Volvo will be recalling the complete 2019 and 2020 Model Year line-up sold in the United States of America for a software glitch with the Automatic Emergency Braking system. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicles produced from 08 November 2018 to 11 March 2020 with a given VIN range on their website have been affected by the recall. These models include the Volvo S60, V60, V60CC, S90L, V90, V90CC, XC40, XC60 and XC90.
It is estimated that 121,605 vehicles in all have been potentially involved and could have up to 100% defect regarding the Automatic Emergency Braking system. The defect is a missing software code within the Active Safety Domain Master (ASDM) which is likely to be incompatible with the latest hardware. Due to the missing software code, the Automatic Emergency Braking system (AEB) also known as ‘Intellisafe’ may not always engage in case of an imminent collision. The active passenger safety assistance system is the only part affected by the recall.
To remedy the fault, Volvo is likely to perform a total upgrade on the AEB system including an updated software on all affected vehicles free of cost. All the vehicles affected by the recall are also under the Volvo factory warranty. Vehicles manufactured from 11th March 2020 have already received the updated software which was introduced on the production line.
Volvo plans to notify its customers via dealership on 01 May 2020 for the recall schedule. As of now, no reports of crashes, injuries or fatalities in relation to the AEB system have been reported.
In related news, Geely the Chinese parent company for Volvo cars have started to sanitize the vehicles before they are delivered in China. The Chinese car giant has also employed a drone service to deliver the car keys to its customer’s doorsteps. Volvo is also likely to follow suit and sanitize and deliver their cars to customers to mitigate the Corona Virus infection.