VOLVO Complaints

INCIDENCE 2 OF 7 SIMILAR. AS REPORTED ON SERVICE INVOICE: "CUSTOMER REPORTS; VIBRATION WHEN COMING TO A STOP. SHOP FOREMAN ROAD TESTED WITH CUSTOMER; FELT POOR IDLE AT STOPPING OF CAR. ACCESS DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE; NONE STORED. R&R THROTTLE BODY. CLEAN AND ADJUST THROTTLE UNIT." THIS INCIDENT WAS THE 2ND OF 7 SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRING LATER THAT ULTIMATELY LEAD TO HAVING THE THROTTLE BODY CLEANED TWICE & THEN REPLACED TWICE. I WILL BE REPORTING ALL THESE SUBSEQUENT INCIDENTS IN SEQUENCE OF OCCURRENCE ON THIS NHTSA COMPLAINT SITE AS WELL. PREVIOUSLY REPORTED INCIDENTS: 1) ODI #10131200. *JB

I OWN A 1999 VOLVO S80 WHICH I DRIVE FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES. ON AUGUST 17, 2004 THE VEHICLE STALLED AT HIGHWAY SPEED. WOULD BARELY RUN, EVEN WITH FULL THROTTLE. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO NEAREST VOLVO DEALER, VOLVO OF LOUISVILLE, KY. THEY REPLACED THROTTLE BODY . APPROX. 2 WEEKS LATER, HAD SAME OCCURRENCE. CAR STALLED AT HIGHWAY SPEED. HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO LOCAL DEALER, CENTURY VOLVO HUNTSVILLE, AL. THEY EXAMINED IT AND COULD NOT FIND ANY PROBLEM. IT WAS NOT MALFUNCTIONING FOR THEM. THEY KEPT VEHICLE FOR SEVERAL DAYS TRYING TO DUPLICATE PROBLEM. I HAD A SIMILAR OCCURRENCE AGAIN APPROX. 5 DAYS LATER. INSTEAD OF HAVING VEHICLE TOWED AGAIN, THE SERVICE REP SUGGESTED THAT THE CAR MIGHT "RESET" IF LEFT FOR 2-3 HOURS. I LEFT CAR ON ROADSIDE OVERNIGHT AND HAD MY WIFE COME PICK ME UP. THE NEXT DAY I WENT BACK AND THE CAR DROVE FINE. I HAD ANOTHER OCCURRENCE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON OCTOBER 26, 2004. VEHICLE TOWED TO ROYAL VOLVO IN BIRMINGHAM. BY THE TIME THEY EXAMINED IT, VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER MALFUNCTIONING. THEY KEPT IT RUNNING UNDER LOAD FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THERE WERE NO COMPUTER FAULT CODES FOUND THAT COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE PROBLEM. THIS IS THE SAME INFORMATION THAT CENTRURY VOLVO HAD FOUND AND ADVISED ME OF EARLIER. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE CAR WITH A LOT OF CONCERN THROUGH THE WINTER. IT WENT SEVERAL MONTHS WITH NO PROBLEMS. I HAD ANOTHER OCCURRENCE IN MAY 2005. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME BY ALLOWING THE CAR TO SIT FOR 20-30 MINUTES AND THEN IT WOULD DRIVE FOR A SHORT DISTANCE BEFORE GOING BAD AGAIN. AT THIS TIME I PARKED THE CAR AND BEGAN DRIVING MY SECONDARY VEHICLE (A 94 VOLVO 960). UNFORTUNATELY, I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT WITH THIS VEHICLE ON JULY 29, 2005 WHICH FORCED ME TO DRIVE THE 99 S80 AGAIN. IT STALLED OUT AGAIN TODAY (SECOND DAY DRIVEN). I'VE HAD IT TOWED TO CENTURY VOLVO IN HUNTSVILLE AGAIN. MY SALESMAN SHOWED ME AN ARTICLE IN TODAY'S NEWSPAPER REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. *JB

INCIDENCE 1 OF 7 SIMILAR. AS REPORTED ON SERVICE INVOICE: C/S CAR STALLS OUT WHILE DRIVING, MAKING A U-TURN, START RIGHT UP. CHECK CAR FOR CODES, ACCESS, NO CODES ON ANY SYSTEM. NO CODES ON FUEL SYSTEM, CHECK FUEL PUMP CONNECTOR UNDER REAR PANEL, ALL OK. PER ABOVE, THOUGH SERVICE DEPT COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, THIS INCIDENT WAS THE 1ST OF 7 SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRING LATER THAT ULTIMATELY LEAD TO HAVING THE THROTTLE BODY CLEANED TWICE & THEN REPLACED TWICE. I WILL BE REPORTING ALL THE OTHER SUBSEQUENT INCIDENTS IN SEQUENCE OF OCCURRENCE ON THIS NHTSA COMPLAINT SITE AS WELL. *JB

