Pennsylvania carrier sues Volvo after natural gas-powered truck explodes

[kscarbel2]

Land Line / March 14, 2015

A Pennsylvania trucking company is suing Volvo after its CNG-powered truck exploded in January, destroying a truck and loaded trailer only 3,000 miles into its lifespan.

Fortunately, the driver was able to pull over and exit the truck in time to watch it explode.

Kane Freight Lines is suing Volvo Group North America LLC; Cummins Westport Inc.; and Agility Fuel Systems Inc.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and seeks an unspecified dollar amount.

The company is suing for negligence, breach of warranty, breach of implied warranties, and spoliation of evidence after representatives of Volvo, Cummins and/or Agility recalibrated, tested, altered and/or modified sensors in the damaged CNG trucks.

Plaintiff’s attorney John Campbell, of Yost and Tretta LLP in Philadelphia, said their case hinges on the belief that the equipment manufacturers have failed to honor both the express and implied warranty on the vehicle.

“We think on a new truck, (the warranty) should be paid,” says Campbell. “It had 3,000 miles on it when it burnt up.”

According to the lawsuit, a 2014 Volvo compressed natural gas-powered tractor owned by Kane Freight Lines caught fire while headed southbound on Interstate 81 in Harford Township, Penn. The fire started in or around the truck’s exhaust system below the truck’s passenger door, quickly spreading to the truck’s entire cab. The fire engulfed the truck cab rapidly, destroying the truck and an attached trailer full of cargo.

The truck was one of seven 12-liter Cummins-Westport ISX 12 G engines powered by CNG that Kane Freight Lines received in July 2014 at the company’s Scranton, Pa., facility. The trucks reportedly can go 425 miles before refueling. Immediately following the January fire, the company refused to operate the other CNG-powered trucks in its fleet until Volvo made clear it had addressed the problem.

Campbell said the suit also references a 2014 voluntary recall involving 2013-2015 model year Volvo VNL and VNM tractors equipped with Cummins ISL G and ISX12 G engines. According to documents on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, the voluntary recall was issued after reports of ice buildup in the exhaust system increased the risk of fire or burn injury.

“Now a year or so later, we have a fire in the exhaust area, which Volvo says it can’t explain,” he said. “We’re still exploring whether it’s related to the recall. Volvo says it’s not, but we’re not so sure.”

The lawsuit blames “inadequate design of the exhaust sensors, exhaust insulation and/or the improper installation of insulation around the exhaust piping.” Kane Freight Lines believes Volvo, Cummins Westport and Agility Fuel Systems knew about the fire risk from the CNG engines’ high levels of heat. The suit points out defendants participated in a voluntary recall with the National Highway Safety Administration after previous fires started in and around earlier CNG truck engines.

“To date, Volvo has failed to satisfactorily warrant the safety of these remaining tractors,” the lawsuit states.

A representative of Volvo said the company believes the claims in the lawsuit “are without merit.”

Volvo spokesman Avery Vise said neither the engine nor the fuel tanks were manufactured or installed by the company, and that they worked with both Cummins and Agility to review the incident. In addition, he says Volvo kept both Kane Freight and NHTSA “fully updated” throughout the proceedings, and provided Kane with rental units at no cost to support their operations during the investigation.

“After extensive investigation, we were unable to identify any defect in the design, materials, or manufacturing in any of the components installed by Volvo,” states Vise. “Our testing found no support for the cause of the fire suggested by Kane.

“Safety is a core value for Volvo, and we worked closely with our supplier partners to thoroughly examine the vehicles Kane decided to park. This investigation convinced us that the vehicles should be returned to service,” Vise said.

The lawsuit also says Volvo asked Cummins technicians to examine Kane Freight Lines’ other CNG trucks after the January fire.

“Subsequent to the fire, examination of the undamaged subject units revealed similar burn and heat patterns to those observed on the fire consumed tractor,” the lawsuit states.

On June 1, Volvo took one of the Kane Freight Lines CNG trucks for testing at a New York facility and found the truck’s exhaust system heated “in excess of 500 degrees Fahrenheit after only one half-hour of operation,” the lawsuit states.

Even with the testing, court documents allege, Volvo and Cummins didn’t honor written warranties for both the fire-ravaged truck and the other six CNG-powered trucks.

The spoliation of evidence charge stems from an incident that Campbell says happened sometime this spring, when representatives of either Cummins or Agility contacted Kane and requested to look at the trucks to check the calibration of the exhaust sensors.

“They concluded that (the sensors) were fine; they weren’t an issue,” he said. “But we’ve asked for information as to what they did with those units, whether they touched them, recalibrated them, and we haven’t gotten any information. So at this point, to the extent that we may or may not be able to determine how those were originally calibrated and whether they were similar to the recalled vehicles, we put that allegation in there.”

Campbell stated the charge isn’t necessarily the same thing as tampering with evidence, however.

“There are various levels with that,” he said. “There are times when people actually intentionally tamper with evidence. There are times when people try to work on something, and in doing so, change the evidence – not intentionally, not to conceal anything – but it’s lost permanently, whether it’s intentional or not.”

