Abraham Jewett  |  April 20, 2022

Category: Auto News

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Volvo sign at a service facility.
(Photo Credit: Jeppe Gustafsson/Shutterstock)

Volvo Piston Defect Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

  • Who: A group of car owners filed a class action lawsuit against Volvo Car USA, LLC.
  • Why: Car owners claim Volvo fails to disclose to 2013-2016 Volvo vehicle owners that the cars contain defective pistons. 
  • Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.

Volvo Car USA failed to disclose to its customers that its model year 2013-2016 Volvo vehicles contained defective pistons, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

A group of Volvo owners claim their Volvo vehicles were equipped with faulty 2.0L 4-cylinder or 2.5L 5-cylinder engines on account of a piston defect. 

The owners claim Volvo intentionally conceals the issue, which is caused by a design defect in the piston rings and/or piston heads located in the vehicles’ engine. 

“The piston rings cannot properly clear engine oil off the side of the cylinder wall during the downstroke and instead push that oil up where it can coat the top of the piston head, enter the combustion chamber and ignite,” the Volvo class action states. 

Vehicle owners claim that, over time, the defect damages the pistons and other engine components, ultimately leading to a loss of power. 

Volvo Class Action Claims Vehicle Owners Must Pay Out Of Pocket For Engine Repairs

The piston defect injures vehicle owners who must pay out of pocket to either repair or replace the damaged engine parts of the engine in its entirety, the Volvo class action alleges. 

“A replacement of the piston rings and/or pistons costs thousands of dollars, and the cost for replacing a Subject Engine is well over $10,000,” the lawsuit states. 

Vehicle owners argue that the piston defect also presents a safety risk for drivers who may have to deal with their engine suddenly losing power, putting themselves, their passengers and pedestrians at risk. 

“A sudden loss of power poses a clear-cut safety risk – it can prevent the driver from accelerating, maintaining speed, engaging the brakes and even adequately controlling the steering wheel, all of which drastically increase the risk of collisions,” the Volvo class action states. 

Volvo owners claim Volvo is guilty of fraudulent omission, breach of express warranty, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and a number of state-specific acts. 

Volvo owners want to represent a nationwide class and multistate subclass of consumers who purchased or leased a 2013-2016 Volvo containing the piston defect. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory relief along with compensatory, exemplary and statutory damages for themselves and all class members. 

Volvo recalled more than 460,000 of its older vehicles in November after discovering that their airbags can explode and send shrapnel flying into the cabin. 

Did you purchase or lease a 2013-2016 Volvo containing a defective engine? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Russell D. Paul, Abigail J. Gertner, Natalie Lesser and Amey J. Park of Berger Montague PC and Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett and Laura E. Goolsby of Capstone Law APC.  The Class Action Lawsuit is Buchanan, et al. v. Volvo Car USA, LLC, et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-02227, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.


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414 thoughts onVolvo Class Action Alleges Automaker Concealed Piston Defect

  1. Chantelle says:

    I am interested. My 2015 is having problems now.

  2. Jillette Henson says:

    I would very much love to be a part of the lawsuit. I’m also dealing with oil consumption issues in my 2016 Volvo XC90 and now my catalytic converter is leaking and needs to be replaced. Could this be related to the piston issue?

  3. Jennifer B says:

    I bought a 2016 Volvo XC60 last November and I just had this same thing happen to me. Thank goodness I bought an extended warranty from Carvana because it only cost me $1500~ but the total bill was $8500 and I was out of a car for over 3 weeks. The entire this also started back in October 2023 and it was just resolved yesterday. The entire process was a nightmare with two Volvo service coordinators being “relieved” of duty and no longer working there. The warranty company was also confused about the entire process and didn’t fully understand what to cover. At one point they wanted to replace the entire engine. This was directly related to the oil consumption test, the malfunction of the pistons, and everything that everyone else in this thread is saying. It is a joke that this hasn’t already been a recall!

  4. Norman James says:

    I purchased a 2015 S60 to replace my 2002 S60 had finally had too many repairs needed to justify the expense. After about a year I got the recall notice but at the time I hadn’t noticed an oil issue. Then the issues started. At first thought that maybe when I got an oil change they didn’t put in to right amount of oil. Then the requests from the car for more oil started to get excessive. UP to 5 quarts in the last round. I spoke to my local dealer and was told that my car was outside the 8 years stated on the recall (who puts a time issue on a defect like this?) and that I would have to pay for the test myself. I had a thermostat die on me right after (there is an issue with these also but no recall). So when I had that repaired I had the test done. Turns out my car was burning at twice the normal rate. I spoke to Volvo about seeing if i was possible to get them to pay for the repairs and was told that the dealership hadn’t put in for a goodwill request and that they would think about any help. MY dealer says they no nothing about a goodwill request. I see that some people filed a suit in NJ and were able to get Volov to extend the time to 10 years and 150000 miles. If I knew how to file a class action suit I would see if what happened in NJ could happen in Washington State. I would hate to think that eventually my car will die due to this defect and I will be making payments on a paperweight.

  5. Chris says:

    I purchased a 201 6 Volvo S60 Inscription in Jan. 2021 with 46K mile. At 65K it started burning oil. At 85K it is in reduce engine perf. (limp mode) and unable to be driven. I call Ramsey Volvo and they explained there was an extended warranty for my VIN for 10yr 150K miles so I had it tow there. After they looked at it they said I had a bad cylinder, with a bad / burnt exhaust valve but this was not covered under the warranty. To repair the exhaust valve would cost $10K. The reason the cylinder is bad is because to the design flaw in the piston rings which was the reason for the class action lawsuit that extended the warranty. Very frustrating, any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

  6. Nicole Phillips says:

    I am having the same issue with my volvo. They did not send me a notice of recall. I took the car into a Volvo dealership before the 100k miles and they ignored the recall notice even though I described the oil consumption issue. My car is now broken down and Volvo did not respond to my request. I recently got stuck on the interstate. I am a single mom and rely on this car.

  7. Peter B says:

    Michael W – had the exact same thing happend with our 2016 XC90 engine. Oil consumption started around 80K, Volvo did not perform the “Piston Job” and engine left my wife on the side of the road at 115K. We had the extend warranty, should have pushed to have the issue resolved before 100K, but now they are saying we are out of the warranty even though it started prior. Interesting, I contact Volvo about good will helping with the cost. They eventually said they would pay half, but thought it was just the “Piston Job”, once they found out it was an engine replacement they said they would not help with anything…nice. This is my 6th Volvo and my last if nothing is done. I would be interested in going in with people on a lawsuit.

    1. Celeste Lewis says:

      Let’s do it! Where do we start? I bought a 2015 less than a year ago the engine just went Volvo will not help whatsoever denied l my request.

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