2001 VOLVO V70 Complaints

ELECTRONICE THROTTLE MODULE FAILURE. WHILE DRIVING ON A BUSY MAIN STREET THE CAR SUDDENLY WENT INTO A "LIMP MODE". TOOK IT TO OUR INDEPENDANT VOLVO MECHANIC AND HE HOOKED IT UP TO VADIS. THEN TOLD US THAT IT WAS AN ETM FAILURE. I CALLED VOLVO AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NTOHING THAT THEY COULD DO SINCE THE CAR WAS BOUGHT USED. I PAID OVER ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO GET THE ETM REPLACED.

ONLY 2 DAYS AFTER PURCHASING OUR 2001 V70 XC WITH 64,000 MILES WITH EXCELLENT DEALER SERVICING AND OIL CHANGES, IT STARTED IDLING VERY ERRATICALLY, AND WOULD STALL SEVERAL TIMES AFTER TRYING TO START IT. EVEN WHEN WARMED UP, THE IDLE WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE, RUNNING VERY ROUGH. WHEN DRIVING, ESPECIALLY AT LOWER SPEEDS, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN A FOOT ON THE BRAKE DUE TO THE SURGING AND ERRATIC IDLE SO THAT WE DO NOT UNINTENTIONALLY HIT THE VEHICLES THAT ARE IN FRONT OF US OR AT TIMES MUST KEEP A FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL TO KEEP THE RPM'S UP SO THAT IT WON'T STALL. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON SINCE THE FIRST IDLE SYMPTOMS AND THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED AS AN ETM FAILURE. SINCE THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY, WE HAVE NOT YET HAD THE PROBLEM FIXED. WE FEEL THIS POSES A SAFETY RISK AND SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE WITH JUST 64000 MILES ON THE CAR. *AK

THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE WAS CREATING SURGES TO THE ENGINE CAUSING A BACK AND FORTH MOTION. APPARENTLY WE CAUGHT IT BEFORE IT GOT WORSE AND DANGEROUS. *NM

DT: THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 VOLVO V70 STATION WAGON. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH A LIGHT CAME ON , AND THE LIGHT READ REDUCED PERFORMANCE, AND VEHICLE STALLED. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO REDUCED PERFORMANCE , IT WAS A SUDDEN STALL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP ON AUGUST 31, 2005. THE DEALER PERFORMED DIAGNOSTIC TESTING BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RESOLVED. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED, AND AS SOON AS IT STARTED, THE VEHICLE STALLED AGAIN. *AK

MY DAUGHTER WAS KILLED WHILE DRIVING MY VOLVO WHEN IT MALFUNCTIONED AND SHE LOST CONTROL. PER THE ACCIDENT REPORT, SHE WAS CHANGING LANES FROM THE FAR RIGHT TO MIDDLE LANE WHEN SHE ACCELERATED INTO THE LEFT LANE, HIT AND BOUNDED OFF THE LEFT GUARDRAIL, COLLIDED WITH A CAR IN THE CENTER LANE, PROCEEDED OVER THE RIGHT GUARDRAIL OF A BRIDGE, THROUGH A TREETOP, DROPPED 30 FEET, LANDED UPSIDE DOWN, AND ROLLED REPEATEDLY, EVENTUALLY STOPPING IN A CONCRETE CREEK BANK. SHE WAS WEARING HER SEAT BELT BUT KILLED INSTANTLY UPON IMPACT. IT APPEARS SHE WAS NOT SPEEDING SIGNIFICANTLY PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT BUT UNEXPECTEDLY BEGAN ACCELERATING AS SHE WAS CHANGING LANES AND LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR PREVIOUSLY BUT BELIEVED THEY HAD BEEN CORRECTED BY VOLVO WHEN THEY REPLACED THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE. THERE WERE NO OTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT -- WEATHER WAS CLEAR, VISIBILITY WAS GOOD, ROADS WERE DRY, TRAFFIC WAS MODERATE AND FLOWING WELL, AND IT WAS EARLY AFTERNOON AND MY DAUGHTER WAS FINE PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. I HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION EXPERT LOOK AT THE ACCIDENT REPORT AND AVAILABLE EVIDENCE AND HE BELIEVES IT WAS CAUSED BY MECHANICAL FAILURE. *JB