Because of the extensive nature of the fire damage, Campbell says there’s no way for Volvo or the other defendants to determine whether or not the sensors in the destroyed vehicle were operating normally.

“That’s another reason why we think if you can’t disprove that this was not that same problem, you should pay (the warranty claim),” he said.

[kscarbel2]

The suit alleges Volvo, Cummins Westport and Agility Fuel Systems were aware of excessive heat problems with earlier-manufactured copies of that engine, pointing to a related recall.

In March 2014, Fleet Owner posted a release regarding that recall, which along with other engines involved Cummins Westport ISX12 G engines made for about a year up through Feb. 2, 2014.

Describing the cause of the recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) noted "that condensation in the tubes that distribute air coming into the engine may freeze during cold weather, with the resulting ice interfering with air pressure sensor operation."

In turn, the sensor interference could raise exhaust temperature "or cause flames from the exhaust pipe, which could burn a person or cause a fire," NHTSA stated concerning affected engines.

In the lawsuit, Kane implies it believes its CNG Volvos' engines may have been part of the recall or suffered a similar defect, and later makes more serious contentions specific to Cummins Westport.

The lawsuit alleges the trucks' OEMs were negligent in what it describes as "the inadequate design of the exhaust sensors, exhaust insulation and/or improper installation of insulation around the exhaust piping [that] permitted the emission of heat well in excess of safe operating levels."

Finger Pointing

Volvo Trucks responds in a statement regarding the lawsuit, "We believe the claims against Volvo are without merit. The vehicle involved in the Jan. 2, 2015, incident was equipped with an engine not manufactured by Volvo. In addition, the fuel tanks were neither manufactured nor installed by Volvo.

"However, Volvo thoroughly investigated this incident in conjunction with the engine and tank manufacturers, keeping both the customer and NHTSA fully updated throughout," the company states. Further, Volvo notes that it provided Kane with rental trucks at no cost while the incident investigation ran its course.

"After extensive investigation, we were unable to identify any defect in the design, materials, or manufacturing in any of the components installed by Volvo. Our testing found no support for the cause of the fire suggested by Kane," Volvo states in its response.

The company also addressed the Kane lawsuit's inclusion of information on the recall. "The recall mentioned in the complaint was not a Volvo vehicle recall, but rather a February 2014 Cummins [Westport] engine recall which affected multiple vehicle OEMs," Volvo states. "After inspecting the remaining Kane trucks, Cummins [Westport] assured Volvo and Kane that the engines were not part of that recall, and had in fact been manufactured with the corrective measures implemented by Cummins [Westport] as a result of the recall."

For its part, Agility Fuel Systems provides this statement regarding the case: "Based on our investigation, we do not believe the fuel system caused or contributed to the incident." Agility declined further comment as the trial litigation is pending.

Cummins Westport, which as the engine OEM ultimately is the focus of many of the lawsuit's claims, says its own investigation similarly found that the components it installed in the tractors were in good order. "Cummins Westport confirmed that the engine and all related systems were operating normally and reliably, and were not contributing factors," the company tells Fleet Owner.

Meanwhile, the suit alleges Volvo conducted testing of one of Kane's undamaged CNG tractors. In lab tests, including on a dynamometer, the Volvo day cab "showed temperature readings around the exhaust system in excess of 500 deg. F after only one-half hour of operation," the suit states.

Later, the suit again references this technician visit, providing further detail and claiming at least part of the purpose was to spoliate — i.e., despoil — evidence. Technicians "entered Kane's premises and recalibrated, tested, altered and/or modified sensors found in the undamaged CNG trucks.

"[The] defendants intentionally modified, altered and/or recalibrated the sensors in an effort to conceal problems with those units," the complaint continues. The purpose of the alleged activity, the plaintiffs claim, was "to avoid another recall for the 2014 model units."

A spokesman for Kane tells Fleet Owner this is to be a point of investigation in the trial. "Kane knows for certain that Cummins [Westport] technicians were onsite to examine the sensors [on the undamaged Volvo tractors] to determine whether they were experiencing problems that were associated with the recall," the spokesman states. "Kane did not receive any data from that testing, so the purpose, results or precise activity will be the subject of discovery in the case."

Kane's and the OEMs' positions illustrate a clear difference of opinion — and an impasse. Kane contends the fire was due to no user or maintenance fault, and states it refuses to operate any of the remaining six CNG Volvos "until the cause of the fire ha been identified and/or until Volvo certifie that the problem ha been addressed and the vehicles could be operated safely."

"To date, Volvo has failed to satisfactorily warrant the safety of these remaining tractors," the lawsuit asserts.

In its statement, Volvo Trucks makes a contrary recommendation. "Safety is a core value for Volvo, and we worked closely with our supplier partners to thoroughly examine the vehicles Kane decided to park — this investigation convinced us that the vehicles should be returned to service," the company states.

[grayhair]

That's pretty standard stuff isn't it? 3,000 miles and your new truck bursts into flame.

Maybe the headline should read: "Truck maker pleads ignorance, denies responsibility for safety and key components."