recognized for its outstanding record of safety and commitment to its customers. We are confident in the quality of our vehicles and we pledge full cooperation with NHTSA."
According to federal law, NHTSA has 120 days to determine whether or not the agency sees a need to initiate the first phase of such an investigation, a preliminary evaluation. Volvo is calling for the agency to grant the request prior to the 120-day deadline in order to bring this issue to a close. Specifically, the focus of the OOIDA petition is on all Volvo Trucks manufactured in North America between 1989 - 2000. Of the 260,000 units produced in that time frame, 42 OOIDA members have officially come forward in the petition.
"We've been working on their issues with OOIDA for some time now." said Patterson. "About a year ago OOIDA allowed us to contact approximately a dozen of the 42 owners in question and we found maintenance practices to be the prevailing factor for their current performance issues. We want to continue working with every one of the 42 customers who have raised these issues to make certain that their vehicles are properly evaluated to determine the basis for their complaints."