VOLVO Complaints

MONTHS PRIOR TO ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE NEEDING REPLACEMENT , AT MY COST, 1999 VOLVO S80T (@85K MILES) ENGINE IDLE SURGING AND ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS RANDOMLY OCCURRED, REQUIRING RESTARTING CAR WHEN IT STALLED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. NEW THROTTLE(GAS PEDAL) WAS REPLACED BUT DID NOT RESOLVE PROBLEM. LASTLY, WHILE DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATED BEYOND 20 MPH(LIMP HOME MODE) AND VOLVO DEALER REPLACED ETM TO RESOLVE PROBLEM. ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE, THE ABS MODULE WAS REPLACED(UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY) BECAUSE A MULTITUDE OF WARNING LIGHTS WERE OCCURRING (ABS, BRAKES, POWER STEERING). WHILE I'M LISTING FAILURES, THE ENGINE COOLING FAN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED(UNDER EXTENDED WARRANTY). *JB

ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS MY VEHICLE ENGINE HAS LOST SPEED AND ENGINE HAS STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. CAR HAS BEEN REPAIRED BY LOCAL CAR DEALERSHIP ONCE AND IS ONCE AGAIN IN THE SHOP FOR POSSIBLY THE SAME PROBLEM. WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH ON THE FREEWAY WITH MY 3 CHILDREN IN CABIN THERE WAS A VERY STRONG ODOR OF GAS FOLLOWED MY A SUDDEN ENGINE SHUTDOWN TODAY. I AM VERY GRATEFUL AND BLESSED I WASN'T HIT FROM THE BACK THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY, VERY DISASTROUS TO MY FAMILY.*JB

THE CAR STALLED IN HIGHWAY TRAFFIC LOSING PARTIAL CONTROL OF THE AUTOMOBILE SCARED DRIVER AND CAR LUCKILY RESTARTED OR COULD HAVE BEEN MAJOR ACCIDENT - FOUND OUT THROTTLE BODY MODULE WAS TO BLAME. THIS IS ONE SIGNIFICANT EXAMPLE THE CAR OFTEN STALLED AT STOP LIGHTS AND GOING AROUND CORNERS. *JB

MY CARS ELECTRONIC THROTTLE HAD TO BE REPLACED. THIS WAS DONE UNDER THE WARRANTY PERIOD BUT I'M WRITING TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THIS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE WHOSE CARS SYSTEMS LASTED SLIGHTLY LONGER, OUT OF WARRANTY. VOLVO KNEW THEY HAD ISSUES WITH DEFECTIVE THROTTLES AND SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT. THESE CARS ARE NOT CHEAP AND OWNERS SHOULD NOT BE 'BETA' TESTERS FOR NEW SYSTEMS.*JB

I PURCHASED A NEW 1999 VOLVO S70 GLT SEDAN. ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO I NOTICED THAT THE HOOD WAS NOT CLOSING. UPON EXAMINATION I DISCOVERED THAT BOTH HOOD LATCHES WERE FAILING BECAUSE OF METAL FATIGUE. AT THIS POINT ONE LATCH HAS FALLEN OFF COMPLETELY AND THE OTHER IS SO WEAKENED IT WILL NOT HOLD THE HOOD. I AM CURRENTLY HOLDING THE HOOD DOWN WITH A BUNGIE CORD. FAILURE OF THE HOOD LATCHES COULD LEAD TO A DANGEROUS SITUATION IF A HOOD FLIES UP AT HIGH SPEED. *NM

I OWN A 2001 VOLVO S80. I HAVE HAD TROUBLE WITH THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE NOT RESPONDING TO THE THROTTLE INPUTS AND SURGING AT IDLE. IT WOULD SOMETIMES KILL THE CAR WITHOUT WARNING WHEN COMING TO A STOP (LOSING POWER-STEERING WHILE IN TURNS) OR MAKE THE CAR LUNGE FORWARD UNEXPECTEDLY. THE LUNGING FORWARD HAS ALMOST CAUSED ACCIDENTS AT INTERSECTIONS. I'VE BEEN LUCKY FOR NOW, BUT I WILL NOT LET MY WIFE DRIVE THE CAR WHILE IT IS DOING THIS BECAUSE SHE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE CAR WITHOUT POWER STEERING AND BRAKES. I TOOK IT IN FOR REPAIR AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE, AND THEY NEED REPLACING AFTER A WHILE, SO I REPLACED IT. 4 MONTHS LATER, I'M EXPERIENCING THE SAME IDLE PROBLEMS AS WELL AS THE LUNGING PROBLEMS. I AM BEING TOLD THAT IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE THROTTLE MODULE. I'VE LOOKED AT MANY WEBSITE FORUMS AND FOUND MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM THROUGH OUT THE GLOBE. THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN TIMES WHEN IT HAS DIED WHILE IN REVERSE AND I LOOSE POWER BRAKES WHILE BACKING, WITHOUT NOTICE. I WOULD REQUEST A RECALL AND AN IMPROVED PART. USA TODAY IS ALSO REPORTING ON THIS ISSUE AS WELL: HTTP://YAHOO.USATODAY.COM/MONEY/AUTOS/2005-08-01-VOLVO_X.HTM?CSP=1 FORUM WEB SITE: HTTP://WWW.VOLVOXC.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?MODE=HYBRID&T=6026 THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *NM

