Sarah Mirando  |  March 28, 2013

Category: Legal News

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Volvo Buyers Win Certification in Leaky Sunroof Class Action Lawsuit
By Mike Holter
VolvoVolvo buyers in six states won class certification in a class action lawsuit accusing Volvo Cars of North America of selling vehicles with defective sunroof drainage systems.

U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh on Tuesday certified the proposed state subclasses, which consist of all current and former owners or lessees of a 2000-2012 model year Volvo S40, S60, S70, S80, V50, V70 or XC90 vehicle in the following states: California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey.


Judge Cavanaugh, however, declined to certify a nationwide class of Volvo buyers because plaintiffs were bringing claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, which cannot be applied nationally.

Plaintiffs in the 2010 Volvo sunroof class action lawsuit allege Volvo “had longstanding knowledge of a material design defect” in the vehicles’ sunroofs, which begins to manifest shortly after the limited warranty expires. They based this on the assertion that Volvo issued several technical service bulletins in an attempt to address the problem.

The alleged sunroof defect allows water to enter the passenger compartment and create “sloshing” and “soaking wet” floor mats.

The case is similar to a class action lawsuit accusing Volkswagen and Audi of also selling vehicles with leaky sunroof problems (Dewey, et al. v. Volkswagen of America Inc., et al.).

In December, a federal court approved a $69 million class action settlement in the Dewey case that provided reimbursement to VW and Audi owners for repairs, replacements and/or cleaning costs associated with the leaky sunroofs.

The Volvo Sunroof Defect Class Action Lawsuit case is Joanne Neale, et al. v. Volvo Cars of North America LLC, et al., Case No. 2:10-cv-04407, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The plaintiffs are represented by Chimicles & Tikellis LLP and Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC.

UPDATE: On Sept. 28, 2018, plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit alleging certain Volvos have defective sunroofs urged a federal judge to certify their proposed Class in a new motion.

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Updated March 28th, 2013

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108 thoughts onVolvo Buyers Win Certification in Leaky Sunroof Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Steve says:

    Help I purchased a 2018 Volvo certified used XC60 inscription about 2 years ago used with 21k miles on it. It now has 42k on it and I’ve kept up with all maintenance. Can I be part of this class action suit? What can I do to recoup losses? They are saying it could be close to 8k to repair. I was in the shop 2 months ago for standard maintenance. How did this happen in a matter of months since being at the dealer?

  2. LaVetta Haley says:

    My sunroof on my 2010 XC90 leaked and have my vehicle smelling horrible I need help cost to much for me I’m a single parent

  3. Anon says:

    I just ran into this issue – purchased 2018 XC60 CPO w/6k mi 6 mon ago (6/2021). The car has 10k miles on it today – it’s practically brand new.

    Live in Northern California and after a big storm in Nov 2021, heard water sloshing around the bottom frame of the car. They drained the car and “fixed” it but after another storm in Dec 2021 – I’m running into the same issue.

    How are you all taking care of this????

  4. Shiqiang Wei says:

    I am a Canadian owner of 2019 Volvo XC60. It’s only 3 years old, 24K KM odometer. On Oct 11, 2021, I suffered the same problem: an insulation-like debris in the drain tube of sunroof caused rainwater flooded my car. The Newmarket Volvo dealership told me it’s NOT covered by warranty and quoted me about 25 hours of labor to fix it! What a shame of Volvo!

  5. Ellyn S says:

    Wish I had read these posts about the leaking sunroof before I encountered the problem with my 2011 Volvo XC60! But, who knew? I live in Seattle and we just started into our heavy rain season and went out to my car day after Thanksgiving to a 2 inch puddle in the front passenger footwell! Then, while driving and turning corners, accelerating, breaking, water starts dripping from overhead light/control console! And to make it worse, I’m guessing the water issue has shorted out the fuse/electrical system that opens and closes the sunroof so I can’t even open it to drain the plugs people are talking about. Volvo dealer can’t get me in till end of week so maybe I’ll try replacing the fuse and see if I can get it open. What a pain!! We’ve been keeping a tarp over the car and parking in the work garage which is helping keep further damage from occurring. I feel like this is the first and last time I ever own a car with a sunroof in Seattle again, at least until I get a garage at home.

  6. Pam says:

    My XC60 2011 leaked water and all the carpets and seats had to be removed and carpets dried out.. so far my bill for this is $1477 , they are checking to see if the computer under the seat is damaged. If it is then it will be another $1700. This should be part of the routine maintenance. Love the car but this has left me with a bad taste!

  7. janice hartung says:

    My 2016 electric-hybrid XC90 doesn’t just leak water in my moonroof, but it pours water when I go thru the Costco carwash. It’s still under warranty. It is frustrating that there was a class action lawsuit on older models and this malfunction was never fixed. Other issues I have had with this car are: check engine light stuck on (fixed after 4 service appointments), squeaky seat belt, malfunctioning temperature gauge/air conditioning and a major feature replaced on cooling system. Service shop is always nice and helpful, but I have been out of my car over three weeks and I’ve only had it for six months. It is a nice car – just know you may only be driving your car 90% of the time if you purchase one of it.

  8. Corey Zubia says:

    I just recently purchased a 2004 XC 90 with this same issue. Evidently previous owners never fixed.
    Do I have any recourse at the cars age?

  9. Eric says:

    After reading all of these concerns, one thing stands out to me- why in the world is ANY water getting past the sunroof gasket? All this talk about drain holes; there’s no reason for a drain hole for an area that should not have water present.

    1. Ellyn S says:

      Eric, I thought the very same thing!

  10. Robin says:

    Owner of 2002 S60.Leaky Sunroof. Floods driver and passenger foot wells. How does Pennsylvania become apart of class action. Love my car don’t want to wear boots driving.

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