I OWN A 2001 VOLVO CROSS-COUNTRY. I WAS DRIVING AT 65 MILES PER HOUR ON INTERSTATE 95 BETWEEN BALTIMORE AND WASHINGTON WHEN MY CAR STARTING SHAKING VIOLENTLY AND STOPPED DRIVING. SUFFICE TO SAY, THIS INCIDENT WAS EXTREMELY SCARY. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A VOLVO DEALER. THE MECHANIC ADVISED THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE WAS DEFECTIVE. THE REPAIR COST ME $1,300. I WAS UNHAPPY TO LEARN THAT VOLVO IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT WILL NOT ISSUE A RECALL OR REIMBURSE CONSUMERS FOR THIS REPAIR. *JB

WE OWN A 2000 VOLVO V70 XC WAGON. IT WAS PURCHASED NEW. IN THE LAST 4 MONTHS WE HAVE HAD THE CAR INTO THE VOLVO GARAGE (TOM WOOD) TO HAVE IT FIXED FOR ROUGH RUNNING AND FAILURE TO START. THE FIRST TIME WE WERE CHARGED OVER $600 TO REPLACE THE ETM AND A CLEANING. IT DID NOT HELP FIX THE PROBLEM. WE THEN TRIED AN INDEPENDENT FOREIGN CAR GARAGE. THEY CLEANED THE THROTTLE BODY BUT AGAIN THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. WE NOW HAVE THE CAR BACK IN THE VOLVO GARAGE BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO ROUGH RUNNING, IT NOW FAILS TO START ON A RANDOM BASIS. I READ TODAY ABOUT YOUR PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION INTO THIS PROBLEM - YOUR FILE NUMBER PE05041. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT THIS IS A REAL, AND SERIOUS, PROBLEM. WHILE WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY THAT THE ENGINE FAILURE DID NOT HAPPEN AT SPEED, IT HAS CAUSED MAJOR INCONVENIENCE, UNPRODUCTIVE COSTS, AND SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF TIME. PLEASE PURSUE THIS INVESTIGATION WITH ALL HASTE. THANK YOU. *JB

WE PURCHASED THE VOLVO 2000 S70 VEHICLE IN 9/01 WITH 25,000 MILES. A 30,000 MILE CHECK-UP WAS PERFORMED BY SANTA MONICA VOLVO ON 12/26/01. STEVEN AND I BEGAN A 14-MONTH ROAD TRIP AROUND THE US AND HAD THE VEHICLE MAINTAINED AT VOLVO DEALERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY (THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT PERIODICALLY CAME ON AND WE WOULD ASK THE DEALERS ABOUT IT. WE WERE TOLD NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THE LIGHT.) THE ROAD TRIP ACCOUNTS FOR THE ACCRUED MILES PUT ON THE VEHICLE IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. RETURNED TO CALIFORNIA 3/04. BROUGHT THE VEHICLE INTO SANTA MONICA VOLVO TO HAVE THE 75,000 MILE CHECK-UP. THEY DID THE CHECK-UP AND WE DROVE AWAY. THE ETS AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITHIN ONE MILE, CAR BEGAN TO JERK, CALLED THE DEALER AND IMMEDIATELY RETURNED THE VEHICLE. SM VOLVO DID THE DIAGNOSTICS BUT DID NOT KNOW WHY THE ETS LIGHT CAME ON AS WE DROVE AWAY. THESE THINGS HAPPEN, THEY SAID. SM VOLVO EXPLAINED THAT CERTAIN CODES CAME UP, THEY WOULD RESET THE COMPUTER (CODE EZM#91A7 ON THE THROTTLE UNIT) AND DOWNLOAD A NEW PROGRAM. THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO REPAIR IT BY DOING ADDITIONAL WORK AND DID NOT GUARANTEE THE COMPUTER RESET. WE ASKED IF THE REPAIR WOULD BE GUARANTEED OR COULD WE DRIVE OFF AGAIN AND GET THE SAME RESULTS. THEY COULD NOT GUARANTEE THAT IT WOULD RESOLVE THE ISSUE. THIS LED US TO BELIEVE THAT EVERYTIME WE APPROVED THEM TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM, IT WOULD CONTINUE TO OCCUR. NOT GUARANTEEING THAT THEY CAN RESOLVE THE PROBLEM MADE US CONSIDER MORE RESEARCH AND/OR A SECOND OPINION. WE DECIDED TO LEAVE THE DEALER WITHOUT REPAIR. WE HAVE DRIVEN THE VEHICLE LOCALLY SINCE THEN, BUT WITH MANY FAILURES. ALOT OF JERKING, SOMETIMES THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF AND I HAVE TO SIT FOR 5 MINUTES BEFORE THE ENGINE WILL TURN ON AGAIN. THE VEHICLE CURRENTLY HAS 82,000 MILES. WE HAVE ONLY DRIVEN 5,000 IN 16 MONTHS. WE ARE ONLY USING THE VEHICLE FOR ERRANDS AND WORK. WE DO NOT WANT TO GIVE THE DEALER FREE REIGN OVER CHARGES AND REPAIRS THAT THEY CANNOT JUSTIFY OR GUARANTEE.*JB