I OWN A 2005 VOLVO S60R WITH ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION. THE CAR EXHIBITS SIGNIFICANT "SIDE-STEP" PROBLEM WHICH IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD WHILE DRIVING THROUGH DIP OR POTHOLES. OFTEN THE REAR END OF THE CAR WOULD SWAY DRAMATICALLY WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEED OF 40 TO 70 MPH. ONE TIME I DROVE THROUGH A FREEWAY THAT IS NOT WELL PAVED AND MY CAR'S REAR-END WOULD SKIPS TO ANOTHER LANE! IF THERE IS ANOTHER CAR NEXT TO ME I'D DEFINITELY HIT IT. *NM

LAST YEAR, I BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE LOCAL VOLVO DEALER (GOODWIN'S IN BRUNSWICK, ME) BECAUSE THE ENGINE WAS "SURGING". THIS MEANS THAT THE ENGINE WAS REVVING AND SLOWING INDEPENDENT OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THEY TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A DEFECT IN THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL, THAT IT WAS DANGEROUS AND NEEDED TO BE FIXED, THAT LOTS OF VOLVO'S UP TO THE YEAR 2003 HAD IT, AND THEN VOLVO FINALLY MANAGED TO ENGINEER A FIX. IN FACT, THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE WOULDN'T BY A VOLVO CAR UNLESS IT WAS 2003 MODEL OR NEWER FOR THIS REASON. WHEN I ASKED WHY IT WASN'T A RECALL ISSUE SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY PROBLEMS, THEY SIMPLY REPLIED THAT IT WASN'T. I WAS CHARGED ABOUT $1000.00 TO HAVE IT REPLACED. *NM

I WAS DRIVING ON A BUSY HIGHWAY, AND MAKING A LEFT TURN ACROSS TRAFFIC. WHEN I DEPRESSED THE GAS PEDAL, THE CAR COULD NOT ACCELERATE ABOVE ABOUT FIVE MILES PER HOUR. THE COMPUTER ON THE CAR READ" REDUCED PERFORMANCE" AND I NARROWLY MISSED BEING IN AN ACCIDENT AS LIMPED ACROSS THE HIGHWAY. THE CAR REQUIRED A NEW THROTTLE, AND THE DOWNLOAD OF ACTIVATION SOFTWARE. THE COST FOR THIS REPAIR WAS $736.56. WHEN I HAD THIS PROBLEM, THE MECHANIC TOLD ME OF NUMEROUS PAST PROBLEMS WITH THE THROTTLE ON THIS MODEL AND A PENDING CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST VOLVO. I WROTE TO THE VOLVO CORPORATION TO TELL THEM OF THIS PROBLEM, AND THEN LEARNED THAT NHTSA WAS INVESTIGATING THIS VERY PROBLEM. THEY APPARENTLY WON'T DO ANYTHING TO REMEDY THIS UNLESS FORCED TO. I THOUGHT IT IMPORTANT TO GO ON RECORD WITH NUMEROUS OTHER OWNERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME DEFECT. IT SOUNDS LIKE A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE NARROWLY AVOIDED SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. PLEASE TAKE CARE OF THIS SO SOMEONE IS NOT INJURED OR KILLED. THIS PROBLEM CAME OUT OF NOWHERE, AND CERTAINLY PUT ME IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION. *NM

JUST GOT GAS AND STARTED CAR AND THE TACHOMETER STARTED TO REV UP AND DOWN. I NEEDED TO LEAVE AS I WAS IN A GAS STATION AND IT WAS VERY CROWDED. I HAD TO IMMEDIATELY PULL INTO A PARKING SPOT. AFTER WAITING A FEW MINUTES, I LEFT THE SPOT AND ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE DOWN THE STREET. THE CAR WOULDN'T SHIFT INTO ANY GEAR EXCEPT FIRST AND I WAS ALMOST RUN OFF THE ROAD BY SEVERAL VERY ANGRY DRIVERS SINCE I COULDN'T GO ANY FASTER. I PULLED OVER AGAIN AND WAITED 15 MINUTES. IN ARIZONA WHEN IT'S 115 OUT, THAT IS NOT TOO MUCH FUN. AFTER WAITING, THE CAR MUST HAVE RESET ITSELF AND IT STARTED UP FINE. THIS WAS THE FOURTH TIME THIS WEEK THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME BUT THIS WAS BY FAR THE WORST. *NM