Volvo Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Recalled Hybrid Batteries, Alleging Fires Occur Due to Faulty Design

Location of lithium-ion batteries in certain recalled Volvo vehicles could cause short circuits, leading to fires, lawsuit claims.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Volvo, alleging that certain recalled plug-in hybrid vehicles contain a dangerous design defect that places the high-voltage battery in a structurally vulnerable location, increasing the risk of fires.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Burhaan Salah in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on April 8, naming Volvo Car USA, LLC and Volvo Car Corporation as the defendants.

The lawsuit was filed just three weeks after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a Volvo recall in late March, which warned that certain model year 2020 through 2022 Volvo XC60, S60, V60, XC90, and 2022 V90 and S90 plug-in hybrids are equipped with a high-voltage battery that may experience a short circuit when the battery is fully charged and the vehicle is parked.

At the time of the recall, NHTSA reported that Volvo had not received any reports of accidents or injuries as a result of the issue, but the company warned owners not to charge their vehicles until the battery software was updated, and the battery itself was inspected and replaced by a dealer if necessary.

While the manufacturer stated in its recall that the problem with the battery was due to a potential short circuit within the battery module when the vehicle is fully charged and parked, Salah contends that the real issue stems from the battery’s unsafe placement inside the vehicle.

In his lawsuit, Salah indicates that his 2020 Volvo XC60 was one of the vehicles included in that recall.

Salah argues that Volvo’s recall remedy is inadequate because it fails to fix the real issue behind the fire risk. According to the lawsuit, the problem isn’t a defect in the battery itself, but rather where Volvo chose to install it, in the center of the vehicle’s body, within the transmission tunnel, instead of in a safer, more protected area like the trunk. 

The lawsuit claims that this design leaves the battery vulnerable to outside interference, which could lead to internal short circuits and a dangerous condition known as thermal runaway, where the battery overheats and potentially catches fire. 

Salah says the recall’s software update and inspection do not actually solve this design flaw, meaning the fire risk still exists even after the repair. He also points out that the recall does not do anything to restore the resale value of the vehicle, which he now considers to be significantly diminished due to its reputation as unsafe.

“When Plaintiff intends to sell his Vehicle, the reputation of being a faulty vehicle will harm the resale value and place Plaintiff in a much worse bargaining position compared to if Defendants had properly manufactured, designed, produced, distributed, and advertised Class Vehicles,” Salah indicated in his complaint. “Plaintiff has suffered damages in that Plaintiff has been inconvenienced by Defendants’ Recall and accompanying required repairs.”

Salah is raising allegations against Volvo of breach of implied warranty of merchantability, violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, unjust enrichment, strict liability: design defect, strict liability: manufacturing defect, and violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

He is seeking actual, general, special, incidental, statutory and consequential damages, and asking for certification of his complaint as a class action on behalf of himself and others similarly situated.