ELECTRONIC THROTTLE PROBLEMS - ETS LIGHT IS CURRENTLY ON, AND HAS BEEN ON IN THE PAST.*JB

1. WE NOTICED THAT CAR IDLED IRREGULARLY AT STOPS AND SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO STALL SOMETIMES. WE WERE COMING UP ON 60,000 MILE SERVICE INTERVAL & THOUGHT THAT AT THAT APPOINTMENT WE WOULD HAVE THEM ADJUST. 2. FEB 2005 - WE DROVE CAR OUT OF RESID. DEVELOPMENT ONTO 2 LANE ROAD & CAR LOST POWER, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, WE WERE ABLE TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE HILL 500 YARDS AFTER WE TURNED OUT ON ROAD. AT TOP OF THE HILL WE CUT THE CAR OFF TO SEE IF IT WOULD RUN BETTER AFTER RE-STARTING. IT TOOK A FEW MINUTES TO GET IT RE-STARTED (I HAD TO PUSH THE ACCELERATOR DOWN AGGRESSIVELY). THE CAR COMPUTER SAID WE WERE IN "LIMP MODE" AND WE DROVE AT A VERY SLOW SPEED ESPECIALLY UP HILLS TO THE FIRST FUEL STATION. WE SHUT OFF THE CAR FOR 10 MINUTES & GOT SOME FUEL. AFTER THIS THE CAR RAN OK BUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS BACK SO WE CALLED OUR DEALER. 3. WE DROVE THE CAR 1 HOUR TO DEALER AND THEY SAID THE ETM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE INVOICE ALSO SAYS THEY REPLACED THE ACCELERATOR. WE DON'T HAVE THE OLD PART. WISH WE DID. *NOTE-ON JUNE 2 (WITH 61,000 MILES) ON A TRIP WITH FAMILY (2 SMALL CHILDREN) THE CAR WAS RUNNING FINE BUT JUST NORTH OF CHARLOTTE, NC AT DARK THE CAR LOST POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF I-77S AND WE HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE EMERG. LANE. FOR 15-20 MINUTES WE TRIED TO START THE CAR THINKING THE COMPUTER MIGHT RESET. EVERYTIME WE TRIED TO START IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO START (NOT LIKE BATTERY FAILURE) BUT THEN IT WOULD JUST SHUT OFF IMMEDIATELY. IT FINALLY STARTED AND WE DROVE TO THE HOTEL WITH NO PROBLEM. NEXT MORNING WE TOOK TO NEAREST DEALER - UNIVERSITY VOLVO. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTIC AT A FEE AND FOUND ECM CODES 6806 (TURBO CONTROL SYST.) - 904D (FUEL PEDAL SENSOR) - 981A (CONTROL MODULE FAULT) BUT FAULTS WERE NO LONGER PRESENT SO THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO. OUR HOME DEALER - CHARLOTTESVILLE VOLVO LOOKED AT THE CAR WHEN WE GOT HOME AND THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEMS. *JB

1999 VOLVO S80 T6-MULTIPLE FAILURES OF ETM (5 FAILURES, REPLACED 4 ETMS TOTAL). CAR WOULD GO INTO "LIMP HOME MODE", "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT WOULD GO ON. VERY DANGEROUS AND FRUSTRATING. THE ETM ALSO HAS FAILED ON WIFE'S 2001 V70 XC ONE TIME AROUND 80K MILES. I NO LONGER OWN THE S80; TOO UNRELIABLE, A COMPLETE JOKE GIVENS VOLVO'S REPUTATION FOR SAFETY!*JB

CAR: 2001 VOLVO V70 AWD XC MILEAGE: 45,879 WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON A CONTROLLED ACCESS HIGHWAY, THE CAR WITHOUT NOTICE LOST POWER. THE ENGINE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 1,000 RPM AND THE CAR DECELERATED RAPIDLY FROM APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH TO LESS THAN 20 MPH. GIVEN THE RAPID, UNEXPECTED DECELERATION, IT WAS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THE LOSS OF POWER COULD HAVE LEAD TO A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION. AFTER PULLING OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND RESTARTING THE CAR, IT WOULD RUN NORMALLY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, THE CAR PERFORMED NORMALLY AND NO WARNING LIGHT INDICATORS WERE ACTIVATED. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO A VOLVO DEALER, WHO AFTER INSPECTING THE CAR STATED THAT ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (THROTTLE BODY) HAD FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. COST INCURRED FOR THROTTLE BODY REPLACEMENT WERE $845.25, INCLUDING LABOR. *JB