Volvo recalls 70,000 UK cars over fault that can cause engine fire

Volvo is recalling almost 70,000 vehicles in the UK after discovering a fault that can cause the engine to catch fire.

The Swedish car manufacturer said it is contacting all affected customers after issuing a warning notice on Monday saying that more than 500,000 vehicles worldwide are at risk.

The company, which is owned by the Chinese group Geely, discovered the problem with the plastic engine intake manifold after receiving reports of fires breaking out in certain 2014-2019 models with four-cylinder diesel engines.

Volvo did not specify how many fires had been reported but confirmed to the Telegraph that some of the incidents had been in the UK. The company said there had been no reports of injuries.

The affected models included the S60, S80, S90, V40, V60, V70, V90, XC60 and XC90.

Volvo said in a statement: "Investigations by Volvo Cars have identified that in very rare cases, the plastic engine intake manifold may melt and deform on certain model year 2014-2019 vehicles with four-cylinder diesel engines.

“In the most extreme cases, there is a possibility that a localised engine bay fire may occur. The issue affects 69,616 cars in the UK. Volvo is contacting all affected customers.

"We are taking full responsibility to ensure the highest quality and safety standards of our cars. “We will do our utmost to perform this action without any unnecessary inconvenience to our customers, and we apologise for the inconvenience caused and are grateful for our customers' cooperation.”

The company said it didn’t yet have a fix for the issue, but would be notifying affected customers as soon as one was available. In the meantime, it said the cars were "safe to drive" as long as motorists were aware of the signs of the manifold problem.

A spokesman added: “We take this situation very seriously and are working to finalise a fix for the cars. In the meantime, it is important we make customers aware of this potential issue so they are able to react accordingly should any symptoms indicating an issue occur.

“Symptoms include, but are not limited to, the engine management light being lit, engine interruption or lack of power.

“Provided that the customer’s car is not showing any symptoms indicating an issue, the car is safe to drive.”