They said it would cost $700 since I am a year out of warranty.Basically, we were just riding along when we heard a huge ''boom!'' sound. Apparently, the pyrotechnic pre-tensioner blew out for no reason.
l think volvo should pay to fix it; they say they should not because l did not do all of my maintenance at Volvo so they can not be sure that l did not mess up the safety belt myself.(ridiculous, l know.)

Ideas? Suggestions?

Make sure there was never a recall on that particular item. That would give you some recourse.

l would say, probably not going to be very successful on any legal action. You could try writing to Volvo corporate & pleading ur case, but honestly once ur warranty has expired, ur pretty much out of luck.

l am sure it happened through no fault of ur own, & they r just using the lack of maintenance at Volvo as an excuse, but that is just how things r with warranties. (In other words, even if u did do all ur repairs at Volvo, they would have just found a different excuse to use).

If there was a recall, they would have just repaired it while it was in the shop, as they r legally required to do. Plus they get paid by corporate Volvo to do the recall repair, so there would be no reason for them not to mention it or do it.

When purchasing ur next vehicle, take the cost of out of warranty repairs into consideration before u decide on a vehicle.

note to Kelly at bottom: Pre tensioners r a pyrotechnic device. They actually cost about 500 dollars & the rest of her cost is labor. They cannot even sell them to u unless u r a certified to work with them. They r very similar to the device used in airbags. Check out the price on an airbag replacement.

Call the Volvo local district office in your area and tell them of your total dissatisfaction with their Mickey Mouse seat belts and that neither you nor your neighbors or friends or acquaintances will ever be sucked into their premise of Volvo being a safe vehicle ever again.

That should get some results.

well technically if it only happened in your car, and noone elses there can be no recall. And parts break everyday. If you are out of warranty there is nothing that can be done other than you fixing it.

u can buy a new one & remove the bolts & really doing ur maintenance can be done at home & thats bull crap they wouldnt have doen any maintenance on anything but the motor but either way l wouldnt worry so much about volvo just buy a new seat belt & install it ur self its not really hard & no way would it cost 700 dollars maybe 100 or less to buy it might even go to a auto salvage yard an dget one for 25 bucks a year out of warranty all the repairs r ur anyways not a big deal not many bolts should be able to install one yourself in 30 minutes

Report it to the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration. Go to the website (listed below) and click on ''file a complaint about your vehicle or child seat''.

Fill out the report and let the government have the information. They could force Volvo into issuing a recall on the problem. l would also call Volvo customer relations and explain the issue and tell them you have filed a complaint with NTHSA. l will bet you get some action.

Write Volvo, seek legal assistance. l have often found that once a lawyer writes a letter the company will try to make some type of arrangement. Chances r that perhaps they will negotiate the price a little. Say just charge u 50%.
But if for any reason u violated the terms of ur warranty then u may have difficulties settling the matter in ur favor.

This is very unfortunate for l have had nothing but good experience from Volvo's. And as far as l have researched this is not a common problem for Volvo's.