2016 Volvo Bus 9700 problems

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2009-2025 Volvo 9700 buses. The emergency exit label on the entrance door is missing the exit operating instructions. As such, these vehicles fail to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 217, "Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release."

Risk

The missing information may prevent or delay the use of the emergency exit, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

Prevost will replace the emergency exit identification labels, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed November 3, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Prevost's customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2046. Prevost's number for this recall is SR26-84. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on beginning September 25, 2026.

Recall number 26V600000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2013-2021 9700 buses. The red beacon lighting on the Threshold Warning System (TWS) may not be bright enough. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 403, "Platform Lift Systems."

Risk

Beacons that do not provide proper illumination may be less visible to wheelchair lift users, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

Prevost will replace the red beacons, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 16, 2024. Owners may contact Volvo Bus customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2043. Volvo Bus number for this recall is SR24-81.

Recall number 23V890000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2008-2021 9700 vehicles. The headlights may not have the correct amount of light output, and either be too bright, or too dim. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Risk

Excessively bright or dim headlights may reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace of the headlight assembly or the bulbs, free of charge. Owners notification letters were mailed September 1, 2023. Owners may contact Volvo Bus' customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2046.

Recall number 21V717000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2009-2021 Volvo 9700 vehicles equipped with wheelchair lifts. When the lift's outer barrier is fully deployed, it may not withstand a sufficient amount of force, which could cause it to fail. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 403, "Platform Lift Systems" and 404, "Platform Lift Installations."

Risk

In the event that a mobility device pushes into the outer barrier, the barrier may fail, increasing the risk of injury for the lift occupant.

Remedy

Volvo Bus will reinforce the outer barrier with additional supports, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed on September 28, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 18, 2022. Owners may contact Volvo Bus customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2046.

Recall number 21V597000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2015-2020 9700 buses. The transmission C1 hub may fail which may lead to a disabled vehicle.

Risk

A disabled bus may require passengers to transfer to a different bus on the side of the road, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

Volvo Bus will notify owners, and dealers will update the Transmission Control Module (TCM) calibration software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 12, 2021. Owners may contact Volvo Bus customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2046.

Recall number 20V803000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2015-2018 9700 motorcoaches equipped with specific fire suppression systems. The actuator of the fire extinguisher system may not function properly, preventing the fire extinguisher from discharging the fire suppression agent.

Risk

If the fire suppression system does not work as intended, it can increase the risk of injury in the event of a fire.

Remedy

Volvo Bus will notify owners, and the fire suppression system manufacturer will inspect the systems, replacing them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Volvo Bus customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2046. Volvo Bus' number for this recall is SR19-83.

Recall number 19V119000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo) is recalling certain 2016-2018 9700 buses equipped with I-Start. The hardware that attaches the power supply cable to the fuse box may not be properly tightened, possibly causing the power cable and fuse box to overheat.

Risk

The power cable and fuse box can overheat, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy

Volvo will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuse box for damage, and replace it if necessary, as well as replace and tighten the nuts attaching the power cable, free of charge. The recall began February 2, 2018. Owners may contact Volvo customer service at 1‑866‑870‑2046. Volvo's number for this recall is SR17-85.

Recall number 17V845000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Volvo 9700 transit buses equipped with the I-Start feature. These vehicles have a ground cable that may have been improperly installed, resulting in inadequate electrical contact. The poor contact may cause the power feed relay to fail and the engine to stall.

Risk

An unexpected engine shutdown increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Volvo Bus will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and correct the ground wire installation, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 4, 2017. Owners may contact Volvo Bus customer service 1‑877‑773‑8678. Volvo Bus' number for this recall is SR17-80. Note: The affected vehicles were previously remedied for a similar issue under recall 16V836, however, this recall requires additional repairs to ensure that the power feed relay will not fail.

Recall number 17V173000 · Recall details

What is wrong

Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo Bus) is recalling certain model year 2008-2017 9700 buses manufactured January 7, 2008, to August 25, 2016. The affected vehicles are equipped with a power feed relay for the engine and transmission which may be undersized for the application, causing the relay to fail and the engine to stall.

Risk

An unexpected engine shutdown increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Volvo Bus will notify owners, and dealers will replace the existing relay with a larger, more robust, relay, free of charge. The recall began on December 20, 2016. Owners may contact Volvo Bus customer service at 1‑877‑773‑8678. Volvo Bus' number for this recall is SR16-86.

