VOLVO Complaints

2000 VOLVO S80 LOST POWER DOWN TO 10 MPH ON BUSY INTERSTATE AS I WAS TRAVELING THROUGH LITTLE ROCK ARK. THERE WAS NO PLACE TO PULL OFF UNTIL FINALLY CAME TO AN EXIT. WAS TOWED TO DEALER AND FOUND THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE HAD FAILED. *JB

FRONT DRIVERS SIDE DOOR HINGE FAILED LOCKING DOOR INTO AN OPEN POSITION AND CAUSING DAMAGE TO CAR FRAME. WAS INFORMED BY MY MECHANIC THAT THIS IS A TYPICAL VOLVO PROBLEM. THE FAILURE CAN NOT BE FIXED WITHOUT MAJOR BODY WORK. THIS FAILURE CAUSED A WRIST STRAIN WHEN DOOR FAILED TO CLOSE. *JB

VEHICLE WOULD NOT START ON ONE OCCURRENCE THEN STARTED AGAIN LATER THAT DAY THEN A WEEK LATER IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE OVER 25 MILES AND THE ENGINE THROTTLE CONTROL UNIT HAD TO BE REPLACED AT OUR EXPENSE. *JB

AS I WAS DRIVING THE ENGINE WOULD MOMENTARILY LOOSE POWER, THEN RESUME & THE ETS LIGHT WOULD COME ON. THE ETS LIGHT WENT OUT AFTER A WHILE. I REPORTED THIS TO MY SERVICE PEOPLE AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM AND TO BRING IT IN WHEN THE LIGHT STAYED ON. THIS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 10 TIMES AND THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED I HAD JUST GOTTEN ONTO THE EXPRESSWAY AND THE CAR LOST POWER. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF FAST MOVING TRAFFIC AND THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. MANY CARS HAD TO SWERVE AROUND ME CAUSING A GRAVE TRAFFIC HAZARD. I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT NO ONE HIT MY CAR AND POSSIBLY CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY. I CALLED FOR A TOW TRUCK AND AFTER WAITING ABOUT 15 MINUTES I DECIDED TO TRY AND START MY , THE ETS LIGHT WAS STILL ON. FORTUNATELY THE ENGINE HAD REGAINED POWER AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE OFF THE EXPRESSWAY AND BRING IT TO BE SERVICED. *JB

I WAS DRIVING SOUTH ON I-85 IN DULUTH, GA. THIS STRETCH OF METRO ATLANTA INTERSTATE HAS SIX LANES IN EITHER DIRECTION AND TRAFFIC WAS FLOWING AT SPEEDS OF AROUND 75 MPH. THE ETS LIGHT CAME ON WHEN WE WERE IN THE FAR LEFT (FAST) LANE, THE CAR BEGAN LOSING POWER. I MOVED TO THE RIGHT AS BEST I COULD AND GOT OFF AT THE NEXT EXIT. BY THE TIME I GOT TO THE EXIT RAMP, THE CAR WAS SKIPPING AND MISSING BADLY. MY DAUGHTER LOOKED UP ETS IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND, BASED ON WHAT THE MANUAL SAID, I CUT THE CAR OFF AND WAITED A FEW MINUTES FOR IT TO RESET. I CRANKED IT BACK UP AND WE LIMPED THE REST OF THE WAY HOME. SINCE THEN I HAVE ONLY STARTED IT ONCE, BUT IT WAS RUNNING ROUGH SO I DID NOT GO ANYWHERE. CONSIDERING WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT ETM FAILURES SINCE THIS HAPPENED AND THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC IN ATLANTA, I HAVE BEEN SCARED TO DRIVE IT. HAVING TO CROSS FIVE LANES OF FAST-MOVING TRAFFIC IN A CAR RAPIDLY LOSING POWER IS NOT A SAFE SITUATION. *JB

THERE WERE NO EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURES. MY 1999 VOLVO V70XC SPUTTERED AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AS I WAS PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC IN JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. IN THAT MOMENT THE CAR WOULD BARELY MOVE, REGARDLESS OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION. I WAS LEFT BROADSIDE AGAINST TWO LANES OF ONCOMING CARS. THE CAR WOULD ONLY MOVE, LURCHING, AT WALKING PACE. AFTER NEARLY BEING HIT BY THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC, I TRIED SHUTTING OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTING, TO NO AVAIL, AND WAS ONLY ABLE TO "DRIVE" SLOWLY AND SPUTTERING TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND INTO THE NEXT PARKING LOT WHERE THE CAR HAD TO BE ABANDONED SINCE IT WAS UNDRIVEABLE IN TRAFFIC. RETURNING TO THE CAR LATER, A RESTART ELICITED THE SAME PROBLEM. AFTER ANOTHER RESTART THE CAR OPERATED NORMALLY UNTIL ABOUT 20 MILES LATER WHEN IT FAILED AGAIN. AT THE TIME, MY CAR HAD ABOUT 80K MILES. THE REPAIR, DIAGNOSED BY THE VOLVO DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR, WAS TO REPLACE THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM), WHICH WAS MANUFACTURED BY MARELLI. THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A FAMILIAR ISSUE ON THESE CARS TO MY LOCAL VOLVO DEALER. THE PRICE QUOTED FOR THE REPAIR WAS $1,200. I HAVE THE FAILED ETM IN MY POSSESSION. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AND, I AM NOW AWARE, A KNOWN DEFECT (UNFORGIVABLE ON A CAR COSTING NEARLY $40,000). VOLVO SHOULD RECALL AND REPLACE THESE POORLY DESIGNED PARTS ON ALL 1999-2001 VOLVOS, AND REIMBURSE OWNERS WHO HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR THE REPLACEMENT. (I NOW KNOW THAT VOLVO HAS REDESIGNED THE PART ON NEWER MODELS). NO ONE IS NOTIFYING OWNERS, LIKE MYSELF, OF THIS EXISTING SAFETY ISSUE.) FURTHER, I DO NOT KNOW IF MY DEFECTIVE ETM WAS REPLACED WITH A REDESIGNED (IMPROVED?) ETM,OR WITH ANOTHER OF THE DEFECTIVE MARELLI PARTS.*JB

