1999 VOLVO S70 Complaints

I PURCHASED A 1999 S70 VOLVO IN MARCH OF 1999 I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD GET THE SAME WARRANTY AS A NEW CAR. THE DEALER HAD PUT 5000 MILES ON THE CAR. AFTER THE CAR WAS APPROX. 4 YRS OLD IT STARTED TO LOOSE POWER THE SPEED WOULD DROP TO ZERO THE CAR WOULD REDUCE SPEED. IN 2006 IT STARTED TO SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING. EACH TIME I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER NEVER SPOKE TO ME REF THE ETM. THEY WOULD DIAG. SOME OTHER PROBLEM. THEY REPAIRED IT ON OCT. 8, 2008, IT SHUT DOWN AGAIN IN NOV 2008, I TOOK IT BACK AND WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR WAS FINE. THE CAR SHUT DOWN AGAIN JUNE 19, 2009. NOW I AM TOLD THAT IT IS THE ETM. O'STEEN VOLVO WILL NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 VOLVO S70. IN 2001, THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED AND DISPLAYED ZERO WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING 10 MPH. EVENTUALLY, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHUT OFF IN TRAFFIC AND WHILE DRIVING BETWEEN 60-65 MPH. THE DEALER REPLACED THE SENSORS SEVERAL TIMES. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THE SENSORS WERE REPLACED AGAIN. SHE WAS UNSURE ABOUT THE NAME OF THE SENSOR; HOWEVER, THE FAILURES CONTINUED AND THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO BE RESTARTED. RECENTLY, IN JUNE OF 2009, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AND WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. THEY STATED THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE FAILED AND THE BATTERY CABLE WAS CORRODED. THE REPAIR COST WAS ESTIMATED AT $1,021. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,842 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 189,000.

DRIVER'S DOOR HAD BAD POPPING SOUND. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE VOLVO S70 DOOR NOISE WAS TYPICAL, AND ALWAYS DUE TO FAILURE OF HINGE WELDING. DEALER SAID TAKE IT TO AUTO BODY REPAIR. BODY REPAIR SHOP INDICATED HE PERFORMED THIS TYPE OF JOB THOUSANDS OF TIMES. COST: $250. *TR

WE OWN A 1999 VOLVO S70. WHILE DRIVING THE CAR IT STARTED TO SURGE WHILE AT A STOP WITHOUT AND FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL AT ALL. WHILE TRYING TO PULL OUT FROM A STOP SIGN THE CAR HAD A MIND OF ITS OWN. IT DID WHAT IT WANTED TOO WITHOUT MY CONTROLLING IT. THE GAS PEDAL WENT UP AND DOWN ALL BY ITSELF. THE CAR THEN STALLED AND WOULD NOT START AND RUN. A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND A ETS LIGHT CAME ON. LUCKY WE WHERE NOT ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND WHERE ABLE TO PULL OVER. WE HAD TO GET A TOW TRUCK TO BRING IT HOME. I CALLED A VOLVO DEALER IN OUR AREA. AFTER SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET I FIND OUT THIS WAS A PROBLEM IN ALL 99 TO 2001 VOLVO'S. A RECALL HAD BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM. THE VOLVO DEALER WILL ONLY UPGRADE A SOFTWARE ISSUE. IF THE PART { ETM} FAILS THEY WILL NOT REPLACE IT. WE NEVER HAD A CAR THAT THE GAS PEDAL IS CONTROLLED BY THIS SYSTEM. AFTER GETTING OUT CAR BACK FROM THE DEALER THE SAME DAY IT DID IT AGAIN. WE TOOK THE CAR BACK AND EVEN THOUGH THE CAR MEETS THE RECALL REQUIREMENTS THEY WILL NOT REPLACE IT THE ETM. NOW WE HAVE A CAR THAT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED ON A INTERSTATE WE COULD HAVE BEEN REARENDED OR RAN INTO SOMEONE ELSE. PLEASE HELP. *TR

