2000 VOLVO S80 Complaints

A 2000 VOLVO S80 THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE FAILED CAUSING THE CAR TO SUDDENLY DECELERATE. *NM

SHUDDER IN TRANSMISSION BETWEEN 1 & 2 GEARS ON AUTOMATIC 2000 VOLVO S80 T6. FAILURE OF SHIFT SOLENOID A WAS EXPERIENCED. *NM

SEVERAL OCCURRENCES OF VEHICLE STALLING IN TRAFFIC, RESTARTING, BUT NOT STAYING STARTED. VEHICLE SURGING AT IDLE. AFTER TAKEN TO SHOP (TOWED), WE NOW HAVE HAD OUR FOURTH ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY REPLACED IN LAST 28 MONTHS. THE DEALERSHIP HAS ALSO REPLACED THE MAF SENSOR AND HAS CLEANED THE THROTTLE ON TWO OCCASIONS. MY PORTION OF REPAIRS HAVE ALREADY EXCEEDED $2,770. DEALERSHIP HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM. THEY CONTINUE TO "FIX" THE PROBLEM WITH THE SAME REPLACEMENT PART. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS THE VEHICLE WOULD SURGE. THIS WOULD ALSO HAPPEN WHEN STOPPING OR WHEN VEHICLE WAS IN REVERSE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, AND THE MESSAGE READ CHECK EXHAUST SYSTEM. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A SERVICE DEALER TO BE REPAIRED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND THE MASS AIRFLOW. THE REPLACEMENTS APPEARED TO HAVE CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. *AK (12/07/05) THERE WERE ALSO TIMES WHEN THE VEHICLE WOULD NEARLY STALL AND HAVE TO BE PLACED IN NEUTRAL. *SC

I OWN A MY 2000 VOLVO S80 2.9. UPON DRIVING IN TOWN THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST ACCELERATION AND ENGINE STARTED SHAKING. THE MESSAGE READER PROMPTED ME TO STOP AND RESTART THE ENGINE. WELL I DID, IN THE TURNING LANE, BUT IT DID NOT HELP. I PULLED OUT OF THE CROSS SECTION "SHAKING". MY MECHANIC SAYS THE ONBOARD COMPUTER PROMPTS HIM TO A FAULTY ENGINE THROTTLE MODULE. WELL THIS CAR HAS ONLY 48000 MILES ON IT. ON THE SAME NOTE: ON MY 1999 S70 GLT AT AROUND 60000 MILES THE SAME PART HAD TO BE REPLACED, BECAUSE IT SHUT DOWN THE CRUISE CONTROL TIME-TO-TIME. *NM

THIS CAR (2000 VOLVO S80 TURBO) HAS BEEN IN MY FAMILY SINCE IT WAS BRAND NEW. FIRST IT WAS MY MOTHER'S WHEN IT WAS PURCHASED IN 2000. THEN IN THE SUMMER OF 2005, IT BECAME MINE. BOTH WHILE MY MOTHER OWNED IT, AND NOW WHILE I'VE OWNED IT THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT OF ANY SORT. STALLING IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. UNPREDICTABLY THE CAR WHEN DECREASING SPEED WILL JUST STALL AND THE CAR STOPS. EVERY TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED IF THE CAR IS PUT INTO PARK, TURNED OFF, AND THEN TURNED BACK ON IT WORKS FINE, HOWEVER IT IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN. ALSO, TWICE SINCE I HAVE HAD IT THERE HAS BEEN NO OIL IN MY CAR. NO LIGHTS COME UP TO WARN ME AND THANKFULLY BOTH TIMES I GOT IT CHECKED OUT BEFORE MY CAR OVER HEATED. ANOTHER INSTANCE, THERE WAS A LEAK IN THE AUTOMATIC STEERING. TODAY I WENT TO START MY CAR AND A WARNING MESSAGE CAME UP SAYING "LOW BATTERY VOLTAGE" AND MY CAR DID NOT FEEL RIGHT WHEN I DROVE IT. I NEVER LEFT ANY LIGHTS ON OR ANYTHING OF THAT MATTER THAT WOULD CAUSE A DRAIN IN THE BATTERY AND THE BATTERY WAS JUST REPLACED NOT TOO LONG AGO. I THINK THAT WAS MY BREAKING POINT WITH THIS CAR. FOR A CAR THAT IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD, AND IS SUPPOSED TO BE THAT GREAT OF A CAR. ITS AWFUL. *JB