IN AUGUST OF 2004 WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, MY 2001 VOLVO V70 XC BEGAN TO BUCK VIOLENTLY AND SLOWED TO A CRAWL. THIS WAS SUDDEN, WITH NO PRELIMINARY HINT THAT ANYTHING WAS WRONG. THE INCIDENT COULD VERY WELL HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT HAD THERE BEEN ANY OTHER TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY AT THE TIME. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AT SMART MOTORS VOLVO IN MADISON, WISCONSIN, AS A FAILED THROTTLE BODY. THE REPLACEMENT PART AND LABOR COST $934.25. THE HIGHLY EXPERIENCED VOLVO MECHANIC SUGGESTED THAT SUCH THROTTLE BODY FAILURES WERE, IN HIS EXPERIENCE, MORE COMMON IN COLDER CLIMATES WHERE FUEL ADDITIVES TO PREVENT ICE IN THE FUEL LINE WERE PRESENT. HE ALSO SAID THAT OTHER MAKES OF CAR THAT USED THE SAME THROTTLE BODY WERE HAVING THE SAME VERY HIGH RATE OF FAILURE. *JB

1999 VOLVO V70 DEVELOPED A PROBLEM WITH THE THROTTLE BODY SENSOR RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE STALLING. *MR THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE; REPLACEMENT OF DEFECTIVE GEAR SHIFTER LIGHT SOCKET AND THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW SWITCH, BATTERY LEADS MALFUNCTION CAUSING THE BATTERY TO FAIL, THE REAR WINDOW WASHER PUMP BURNED OUT, AND THE DRIVER DOOR CHECK STRAP HAD BROKEN OFF. *SC

2000 VOLVO S80 -- DEFECTIVE THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE SUBJECT OF PRELIMINARY EVALUATION PE05041 ON APRIL 20, 2005, WHILE DRIVING USING CRUISE CONTROL AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THE CAR WOULD LOSE AND REGAIN POWER FREQUENTLY. ON APRIL 21, 2005 WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MILES PER HOUR ON A TWO LANE ROAD WITHOUT A SHOULDER THE CAR LOST SIGNIFICANT POWER AND A VARIETY OF WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE. WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR WITH LIMITED POWER AND TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A FAULTY THROTTLE MODULE AND REPLACED AT A COST, PAID 100% BY ME, OF $919.16. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE CRUISE CONTROL OCCASSIONALY EXHIBITS THE SAME SLIGHT LOSS AND RESUMPTION OF POWER. WHILE I WAS LUCKY IN THAT I WAS ABLE TO TURN INTO A DRIVEWAY WHEN NEARLY ALL POWER WAS LOST, HAD THERE BEEN TRAFFIC ON THE TWO LANE ROAD I WAS SUBJECT TO BEING REARENDED. THE FREQUENCY OF THIS FAILURE, WHICH I UNDERSTAND TO BE THE SUBJECT OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN CALIFORNIA CONTENDING THERE IS A "HIDDEN WARRANTY" PRACTICE BEING CONDUCTED BY VOLVO WHICH AT TIMES PAYS FOR THE EXPENSE AND OTHER TIMES NOT, IS WORTHY OF YOUR OFFICIAL EVALUATION. THANK YOU. *JB

PLEASE ADD ME TO THE GROWING LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HAD THEIR ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE FAIL ON THEM WHILE DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. IT FAILED ON ME( WITH NO PRIOR HINT OF FAILURE ) CAUSING THE CAR TO GO INTO IDLE SPEED WHILE CROSSING A VERY BUSY INTERSECTION. I CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME I COULD RESET THE COMPUTER BUY A COMBINATION OF DOOR LOCK TURNS WHICH I DID. IT THEN FAILED AGAIN IN A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION (SITTING AT A RED LIGHT WITH A LONG LINE OF TRAFFIC BEHIND ME) WHILE DRIVING TO THE DEALER TO BE REPLACED TWO DAYS LATER. IT FAILED AT ABOUT 94,000 MILES BUT I DON'T CONSIDER THIS A PART WHICH SHOULD HAVE SUCH A DESIGN FLAW. AND IF IT IS GOING TO FAIL - THE CARS' COMPUTER SHOULD NOT CAUSE THE CAR TO GO INTO LIMP HOME MODE. IT WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER AT A COST OF AROUND $900 WITH A ONE YEAR WARRANTY. *JB