VOLVO Complaints

SURGING IDLE SPEED. CAR LURCHES FORWARD AT TIMES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. CAR ALMOST STALLS WHEN IDLING IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC, REQUIRING YOU TO PRESS ON THE GAS TO KEEP IT FROM STALLING, BUT THIS MAKES THE CAR LURCH FORWARD EVEN MORE. SEVERAL TIMES I HAVE ALMOST HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. THIS PROBLEM IS DUE TO A FAULTY ETM (ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE) THAT IS DESCRIBED IN THE NHTSA DEFECT INVESTIGATION SHOWN BELOW. THE ETM IN MY CAR WAS REPLACED TWO YEARS AGO AT 46K MILES BUT THE SAME SYMPTOMS ARE RECURRING. NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : PE05041 NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER : N/A MAKE : VOLVO MODEL: S80 MANUFACTURER : VOLVO CARS OF N.A. LLC. YEAR : 2001 COMPONENT : VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL DATE INVESTIGATION OPENED : JULY 26, 2005 DATE INVESTIGATION CLOSED : OPEN SUMMARY: THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) HAS RECEIVED ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE (131) CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGING A VARIETY OF CONCERNS RESULTING FROM FAILURE OF THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE (ETM) IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES, INCLUDING A SUDDEN LOSS OF SPEED AND STEERING ASSIST WHEN DRIVING IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AND SUDDEN AND COMPLETE STALL WITHOUT WARNING. IN SOME INSTANCES, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT THE VEHICLES WOULD RESTART, AND IN SOME CASES THE VEHICLES WERE TOWED. SOME CONSUMERS ALLEGE THAT AFTER HAVING THE ETM REPLACED THE NEW COMPONENT FAILED IN A SIMILAR MANNER. A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN OPENED TO DETERMINE THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY, AND POTENTIAL SAFETY-RELATED CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT. *JB

DT: THE CONTACT'S WIFE HAD THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM)REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WOULD SLOW DOWN, ALMOST STALLING, AND THEN THE VEHICLE WOULD SURGE. THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ETM REMEDIED THE PROBLEM.*AK UPDATED 11/29/2005 - *NM

ON 14 OCT 05 AS I TURNED OFF A MAJOR INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IN RICHMOND, VA MY 2001 VOLVO V70 T-5 BEGAN RUNNING REALLY ROUGH AND A RED WARNING TRIANGLE ILLUMINATED AND I RECEIVED A MESSAGE WARNING ME THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT OPERATING PROPERLY. IT CLEARED AFTER I STOPPED AND RESTARTED THE CAR AND I WAS ABLE TO RETURN HALF WAY TO CHARLOTTESVILLE BEFORE IT STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AGAIN. IT CONTINUED TO CYCLE BETWEEN NORMAL OPERATION AND ROUGH RUNNING UNTIL I REACHED THE VOLVO DEALER IN CHARLOTTESVILLE. ON 18 OCT 05, THE DEALER, VOLVO OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, INFORMED ME THAT I NEEDED A NEW ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE AND REPLACED IT AT A COST OF $916.32. I LOOKED ON THE WEB TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT AN ETM IS AND DISCOVERED THE CASE AGAINST VOLVO CONCERNING ETM FAILURES. THIS IS A USED CAR THAT I PURCHASED IN OCT04 SO I HAVE NO WAY OF TELLING IF THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. *JB

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE. CAN NOT CONTROL SPEED IN CAR. FUEL CUTS IN AND OUT. VERY ERRATIC SPEEDS IN CAR. *JB

(1) NO WARNING AT ALL BEFORE THIS FAILURE HAPPENED. (2) WHILE DRIVING AROUND TOWN, CAR SUDDENLY FAILS TO REV ABOVE 1000 RPM EVEN WHEN GAS IS FLOORED. CAR WILL NOT GO ABOVE 10 MPH, AND IT TAKES A COUPLE MINUTES TO GET THERE, SO IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. TRIES TO STALL. ETS DASH LIGHT COMES ON. (3) ETM PART REPLACED AND REPROGRAMMING PERFORMED, HAD TO BE ONLY AT A DEALER, WAS WITHOUT CAR FOR 2 DAYS. I DON'T HAVE THE OLD PART. *JB

