At the urging of an owner-operator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to take a closer look at a recall of Volvo trucks.
The news comes as the agency published details about its decision to grant only parts of one association's petition to investigate other alleged problems in Volvo heavy trucks.

A year ago, Volvo Trucks North America announced a voluntary recall of more than 1,500 VN 770 model trucks relating to the weight rating on the certification label and the distribution of the weight on the front axle of the truck. According to complaints from owners, the label doesn't accurately reflect the actual front gross axle weight, leading to overloading problems and overweight tickets. Volvo said it would replace the label, replace front axle components, and replace or relocate fuel tanks to address the problem. (See "Volvo Addresses Front Axle Complaints," 4/2/2001.)
But North Dakota owner-operator Nick Barber, who petitioned NHTSA about the problem in the first place, wasn't satisfied by the recall. He asked the agency to look more closely at the problem, believing there were more trucks affected, including VN 610s and 660s. (The vehicle population of 1989-2001 VN models, according to NHTSA documents, is nearly 80,000.) Barber also said the problem is a safety issue, not simply a non-compliance issue.
Last month, Barber received notification that the agency had decided to grant Barber's request and open an audit of the recall.
The audit was announced in the Federal Register this week, along with details about NHTSA's previously announced investigation of other Volvo front axle complaints as a result of a petition by the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Assn.
In the Federal Register, the agency explains why it granted parts of OOIDA's petition and denied others. It notes that the OOIDA petition "is extremely broad," alleging multiple defects on more than 30 models of Volvo trucks produced over a span of 12 model years. Many of those problems, NHTSA said, were not directly safety related.
NHTSA granted the petition to open an investigation into alleged steering defects on 1998 through 2000 VN trucks; and alleged front axle component failures related to steer axle U-bolts on 1998 through 2000 VN series trucks.
The agency decided not to address problems alleged by OOIDA in the areas of premature front tire wear, wheel alignment problems, problems with axle parts, suspension problems, transmission and clutch problems, engine and electrical problems.
Volvo has welcomed the NHTSA investigation, saying it wants to put the matter to rest. (See "Volvo Responds To NHTSA Investigation," 1/21/2002.)