Volvo recalls 70,000 UK cars over fire risk

● Swedish company told of ‘a very small number’ of vehicles catching on fire

Nearly 70,000 Volvo cars in the UK are being recalled over a fire risk related to an engine problem, the manufacturer has said.

Certain models built between 2014 and 2019 are affected by the issue.

A spokesman for the Swedish motor vehicle company said it has received reports of “a very small number” of cars catching fire, but no-one has been injured.

The firm’s investigations found that “in very rare cases” a piece of plastic fitted as part of the engine can melt, causing a fire “in the most extreme cases”.

The 69,616 UK cars affected are among more than half a million being recalled globally.

The affected models have four-cylinder diesel engines and are 2014-19 versions of the S80, S60, V70, XC70, S60 Cross Country, V60, XC60, V60 Cross Country, S90, V90, V90 Cross Country, XC90, V40 and V40 Cross Country.

Volvo said it was contacting all customers whose vehicles are affected to alert them to the issue. Drivers are being told it is “safe to continue to use your car” if it does not show any symptoms indicating a problem such as an engine warning light illuminating, a lack of power or an “unusual smell”.

A second letter will be sent confirming when a solution to the problem is available.

Volvo said it notified the relevant authorities about the issue “as soon as it was identified”. The company has apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused, stating it is taking “full responsibility to ensure the highest quality and safety standards of our cars”.

More than one million Volvo vehicles are being recalled worldwide because of the fault. The recall is the second piece of bad news for the Chinese-owned manufacturer in the past week.

Volvo on Thursday reported a sharp drop in profits in the second quarter of this year despite a significant increase in sales. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s head of vehicle safety branch Ian Bartlett said: “DVSA’S priority is to protect everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

“After being informed of the risk by Volvo, we worked with the manufacturer to recall the vehicles as soon as possible to help protect the public.

“We will ensure that the owners of these vehicles are notified of the recall and that vehicles are inspected as a priority.”

Volvo was separately forced to announce a global safety recall in January of 219,000 cars with diesel engines due to an engineering fault that could cause faulty fuel lines to leak.

More than 30,000 UK motorists were affected.

It emerged in April that Vauxhall was recalling 235,000 Zafira cars for a third time after a new source of fires was discovered.

The Zafira B cars were previously recalled in two stages in 2015 and 2016 after campaigners claimed more than 300 had caught fire, often leaving their occupants with just a few seconds to escape before their vehicles were destroyed.

Vauxhall said the latest recall affects cars built between 2005 and 2014 that do not have electronic climate control.