Home
Volvo
VNL
1999 problems

FaultScore report

1999 Volvo VNL problems

Owners have filed 16 complaints about the 1999 Volvo VNL with NHTSA between 2000 and 2005. The largest single group is the suspension. Across this model's run it ranks 7 of 8 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Volvo VNL All 1999 cars

FaultScore 36/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Volvo VNL.

How this is worked out

The numbers

Complaints

Crashes reported

Fires reported

Injuries reported

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.

Complaint volume — 57: Against the median year of the Volvo VNL. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0: 0% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — not reported: Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.

How 1999 compares with every other Volvo VNL

Click any bar to open that year's report.

8 16 12 1 1 3 5 7 11 25 3 11 4 7 7 11 6 15 12 6 4 1

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 22 23

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 1999 Volvo VNL

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Suspension 11 68.8%

Median failure at 487,900 miles

Steering 2 12.5%

Median failure at 487,900 miles

Fuel & Propulsion 1 6.3%

Body & Structure 1 6.3%

Median failure at 487,900 miles

Electrical System 1 6.3%

Median failure at 487,900 miles

When owners complained

A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.

Sep 2000 peak 8 May 2005

NHTSA investigations into the 1999 Volvo VNL

An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.

EA09003 Opened 15 Jan 2009 Closed 6 Jul 2010 STEERING:GEAR BOX:SHAFT PITMAN

Drag Link Failure

EA09-003 is closed with the submission of Volvo's recall 10V-282 recalling approximately 111,034 Model Year (MY) 1998 through 2005 VN and VNL class 8 trucks.Volvo announced recall 10V-282 in response to NHTSA's recall request letter dated June 3, 2010 (available at NHTSA's web site www.safercar.gov). NHTSA found that these vehicles were designed and manufactured with a TRW ball joint that does not meet the combined performance requirements and foreseeable inspection practices of the U.S. market.The ball joint in the steering system that connects the driver's side steering arm/knuckle to the dr...

PE04014 Opened 5 Feb 2004 Closed 24 Jun 2004 STEERING

STEERING BINDING

ODI'S PRELIMINARY EVALUATION FOCUSED ON THE POTENTIAL FOR A BROKEN, BENT, DEFORMED, FRAGMENTED OR DISPLACED TURN SIGNAL CANCELING RING (TSCR), VTNA PART NUMBER 1607363, TO RESTRICT THEVEHICLE OPERATOR'S ABILITY TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL.THE PE IDENTIFIED THIRTEEN VTNA WARRANTY CLAIMS THAT ALLEGE THAT THE TSCR HAD FAILED AND THAT THE VEHICLE STEERING EFFORT HAD BEEN ADVERSELY AFFECTED.TO DATE, ODI HAS NOT FOUND ANY SAMPLES OF A FAILED TSCR AND HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DEFINITIVELY ESTABLISH WHETHER A FAILED TSCR CAN OR CANNOT CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASED STEERING EFFORT.ODI BELIEVES THAT IT IS APPROPRI...

PE02095 Opened 11 Dec 2002 Closed 30 May 2003 SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB

INTEGRAL HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLY

THE COMPANIES INVOLVED IN THIS MATTER ARE: SKF (HUB MFR), ARVINMERITOR (FRONT AXLE MFR), AND VOLVO (MANUFACTURER OF CLASS VIII TRACTOR/TRUCKS).SKF IDENTIFIED MANUFACTURING DEFECTS FOR SPECIFIC BUILD DATES ON FRONT AXLE HUB AND BEARINGS (WHEEL BEARINGS) SUPPLIED TO ARVINMERITOR.AS A RESULT, ARVINMERITOR NOTIFIED VOLVO OF AXLES SUPPLIED WITH POSSIBLE DEFECTIVE FRONT HUB ASSEMBLIES.AS A RESULT OF THAT NOTIFICATION, 433 TRUCKS ARE BEING RECALLED BY VOLVO FOR DEFECTIVE FRONT AXLE WHEEL BEARINGS WHICH MAY FAIL IN SUCH A WAY THAT A WHEEL SEPARATION OR WHEEL BEARING FIRE OCCURS.SEE ATTACHED SUMMARY RE...

Recalls on the 1999 Volvo VNL

A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.

Canada — Transport Canada

Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not always mirror the American ones.

Recall 2003159 19 Jun 2003 14 units in Canada

Suspension

On certain vehicles, a manufacturing defect will result in premature spalling of the wheel bearings, which in turn will lead to eventual breakdown of the bearing. Correction: Dealer will replace both steer axle hubs.

Recall 2000210 28 Sep 2000 1,580 units in Canada

Brakes

On certain vehicles, the ABS ECU misinterprets certain signals from wheel ends which can result in the temporary loss of braking capability on one or more wheel positions for several seconds. This response results from either an ABS cable that has chafed through the insulation and contacted a rotating part or a misaligned tone ring that has been damaged by contacting other components. Correction: ABS ECU will be replaced with a new ECU with upgraded software capable of detecting and properly responding to erroneous signals.

Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

Filed 6 May 2005 at 487,900 miles Holland, MI

SUSPENSION

DT: INVOLVING A SEMI TRACTOR TRAILER. A DRAG LINK BROKE OFF @60 MPH; IT JUST DROPPED OFF. BOUGHT IT 2 MONTHS AGO. BRUCE LEE SIMONS IS THE INSPECTOR'S NAME WHO INSPECTED THE SEMI. HE STATED HE HAD THE ACTUAL PART, AND HE DIDN'T BELIEVE IT WAS EVER REALLY INSPECTED BECAUSE THE PART DID NOT HAVE ANY GREASE ON IT. *AK AN ERROR WAS DISCOVERED IN THE ODOMETER WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. THE DISPLAY 560K MILES COMPARED TO THE TRANSMISSION DATA OF 630K MILES. THE CABLE SHORT WOULD RANDOMLY FAIL. THE DRAG LINK DROPPED OUT OF THE SOCKET CAUSING TOTAL LOSS STEERING. THE BALL JOINTS DISPLAYED EXCESSIVE WEAR. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE TOWING.

NHTSA complaint #10120098 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 6 May 2005 at 487,900 miles Holland, MI

STEERING:LINKAGES

NHTSA complaint #10120098 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 6 May 2005 at 487,900 miles Holland, MI

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

NHTSA complaint #10120098 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 6 May 2005 at 487,900 miles Holland, MI

STRUCTURE

NHTSA complaint #10120098 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 21 May 2002 Woodland, CA

STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR

CONSUMER STATES THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP.

NHTSA complaint #565634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 21 May 2002 Woodland, CA

SUSPENSION

VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING U-BOLT PROBLEMS AND IT IS OVER WEIGHT.

NHTSA complaint #565634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 21 May 2002 Woodland, CA

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM

VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING INJECTOR PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint #565634 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Filed 16 Mar 2001 LA Vergne, TN

SUSPENSION:FRONT:HUB