The Swedish car manufacturer has agreed to pay $1.5 million in fines for failing to report seven recalls in a timely manner
Delinquent Volvo recalls have cost the Swedish auto-maker $1.5 million in civil penalties, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Volvo recalls in question involved a total of 32,000 vehicles in 2010 and 2012. According to the NHTSA, Volvo was fined for delaying, or failing to report, seven recalls in a timely manner. Some of the Volvo recalls concerned minor defects including incorrect tire-pressure labels; others included much more serious safety-related defects such as defective airbags and problems with vehicles stalling.
Volvo has denied any wrongdoing but has agreed to pay the $1.5 million fine imposed by the NHTSA. Volvo has stated that it has “taken steps to improve the review process and analysis of potential quality and safety issues with our vehicles.”
Federal law requires manufacturers to act in a “timely” manner, no more than five business days, once it discovers a safety problem that would warrant a recall.
The maximum amount of fines the NHTSA can levy on a manufacturer is $17.35 million.
Toyota was dealt of series of fines relating to its questionable handling of safety issues in 2009 and 2010 stemming from incidents of sticky accelerator pedals. The Japanese manufacturer was forced to temporarily close a number of its assembly lines and recall millions of vehicles as it searched for a solution to the problem.
German auto-manufacturer BMW also earned a $3 million fine from the NHTSA earlier this year stemming from delays in 16 separate recalls involving BMW 5 and 6-Series cars from 2004-2010 and 7-Series models from 2002-2008.
