2019 VOLVO VNL — Complaint #1772957
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT:SEAL filed October 12, 2021
NHTSA complaint #1772957 (ODI reference 11436407) concerns a 2019 VOLVO VNL and was filed on October 12, 2021. The owner reports the failure occurred on August 17, 2021. The report was geocoded to Georgia based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as power train:axle assembly:axle shaft:seal, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same VOLVO VNL cohort independently describe similar power train:axle assembly:axle shaft:seal failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2019 VOLVO VNL shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owned a 2019 Volvo Truck VNL. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that while the driver was driving approximately 50 mph when they noticed the rear axle smoking. They pulled to the side of the road where they attempted to detach the trailer. The smoke became an actual fire. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire. A report was filed. The vehicle was deemed totaled and was towed. There were no injuries and no medical assistance was needed. The contact did not speak with the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1772957 |
| ODI Number | 11436407 |
| Date Filed | October 12, 2021 |
| Failure Date | August 17, 2021 |
| VIN | 4V4NC9TH6KN |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.