ETM ISSUE CAR STOPPED ACCELERATING ENDED UP HAVING TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. ETM MAY ACT NORMAL OR GO INTO LIMP HOME MODE AT ANY MOMENT SOMETIMES YOU CAN DRIVE ALL DAY N PROBLEMS OTHER DAYS YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE. WHEN AFFECTED RPMS WILL NOT EXCEED 2500 AND TOP SPEED SEEMS TO BE ABOUT 20 MPH. *TR

I WAS DRIVING NORMALLY ON A PARKWAY IN WASH DC. SUDDENLY THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND WOULD NOT GO MORE THAN 10 MPH. I "LIMPED" TO A GAS STATION AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, INSPECTED FOR LOOSE WIRES, OR OTHER OBSERVABLE DEFECTS. WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AGAIN THE ETS LIGHT WAS ON AND STAYED ON. NOW THE CAR RUNS ERRATICALLY LURCHING FORWARD OR SPUTTERING OR JUST PLAIN LOSING POWER AT RANDOM. *TR

YESTERDAY I PARKED MY 1999 VOLVO IN A STORE PARKING LOT, AND WHEN I PULLED THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR HANDLE TO OPEN THE DOOR IT DID NOT WORK. I WAS ALSO UNABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR MANUALLY WITH A KEY. WHILE THIS DID NOT RESULT IN A DEATH, IT IS CERTAINLY A SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE BEEN VERY SERIOUS. IT COST ME OVER $500 TO HAVE THE LOCK FIXED; IN RESPONSE TO MY HUSBAND'S QUESTION AS TO WHAT PRECISELY CAUSED THE PROBLEM, THE AUTOMOTIVE TECH'S EXPLANATION WAS "LOCK FAILURE." I CALLED VOLVO TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT, AND WAS DISMISSED WITH "THE CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND IT ISN'T VOLVO'S RESPONSIBILITY." I CONTEND THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD SOMEONE BE UNABLE TO EXIT A VEHICLE DUE TO "LOCK" FAILURE. IF ELECTRONICS FAIL, THE DOOR SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE OPENED MANUALLY WITH A KEY. HAD A FIRE OR ACCIDENT OCCURRED AND I NEEDED TO EXIT THE VEHICLE QUICKLY, I WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAPPED. THIS IS UNCONSCIONABLE. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 206,000 MILES MY CAR WOULDN'T DRIVE OVER 40 MPH, THE ENGINE WOULD REV UP ON ITS OWN AND SPUTTERED THROUGHOUT THE REDUCED RPM RANGE. RPMS WOULD NOT GO OVER ABOUT 3500. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. DROVE IT TO VOLVO DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AT AN OUT OF POCKET COST TO ME OF APPROXIMATELY $1,000. THEY STATED THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED UP TO 200,000 MILES AS THIS PART HAD A RECALL. I DO NOT FEEL THAT I WAS ADEQUATELY NOTIFIED OF THE RECALL. I RECEIVED A LETTER ABOUT A RECALL LAST YEAR AND CALLED THE DEALER TO ASK WHAT IT ALL MEANT SINCE I DID NOT UNDERSTAND IT. THE DEALER SAID IT WAS JUST A SOFTWARE UPGRADE AND WOULD ONLY TAKE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR THAT SOFTWARE UPGRADE IN MARCH OF 2007 WITH LESS THAN 200,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE AND THEY DID NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE ETM / THROTTLE BODY ISSUE. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED AT THAT TIME. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 VOLVO S70. THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT HAS A METAL PIECE INSIDE THE BUCKLE THAT FAILED. THE FAILURE PREVENTS THE SEAT BELT FROM FASTENING. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO ASSIST. THE VIN, ENGINE SIZE, AND NUMBER OF CYLINDERS WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 99,000.

I WAS IN A COLLISION THAT CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO MY CAR. THE AIR BAG(S) DID NOT DEPLOY. I WONDER IF THE AIR BAG HAD DEPLOYED IF IT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED MY HEAD FROM GOING FORWARD. *TR