FAULTY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE NEEDED CLEANING AND THE MECHANIC FEARS IT WILL ULTIMATELY FAIL, AS HE IS SEEING THEM FAIL AT HIGH RATES AT HIS VOLVO GARAGE. CAR WAS SURGING AND STALLING AT STOPS, AND JUST STALLING IMMEDIATELY AFTER STARTING. *NM

WHILE BEING DRIVEN, THE CAR CONTINUOUSLY WENT OUT OF GEAR, LOST POWER AND HAD TO BE PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE THROTTLE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND AFTER NEGOTIATION VOLVO OFFERED TO PAY 50% OF PARTS AND LABOR TO REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE THROTTLE. *NM

THE AUTOMOBILE IN QUESTION IS A 2000 VOLVO XC70. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER. AT 97,731 MILES THE ETS FAILED. AT THE TIME I MADE A COMPLAINT TO BOTH THE DEALER AND TO VOLVO OF AMERICA AS IT DID NOT SEEM TO ME THIS PART SHOULD FAIL AT THIS MILEAGE AND AT THE COST OF $1,050.58. SINCE THIS TIME, I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM BOX AND THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AT THE COST OF $2,900 (111,000 MILES). AGAIN I CONTACTED VOLVO OF AMERICA. BOTH TIMES I CALLED THE RESPONSE WAS "TOO BAD". I AM WRITING TO YOU AS I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE IS A POSSIBLE RECALL OF THE ETS AND WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW OF MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE ETS FAILURE. *NM

I HAVE EXPERIENCED TWO INSTANCES OF POWER AND STEERING LOSS WHILE DRIVING MY VOLVO S80 DOWN THE ROAD. THE FIRST INSTANCE OCCURRED AS I WAS SLOWING DOWN TO TURN RIGHT, I LOST ALL POWER AND STEERING. FORTUNATELY DURING THIS INCIDENT I HAD TURNED THE CAR JUST ENOUGH PRIOR TO LOSING STEERING TO MISS A POLE. IF THERE HAD BEEN ANOTHER CAR COMING TOWARDS ME, IT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. THE SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT AND IT HAPPENED AS I WAS GOING DOWN THE EXPRESSWAY AND BEGAN SLOWING TO STOP AT A STOP LIGHT. THE CAR LOST POWER/ STEERING AGAIN AND LUCKILY THIS TIME THERE WAS NO A CAR IN FRONT OF ME OR I WOULD HAVE HIT IT FROM BEHIND. BOTH TIMES THIS HAPPENED, I WAS ABLE TO ROLL THE CAR TO A STOP AND RESTART IT WITH NO PROBLEMS. I REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TO THE DEALER BUT THEY WERE NOT SURE WHAT WAS CAUSING THIS. *NM

2001 VOLVO V70XC CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND A WARNING SIGNAL STATING EMISSION SYSTEM SERVICE REQUIRED. I TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALER AND THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE AND THE ACCELERATOR POSITION SENSOR WAS BAD. THESE REPAIRS WERE OVER $1100.00 THE CAR ONLY HAS 55000 MILES . I HAVE READ THAT THESE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE SYSTEMS CAN FAIL AT ANY TIME AND CAN BE DANGEROUS.. THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO GO TO THE DEALER RIGHT AWAY. I AM GOING ON A LONG TRIP AT THE END OF NOVEMBER SO I ELECTED TO DO THE REPAIR. THE CAR WAS RUNNING OK WHEN IT HAPPENED . THE WARNING INDICATOR SIGNAL WAS THE ONLY INDICATION OF DAMAGE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS PART SHOULD NOT BE FAILING. FOR SURE IT SHOULD NOT FAIL THIS SOON. *JB