VOLVO Complaints

STRONG FUEL SMELL COMING FROM INSIDE VEHICLE. FUEL PUMP LEAKING. THE DEFECT WAS NOTED ON 2001-2002 MODEL YEARS BUT NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED TO 2004 FOR VEHICLES IN NEVADA. *TR

WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, THE TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO SKIP A GEAR. THIS RESULTS IN UNEVEN ACCELERATION, MAKING MERGING INTO TRAFFIC HAZARDOUS. IT ONLY HAPPENS SPORADICALLY. *TR

I HAD EXPERIENCED SOME INSTANCES OF A DELAY IN RESPONSE BY THE THROTTLE IN MY 2001 XC70 FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. MOST TIMES IT WAS FOLLOWING AN EXIT FROM A FREEWAY AND THE SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTED ACCELERATION AFTER STOP WAS VERY HESITANT AND FELT AS IF THE CLUTCH WAS SLIPPING. I HAD AN ETM DIAGNOSTIC RUN IN MAY OF 2007 AT BARRIER MOTORS VOLVO IN BELLEVUE WA. AND THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG BUT SAID THEY COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO REPEAT THE PROBLEM. I HAD ALSO EXPERIENCED SOME INFREQUENT INSTANCES OF EXTRA ACCELERATION WITH MINIMAL GAS PEDAL PRESSURE DURING THE SAME TIME. ON JANUARY 7, 2008 I WAS IN LINE APPROACHING A ROUND-ABOUT AND AFTER THE SECOND SLOW MOVE FORWARD, I HAD NO MORE THAN TOUCHED THE GAS PEDAL THAN MY CAR SURGED FORWARD INTO THE REAR OF THE VAN IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS ONLY ABLE TO GET MY FOOT POISED OVER THE BREAK PEDAL BEFORE IMPACT. THE CAR DIED AND WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART IMMEDIATELY NOTHING WOULD WORK. THE PEOPLE IN THE VAN HAD NECK INJURIES, MY SEATBELT DEPLOYED AND THE RETRACTION UNIT FAILED. ONLY THE WEEK PRIOR TO THIS I HAD STARTED DOING AN ON-LINE SEARCH ABOUT MY TRANSMISSION AND FOUND MANY BLOG COMPLAINTS ABOUT SIMILAR PROBLEMS BUT HAD NOT BEEN TO NHTSA SITE YET. NOW I SEE THERE APPEARS TO BE A CONCERTED EFFORT ON THE PART OF VOLVO NA TO PRACTICE THE SAME KIND OF OBFUSCATOR GAMES THAT FORD MC HAS PLAYED ALL ALONG. IT REMINDS ME VERY MUCH OF THEIR SOP FOR DEALING WITH THE PINTO PROBLEM IN THE '70S. IN LOOKING AT THE NHTSA INVESTIGATIONS AND COMPLAINTS I FIND, BY LOOKING IN ALL THE APPLICATIONS OF TOPIC AND SEVERAL OTHER BROAD CATEGORY SEARCHES THE OVERALL CONCLUSION I HAVE REACHED IS THAT VOLVO NA/FORD MC ARE NOT BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL THE EXPENSES AND GRIEF THEY ARE CAUSING THE CONSUMERS. A FULL CLASS ACTION INVESTIGATION IS PROBABLY WARRANTED AND PROBABLY AN INVOLVEMENT OF A CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. *TR

SEATBELT WARNING INDICATORS FOR DRIVER AND FRONT PASSENGER DO NOT MEET FEDERAL AUTOMOBILE SAFETY REGULATIONS. *TR

TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AT 62K MILES AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. CHECKING ON EDMUNDS WEBSITE, THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. *TR

THE FUEL CONTROL MODULE FAILED, CAUSING AN IMMEDIATE STALL. THERE IS A TSB CONCERNING THE PLACEMENT OF THIS MODULE. IT IS TO BE MOVED FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT TO BEHIND THE BACK SEAT. WATER GOT INTO THE MODULE CAUSING IT TO MELT DOWN!!! *TR