INITIALLY, I TOOK MY 2001 VOLVO V70 STATION WAGON TO THE DEALER BECAUSE THE CRUISE CONTROL FUNCTION WAS NOT WORKING AND THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT CAME ON. THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTER CHECK AND TOLD ME THAT EVERYTHING CAME BACK FINE -EVEN THOUGH IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS NOT WORKING WHEN WE DROVE IT AROUND THE LOT. THEY SAID THAT IF THE COMPUTER DID NOT DETECT AN ERROR THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO FIX ANYTHING, ALTHOUGH THEY SUSPECTED THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL MIGHT BE CAUSING THE PROBLEM. THEY RESET THE COMPUTER SO THAT THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT WENT OFF. A MONTH LATER, I WAS PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC FROM MY DRIVEWAY WITH MY THREE-YEAR OLD IN THE BACK SEAT AND LOST ALL POWER. THE MAX SPEED I COULD GO WAS ABOUT 10 MPH. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IT IS A VERY BUSY UNCONTROLLED ACCESS - I WAS FORTUNATE THAT THERE WASN'T MORE TRAFFIC AS AN ACCIDENT WOULD HAVE OCCURRED. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS OR INDICATION THAT THIS WAS GOING TO OCCUR - IT JUST STOPPED. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE VOLVO DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED A MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE. THE CAR HAD 72,000 MILES ON IT. I EXPRESSED MY DISAPPOINTMENT THAT A CAR WITH A REPUTATION FOR SAFETY WOULD FAIL IN SUCH A WAY THAT COULD CAUSE A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT. I ALSO LODGED A COMPLAINT WITH VOLVO CUSTOMER SERVICE. RECENTLY, I HEARD ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION ON THIS SAME ISSUE. I WAS DIRECTED TO YOUR WEBSITE WHEN I SEARCHED FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH VOLVO 2001 V-70 CROSS COUNTRY WAGON. THE VEHICLE WAS STALLING AT RANDOM SPEEDS STARTING IN MID-AUGUST OF 2004. CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A REPAIR SHOP, AND THE MECHANIC SUSPECTED THE THROTTLE WAS THE ISSUE. THE PROBLEM WAS RANDOM AND IT WOULD NOT DO THIS FOR SEVERAL DAYS. THE VEHICLE STALLED ON THE HIGHWAY WHILE THE CONSUMER WAS MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE WOULD START AFTER CONSUMER LET THE CAR SIT FOR A FEW MINUTES. LATER THAT DAY THE CAR STALLED AGAIN. CONSUMER HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. THIS TIME THE CAR DID NOT START. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE MODULE, LOADED SOFTWARE; THROTTLE BODY, CABLE TIE AND ETM RELOADED. THE CAR WAS RUNNING OKAY AT TIMES, BUT THE ENGINE WAS RACING VERY HIGH FOR SECONDS AND THEN RETURNS BACK TO THE NORMAL RATE. THE MOTORWAS REVVING AND THE TACHOMETER WAS REGISTERING HIGH FOR A MOMENT. CONSUMER CONSIDERED RETURNING THE VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEMS. THE TOTAL COST ON REPAIRS HAS BEEN OVER $800.00. NHTSA INVESTIGATION, PE05041. *AK *JB

WARNING LIGHTS HAD BEEN COMING ON, BUT WITHOUT SYMPTOMS. NOW "PERFORMANCE REDUCED" LIGHT COMES ON, CAR WILL ONLY GO ABOUT 20-25 MPH, NON-RESPONSIVE TO GAS PEDAL. DEALER DIAGNOSIS - ETM FAILURE. *JB

ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24,2005 I WAS DRIVING ON THE INDIANA TOLL ROAD TOWARD CHICAGO WHEN MY 2001 VOLVO V70 WHICH HAS LESS THAN 40,000 MILES ON IT, STOPPED RESPONDING TO MY FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL. A MESSAGE LIGHT THAT SAID "PERFORMANCE REDUCED" CAME ON AND I COASTED WITHOUT ANY CONTROL OVER THE SPEED OR POWER OF THE CAR. I WAS FORTUNATE TO BE CLOSE TO A TOLL BOOTH AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE SAFETY LANE PAST THE BOOTH. I WAS FORTUNATE TO BE IN A SAFE PLACE ESPECIALLY AS I HAD MY 7 YEAR OLD SON AND DOG IN THE BACK OF THE CAR. I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND SAT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO (EVEN THOUGH THE CAR HAS ONLY 39500 MILES ON IT, WHICH IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY). I STARTED THE CAR 10 MINUTES AFTER THIS EVENT, IT STARTED UP FINE, AND THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES. I DECIDED WE WOULD BE SAFER GETTING OFF THE TOLL ROAD EVEN THOUGH I WAS TAKING A RISK THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. I DROVE THE REMAINING 15 MILES HOME WITHOUT A PROBLEM (NO MESSAGES OR WARNINGS). I WAS ABLE TO BRING THE CAR TO A MECHANIC WHO IS AN AUTHORIZED VOLVO DEALER, HE CALLED ME ONE HOUR LATER AND TOLD ME THE PROBLEM WAS THE THROTTLE MODULE AND HE WOULD WORK TO FIX IT. BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK SOMETHING LIKE THIS SHOULD HAPPEN TO A 4 YEAR OLD CAR WITH VERY LITTLE MILEAGE, I DECIDED TO CHECK THE INTERNET TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY NEWS REGARDING VOLVO. I GOGGLED VOLVO THROTTLE AND FOUND TWO REFERENCES TO A NEWLY OPENED INVESTIGATION THAT DESCRIBED A SCENARIO VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE EXPERIENCED. I DECIDED TO CHECK THIS WEB SITE TO LEARN MORE. AS OF TODAY, AUGUST 29, 2005, MY CAR IS STILL NOT REPAIRED. THE MECHANIC IS WORKING WITH VOLVO. THE MECHANIC HAS BEEN TOLD SINCE AUG. 25, THAT THE VOLVO COMPUTER, WHICH IS NECESSARY FOR THE THROTTLE REPLACEMENT DOWNLOAD, HAS BEEN DOWN FOR 4 BUSINESS DAYS. IN ADDITION TO BEING PUT IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION ON THE TOLL ROAD WITH MY YOUNG SON, MY CAR WILL COST CLOSE TO $1000 TO FIX, AND I HAVE NOT HAD USE OF MY CAR FOR 5 DAYS!

MY 2001 VOLVO V70XC (PURCHASED LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AGO FROM A VOLVO DEALER) SUDDENLY WARNED "PERFORMANCE REDUCED" AND LOST ALL ACCELERATION -- WAS PROBABLY GOING ONLY SEVERAL MPH. THE DEALER DETERMINED ETM FAILURE AND REPLACED THE PART, FORTUNATELY UNDER WARRANTY AS THIS WAS A "VOLVO CERTIFIED" PRE-OWNED CARE. LUCKILY THIS HAPPENED ON A QUIET ROAD -- BUT ONLY A SHORT TIME AFTER I HAD BEEN DRIVING ON THE MASS PIKE.