2013 Volvo C70

This is not a singular incident; it has been persistent for five or so years at this point. Quite frequently, when I am driving with the top down for at least 20 minutes, one of the doors unlatches (a couple of weeks ago, this actually occurred six times in one hour or so trip, though such frequency is unusual). For the first year or so this occurred, it was only the driver's door, but then it started happening with both doors (though still more frequently the driver's door). To be clear, it unlatches -- it never has swung open, even if pressure is applied to it. Still, this is jarring when it occurs (all the more so at highway speeds), and I am left to wonder if at some point it will "graduate" to full door opening. I am also especially concerned given that I have a child with a driving learner's permit. I mentioned this in passing to a Volvo dealer service agent a couple of years ago, and he professed to be unaware of it and suggested I would need to bring it in for diagnosis etc. which I have not done. However, having been on the NHTSA site today and seen other complaints about this with this year, make, and model, I felt I should add my experiences to the record. And of course, given those observations, I would like to get it addressed without my having to incur the cost of doing so.

The contact owns a 2013 Volvo C70. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's and passenger's side front doors inadvertently opened. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the driver's and passenger's side front doors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,900.

Within the last 6 months, (fall 2021 – spring 2022), one of the doors in my car has opened multiple times by itself, while I was driving the car. The door was closed properly when I started driving and I did not accidently pull on the door handle. This occurred so far only with the driver side door, while the top was down, (the car is a convertible), and while driving at highway or close to highway speed. Last time the door opened and closed multiple times, before I had a chance to pull over and close it. I noticed the door opening and closing as the interior light came on and off and window lowered down and went up several times, which occurs while the door is being opened. This leads to a dangerous and unpredictable situation.

When top is down, at highway speeds, the driver-side door becomes ajar, interior light comes on and window goes down 1/2 inch. This seems to happen about 20 minutes into the drive. Will happen multiple times on long drives. This only seems to happen when the convertible top is down. Driving at highway speeds and having the door go ajar is not safe. Not sure why Volvo never took this seriously, as its reported by many others on the internet - same exact issue. Reported to Volvo (Leiken Volvo Cars Cleveland), they cannot reproduce and said everything looks correct. Offering to replace the lock mechanism. The issue is easy to reproduce, but just driving with the top down for longer than a 20 minute period.

WHILE DRIVING, PERIODICALLY, BOTH DOORS (NOT SIMULTANEOUSLY BUT IT HAS OCCURRED IN BOTH DOORS MULTIPLE TIMES) WILL COME AJAR. MOST OFTEN, THIS OCCURS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WHEN A BUMP OCCURS TO SLIGHTLY JOLT THE CAR. THE DOOR DOES NOT COME ALL THE WAY OPEN BUT IT IS CLEARLY AJAR. A WARNING LIGHT COMES ON ON THE DASH AND THE INTERIOR LIGHTS COME ON. WHILE THE DOOR DOESN'T COME COMPLETELY OPEN, THIS CAUSES A DANGEROUS SITUATION AS IT DISTRACTS THE DRIVER, CAUSES YOU TO PULL OVER ON A HIGHWAY AND THEN RE-ENTER THAT HIGHWAY FROM THE SHOULDER. I ALWAYS KEEP A HAND ON THE DOOR IN CASE IT SWING COMPLETELY OPEN, WHICH MEANS I ONLY HAVE 1 HAND ON THE WHEEL. IN RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE, I HAVE NOTED IT REPORTED BY MULTIPLE PEOPLE ACROSS MULTIPLE MODEL YEARS. IT IS A CONSISTENT AND CONSTANT COMPLAINT WITH THE CAR. IT PRESENTS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND IS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW. I'M SURE THE FIX IS RELATIVELY SIMPLY AND CAN'T BE TOO COSTLY AS THE CAR HAS BEEN OUT OF PRODUCTION FOR SEVERAL YEARS. VOLVO IS WELL AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT A BRAND THAT ADVERTISES AND EMPHASIZES SAFETY HAS NOT TAKEN ACTION TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE. I'M CONFIDENT THAT OUR GOVERNMENT WILL PUT THE SAFETY OF THE CITIZENS FIRST AND FORCE VOLVO'S HAND IN FIXING THE DESIGN FLAW. IN MY AMATEUR OPINION, THE DOOR ON THIS CAR IS HEAVIER THAN MOST AND, WHEN BOUNCED, THE WEIGHT OF THE DOOR OVERPOWERS THE LATCH. THE HAS OCCURRED OVER 20, AND LIKELY OVER 25 TIMES IN THE 20,000 MILES THAT I HAVE OWNED THE CAR (APPROXIMATELY 18 MONTHS). I USED THE MOST RECENT OCCURRENCE FOR THE DATE ASKED FOR BELOW ("WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN"). THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.