Recall number 16V836000 · Recall details

On March 30, 2018, Van Hool N.V. (Van Hool) notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of a safety defect that exists in certain model year (MY) 2015-2018 CX45, TD925, TDX25, TX40, TX45, and 2016-2018 CX35 motorcoaches. The passenger seat belt buckle’s outer casing may fail, leaving the seat belt buckle mechanisms exposed. The exposed seat belt buckle mechanisms may reduce the seat occupants’ likelihood of using the seat belt, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash. This recall of vehicles with the subject seat belt buckle casings was designated recall 18V‑209. In its recall filing, Van Hool identified the component manufacturer as Fasching Salzburg. Based on Early Warning Reporting (EWR), field reports, and warranty claims aggregate data, the federal safety agency identified that the defective part in Van Hool’s recall was potentially used in vehicles manufactured by Volvo Bus Corporation (Volvo), Motor Coach Industries (MCI), and Prevost Car (US) Inc. (Prevost). the federal safety agency opened this Equipment Query (EQ) investigation, EQ19-001, to determine if the seat belt buckle casing at issue in recall 18V‑209 constituted a safety defect in Volvo, MCI or Prevost vehicles, thereby requiring additional recalls. On July 23, 2019, the federal safety agency sent an Information Request (IR) letter to Volvo requesting that for all of the seatbelt buckles Volvo uses, or has used, as original or replacement equipment on 2016 model year Volvo 9700 buses, that it provide the Volvo part number(s), the seatbelt manufacturer’s or supplier’s part number(s), the manufacturer’s or supplier’s name and their contact information. In the IR, the federal safety agency further requested that Volvo state the number of each of the above seatbelts that Volvo has distributed as replacement items for the original equipment seatbelts and provide the model and model year of the vehicle in which it is used and month/year of sale (including the cut-off date for sales, if applicable). Finally, the federal safety agency requested that Volvo provide two samples of each seat belt type/brand/part number identified by Volvo. On October 23, 2019, the federal safety agency sent an IR letter to Amaya-Astron Seating, the seat manufacturer that installed the subject Fasching Salzburg seat belt buckle assemblies on the seats supplied to Van Hool. The purpose of this letter was to obtain, in part, a list of purchasers that were sold the seatbelt buckles as individual replacements or part of a seat and a list of all customers/manufacturers that received the same or similarly affected seatbelt buckles. Amaya-Astron identified MCI, Prevost, and Volvo as the motorcoach manufacturers to which it supplied seats with subject seat belt buckle casings. the federal safety agency sent two IR Letters and Comprehensive Inquiry (CI) 21650H002 in support of EQ19-001 to MCI, Prevost, and Volvo Bus, in order to determine the relevant population. The IR letters and CI identified that the following vehicles used the subject seat belt buckle casings: 2016 Volvo Bus 9700 and 2018 Prevost X3-45. MCI reported that it had no vehicles with the suspected subject seat belt buckle casings. Prevost and Volvo Bus reported that they did not observe a trend of seat belt buckle casing failures as observed in recall 18V‑209. EWR, field reports, warranty claims data, and the information provided in the IR responses and CI similarly did not identify failure trends in the seat belt buckle casings. In addition, Prevost recalled the population of its vehicles subject to this investigation, containing the subject seat belt buckle casings, in recall 22V‑236 (2018 Prevost X3-45) based on a different safety defect of the seat belt buckle assembly. The recall addressed vehicles with seat belt buckles that may have exposed, frayed retaining cables. As a result, the seat belt assemblies may not secure the seat occupants in the event of a crash. The remedy for recall 22V‑236 was the replacement of the entire seat belt buckle, including its casing, with a different part. That remedy also obviated the potential concern regarding casing failure that was at issue in recall 18V‑209 and EQ19-001. ODI is closing this investigation. Duringthe course of this investigation, the agency reviewed the information that it received and also closely monitored the data over multiple years to see if any trends would emerge. During this time, a portion of the vehicles that were part of the original population of this investigation were recalled. the federal safety agency believes that enough time has now passed with such monitoring to consider the data as presenting no observable trends to suggest that the seat belt buckle casings subject to recall 18V‑209 similarly pose a safety defect in the remaining population of vehicles equipped with the seat belt buckle casings. The agency will continue to monitor the issue and will not hesitate to take appropriate action should such trends emerge in the future. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist, including on other model or MY vehicles outside of the recall scope. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

EQ19001