My fellow Volvo aficionados: If you were me, and the Volvo is still under warranty...
(i) what is Volvo supposed to do - if the vehicle is (a) repairable vs (b) not repairable or not worth repairing?
(ii) what w/should you expect Volvo to do for you if your vehicle caught on fire? (Most of us on this forum are Volvo drivers in some part because of their commitment to making safe and reliable automobiles.)


Here's what happened.

Driving on a highway on the way to Santa Barbara for the long weekend.
My entire family - wife, 2 little girls, and husky - were with me.

The "low coolant" indicator came on and I pulled over to the shoulder.
Was about to pop the hood, then saw some smoke. At first, I just thought the engine overheated.
I knelt to look for the hood lock lever, and that's when I noticed fire by the front passenger tire and maybe under the hood.
I don't exactly remember anymore. It was all a blur.

Also, see attached picture. Can anyone identify what this circular metal plate/cap part is? It fell off the car onto the road and was on fire (probably from whatever liquid that is on (or spilled/leaked onto) it.
(On that note, my XC60 was taken in for servicing just before Christmas for its regular checkup but also for what I thought was an oil leak. Turned out that there was coolant contaminated with oil and overflowing from the reservoir cap. They also found coolant contaminating the engine oil and that the oil cooler was leaking internally. The oil cooler, a cap, thermostat assembly, lots of hoses and more had to be replaced and lots of flushing and degreasing and cleaning were required. Took them 2-3 weeks to get the car back to me. This fire incident then prompted me to look up my vehicle servicing history; apparently, there was a coolant leak at the hose clamp connection, which had to be replaced, during my 30k servicing ~15 months ago.)

The good news is everyone is safe.
/* Thanks to 2 awesome guys - Bill, Billy (from Santa Barbara public works?): you're a lifesaver! Literally! - who were driving on the other side of the highway and saw me trying to put out the fire and then stopped and came saving us with their fire extinguisher. Just before the fire department showed up. Mucho gracias to the Santa Barbara authorities as well! */

The not so good news:
My poor XC60 is now in a Volvo dealer by Santa Barbara, ~400 miles from where I live.
I'm eagerly waiting for Volvo to send out a technician to inspect the vehicle. (Apparently, it takes Volvo ~3 weeks to find someone to do so!!)
But early signs point to needing a new engine. Amongst other repairs required.
And all I can do for now... is wait.

Thoughts?