The customer arrived at the dealership just as the engine light came on and the truck began slowing down, says Murphy. The VAS technician quickly routed Murphy's customer to the closest Volvo dealer - in this case one outside Denver - thanks to Volvo Link's GPS, which provided the truck's location. But once the sensor tripped the “check engine light” on the dashboard, the engine would automatically begin to de-rate, thus eventually stranding the trucker on the side of road. In this case, a sensor had malfunctioned, causing a “false positive” engine fault code to appear. If a code is active for more than five minutes, the system sends an alert via the Volvo Link satellite communications channel built into the truck to VAS, where a technician reviews the fault code to determine what, if any, action is necessary. The service constantly monitors onboard computers to track fault codes. The technician knew the customer's cell phone number and name because Murphy had uploaded that information when he activated the Volvo Link Sentry service that came free of charge with the VT 880. “The first thing he asked the technician was, ‘How do you know my cell phone number, much less who I am?’” Murphy's customer was completely surprised. “On the other end was a technician from Volvo Action Service (VAS) informing him that his truck had a problem and they needed his help to check it out.”

“My customer was on the road one night when his cell phone rang,” Murphy says. What came next surprised him - the customer's thanks. So Murphy gripped the phone a little tighter and prepared for a browbeating. Murphy had personally sold him a new VT 880 just six months ago. Murphy, general manager of Twin Bridges Truck City, a Volvo dealership in Davenport, IA, expected the worst. Bryan Murphy had just grabbed a cup of coffee when the phone rang with the kind of call most truck salesmen dread: a customer down for unexpected repairs.

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