WAS NEARLY HIT IN REAR WHEN COMING TO A STOP AT A STOP SIGN DUE TO FAILURE OF BRAKE LAMPS TO LIGHT AND WARN DRIVER BEHIND ME. DRIVER BEHIND ME SKIDDED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. HE FLAGGED ME DOWN TO ADVISE ME THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS ON MY 2001 VOLVO XC70 DID NOT WORK. FOR THIS I WAS THANKFUL. INVESTIGATION AS TO WHY THE BRAKE LAMPS FAILED TO LIGHT, LED TO REPLACEMENT OF BOTH LOWER LAMPS AND CHECKING THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FOR PROPER CONTINUITY. BRAKE LIGHTS STILL DO NOT WORK. APPLICATION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL RESULTS IN NO POWER BEING APPLIED TO THE BRAKE LAMPS. THE SWITCH IS SUPPLYING POWER BUT NOT TO THE LAMPS. FURTHER INVESTIGATION HAS SHOWN THAT THERE IS A RECALL FOR THE SAME IDENTICAL PROBLEM FOR THE 2002 MODEL, NHTSA CASE 04V051000, VOLVO RECALL R131. THE RESOLUTION IS THE REPLACEMENT OF RELAYS MANUFACTURED BY TYCO ELECTRONICS WHICH DO NOT MEET THE ORIGINAL VOLVO DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS. MY COMPLAINT IS THAT MY VEHICLE AND OTHERS HAVE PROBABLY BEEN EQUIPPED WITH THESE SAME DEFECTIVE RELAYS AND, AFTER CALLING VOLVO CUSTOMER CARE, VOLVO REFUSES TO RESOLVE THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BY NOT INCLUDING MY VEHICLE IN THIS RECALL, WHICH IS THE FIRST YEAR OF THIS MODEL DESIGN CHANGE OVER. I AM GOING TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON MAKING THE APPROPRIATE REPAIRS FOR THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY. *TR

I HAVE A VOLVO S60 WHICH PERFECTLY FITS THE DESCRIPTION THAT PEOPLE WERE GIVING AS A COMPLAINT FOR VOLVO RECALL NO. R176. I HAVE A STRONG ODOR OF GAS AND HARD STARTING. I LOOKED AT THE FUEL PUMP MYSELF AND IT IS CRACKED. I CONTACTED VOLVO AND THEY SAID SINCE I DON'T LIVE IN NEVADA OR ARIZONA I'M NOT COVERED, THEN THEY STATED ITS BECAUSE OF THE HEAT. THEN I TOLD THEM I LIVE IN FLORIDA ITS HOT HERE TOO. THEN THEY SAID IT HAS TO DO WITH THE SULFUR CONTENT IN THE GAS. AFTER CONTACTING BOTH THE FLORIDA EPA AND THE ARIZONA EPA I FOUND THAT THE SULFUR CONTENT IN PPM IS IDENTICAL. I PRESENTED THIS INFORMATION TO GAINESVILLE VOLVO AND VOLVO OF AMERICA. AND THEY STILL REFUSE BECAUSE I'M NOT IN ARIZONA OR NEVADA. *TR