2000 VOLVO S80 T6 ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL, EVEN WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING MY CHILDREN TO SCHOOL ON THE HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE STALLED FORCING ME TO CROSS 3-4 LANES OF HEAVY TRAFFIC WITHOUT THE USE OF POWER STEERING OR POWER BRAKES. THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE WAS DETERMINED TO BE DEFECTIVE. THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECTIVE PART ON 1999-2001 VOLVO S80'S. THERE ARE EVEN DOCUMENTED REPORTS THAT THE ETM WILL FAIL ON OVER 90% OF ALL VOLVO S80'S WITHIN THIS YEAR RANGE ('99-01). I HAVE SPENT $900 TO HAVE THIS REPLACED. THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IS FILING A LAWSUIT AGAINST VOLVO OVER THIS PART. I LIVE IN KY; THEREFORE I DON'T BELIEVE THAT LAWSUIT WILL HELP ME. I AM ASKING VOLVO FOR FULL REIMBURSEMENT TO REPLACE THIS PART. IT NOT ONLY WAS A FAULTY DESIGN, BUT ALSO POTENTIALLY DEADLY PART. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FULL RECALL ON THIS PART AND VOLVO KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM EVEN BEFORE THE RELEASE OF THE VEHICLE IN '99. THERE IS ANOTHER KNOW DEFECTIVE PART ON THE SAME YEAR VOLVO THAT IS THE ABS MODULE. I HAD TO HAVE THAT REPLACED FOR A COST OF $1000. DOCUMENTED REPORTS SAY THE ABS MODULE WILL FAIL ON 60% OF THOSE VOLVOS. *JB

DT: CONTACT OWNS A 2000 VOLVO. WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE LOST SPEED AND STALLED. THE PROBLEM WAS THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN, PE05041. *AK

IN JULY 2005, I NOTICED THE CAR SURGING, PARTICULARLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT CUT OFF, GIVING A MESSAGE OF "REDUCED PERFORMANCE" BUT NO "CHECK ENGINE" MESSAGE. THE "REDUCED PERFORMANCE" MESSAGE IS NOT LISTED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR AT ABOUT 5 MPH TO A TURNOFF POINT. I CUT THE CAR OFF TO CONSULT THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND IT RESTARTED WITHOUT A PROBLEM. I ATTRIBUTED THE PROBLEM TO PERHAPS FAULTY GASOLINE. ON OCT. 9, THE CAR ABRUPTLY CUT OFF ON THE INTERSTATE, GIVING THE SAME WARNING MESSAGE BUT THIS TIME ALSO DISPLAYING A "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY COAST ACROSS TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR DIAGNOSTICS (TO AN INDEPENDENT DEALER), HE SAID THAT THE THROTTLE BODY WAS BAD AND DIRECTED ME TO SEVERAL WEB SITES THAT DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM AND THE CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT IN CALIFORNIA. ON OCT. 17, "JOHN" WITH VOLVO NORTH AMERICA'S CUSTOMER CARE HOTLINE SAID THAT THE PROBLEM WAS PROBABLY NOT COVERED UNDER MY EXTENDED WARRANTY BECAUSE OF THE CAR'S AGE. I POINTED OUT THAT IT HAS FEWER THAN 60,000 MILES. I ASKED HIM ABOUT A RECALL AND HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE PENDING INVESTIGATION BY THE NHTSA. I ALSO ASKED HIM FOR NHTSA'S TELEPHONE NUMBER, WHICH HE GAVE ME. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR TO MY LOCAL DEALER YET. I AM APPALLED THAT A COMPANY THAT PRIDES ITSELF ON SAFETY WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO DRIVE THEIR VEHICLES KNOWING THAT THE CARS MIGHT CUT OFF AT ANY TIME. *JB

THE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH VOLVO'S COMPUTERIZED THROTTLE (ETM, S80 1999-2001, E.G.) IS TO DESCRIBE THE SYMPTOMS. IT'S BLURRY LIKE A STOMACH DISORDER IF YOU DON'T FIND AN EXACT DESCRIPTION. IN MY CASE IT'S LIKE THE ENGINE LOOSES POWER AND YOU CAN'T COMPENSATE FAST ENOUGH BY GIVING MORE THROTTLE. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO MEET CLUTCH AND THROTTLE NO MATTER WHAT. NOW, IF YOU TAKE IT REALLY SLOWLY SO THE COMPUTER MANAGES TO REACT, IT'S NO PROBLEM BUT IF YOU ARE THE SLIGHTEST TO HASTY .... RESULTS: ENGINE STOPS, SOMETIMES ON CRITICAL SPOTS AND CHANGING OF GEAR LIKE A NEW DRIVER. I'VE BEEN ON A VOLVO GARAGE TO DISCUSS THE MATTER AND I'VE BEEN TREATED LIKE AN IDIOT. I KNOW I'M RIGHT AND THEY KNOW THEY'RE WRONG. IT'S TIME TO PUT PRESSURE ON VOLVO AND MAKE THEM CORRECT THEIR MISTAKE. IF NOT, IN THE FUTURE, CHOOSE ANOTHER CAR! I'M SAYING THIS ALTHOUGH I'M SWEDISH!*JB