— A Volvo car battery drain class action lawsuit alleges all vehicles built since 2008 include the ability to receive satellite radio signals from the RDAR, or the Volvo "remote digital audio receiver," which is capable of playing satellite radio such as SiriusXM.
According to the battery drain lawsuit, the RDAR system continuously searches for satellite signals even when the radio is not in use and when the owner does not have a satellite subscription.
But the lawsuit also alleges the satellite system searches for signals when the car is off. This is what allegedly drains the battery.
The alleged Volvo battery drain problem is caused by defects in the remote digital audio receiver software, something that can allegedly be fixed with a simple software upgrade.
The class action alleges Volvo knows about the battery drain problem and knows a software upgrade will fix it.
But the plaintiff who sued contends Volvo is effectively holding its customers hostage by refusing to install the software upgrade and charging hundreds of dollars to repair a defective device that isn't even being used.
Massachusetts plaintiff Theresa Jenner bought a new Volvo S40 on April 29, 2009, and also purchased an extended warranty for a period of 72 months or 75,000 miles.
On September 15, 2014, her Volvo would not start because its battery was dead. The plaintiff had the car towed to a Volvo dealer where the battery was replaced. She paid about $248 for repairs because the extended warranty had expired.
The plaintiff says Volvo didn't mention anything about the RDAR draining the battery.
Four and a half months later, the plaintiff parked her Volvo in a garage for about 48 hours to wait out a blizzard, but when she tried to start the vehicle it failed because the battery was again drained.
She called AAA Roadside Assistance and a technician tested the vehicle. The tests allegedly showed there was a drain on the electrical system when it was shut off. A jump-start to the battery got it going so the plaintiff could drive it to the Volvo dealership.
According to the plaintiff, she told dealer technicians what AAA said, and the dealership made repairs to the vehicle.
According to the $299.77 invoice she had to pay, Volvo technicians tested the vehicle and said, "charging system test o.k. found .06a draw, fault."
The invoice also says, "traced and found rdar to be off line, recover rdar and download software upgrade."
The car battery drain lawsuit alleges Volvo owners nationwide cannot shut down or disable the remote digital audio receivers because the systems are allegedly tied into the electrical systems. The class action alleges the only way to stop the battery from draining is to pay hundreds of dollars to upgrade the software.
The Volvo car battery drain class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Theresa Jenner v, Volvo Cars of North America, LLC.