1) ENGINE IDLES ROUGH, PROBLEM BECAME SO BAD THAT CAR STALLS AT LOW SPEEDS, LOST POWER STEERING & "ENGINE DIES" AT LOW SPEEDS (UNSAFE!). LOCAL MECH REFERRED TO ETM WARRANTY PROGRAM TO RE-PROGRAM FAULTY ETM MODULE. TOOK CAR TO DLR, RE-PROGRAMMED ETM CAR DIED AGAIN! TURNS OUT BAD BATTERY AS WELL: SEVERAL HUNDRED $$$ TO REPLACE BATTERY. CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE SMOOTHLY, LARGE "SHUDDERS" PRESENT WHEN MERGING ONTO HWY, DURING TRANSMISSION/GEAR SHIFT. NOT GOOD! 2) AIRBAG "SRS-URGENT SERVICE" WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT IS ON. GOOD LOCAL MECH. STATES THIS IS A $1000 REPAIR. 3) "CHECK BRAKE LIGHT" WARNING INDICATOR LIGHT TURNS ON WHEN DEPRESSING ON BRAKE PEDAL: GOOD LOCAL MECH. STATES THAT THIS IS "NORMAL" REQUIRES EXACT MATCHING ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE OF ALL BRAKE LAMPS TO ENSURE THAT "CHECK BRAKE LIGHT" WARNING DOES NOT OCCUR (IN ACTUALITY THE BRAKE LIGHTS WORK FINE, THE BUILT-IN-TEST IS FAULTY). 4) "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" COMES ON 2-3 TIMES IN LAST 3 MONTHS. MAJOR SERVICE WAS REQUIRED. ONE FAULT WAS ISOLATED TO FUEL TANK GAS CAP: IF NOT SECURED PROPERLY "ECM-4308 (LEAK DIAGNOSTIC) LARGE LEAK" OCCURS...REMEDIED BY TWISTING FUEL CAP 3 FULL ROTATIONS, AFTER RE-FUELING GAS TANK. GOOD LOCAL MECH. DIAGNOSED THE LOOSE GAS CAP PROBLEM, WARNED ME ABOUT IT, AND DIDN'T CHARGE ME (NICE!). 5) BODY PAINT IS VERY SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHIPPING & SCRATCHES. PAINT OR EXTERIOR PANELS ARE VERY SOFT AND EASILY DAMAGED. ANOTHER SHAME, THIS CAR LOOKS GREAT BUT DOES NOT HOLD UP VERY WELL UNDER TYPICAL PARKING LOT CONDITIONS (I.E. SOMEONE PARKED NEXT TO YOU OPENS THEIR CAR DOOR INTO THE SIDE OF YOUR CAR RESULTING IN A LARGE SCRATCH). SOLUTION: PURCHASE A FANCY CAR COVER AND PROTECT THE BODY PAINT, IF YOU CAN! 6) PARKING BRAKE "SEEMS LOOSE", UPON PARKING CAR AND ENGAGING PARKING BRAKE THE VEHICLE ROLLS ALMOST 30 CM BWDS OR FWD DEPENDING ON LEVEL OR INCLINED SURFACE. *TR

TRANSMISSION ON MY 2002 VOLVO V70 XC STARTED TO EXHIBIT SHIFT FLARE AND HARSH SHIFTING THAT GAVE CONTROL PROBLEMS AT LOW AND HIGH SPEEDS. DEALER DOWNLOADED NEW TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE AND INSPECTED AND CLEANED THE TCM (THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE). TCM WAS NOT REPLACED AS DEALER CLAIMED IT WAS NOT PART OF RECALL PROGRAM. HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS WITH NO NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN SHIFTING PROBLEMS. CONTACTED VOLVO NORTH AMERICA'S CONSUMER SUPPORT TO FILE REPORT THIS MORNING. VISITED SEVERAL ONLINE FORUMS CONCERNING THE ISSUE AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF POSTS REGARDING SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH CARS USING ASIN-WARNER AW55-50 GEARBOX. ESPECIALLY HELPFUL WERE POSTS AT VOLVO- FORUMS.COM AND SWEDESPEED.COM. ONE POST WAS FROM USED VOLVO DEALER COMPLAINING OF THE EFFECT ON HIS BUSINESS IN 2001-2003 VOLVO CARS SAYING THAT THE PROBLEM WAS WORSE THAN THE ETM RECALL ISSUE. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM EFFECTING THE SAFETY OF THOUSANDS OF VOLVO DRIVERS. VOLVO NEEDS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM.*CN