VOLVO Complaints

THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL FAILED DURING A LEFT TURN TO A FREEWAY ON-RAMP. THE CAR STOPPED AND WOULD NOT START. I WAS LUCKY IT WAS POURING RAIN AND TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT BECAUSE I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR ABOUT 1/2 HOUR. IT WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THE MODULE REPLACED FOR APPROXIMATELY $800. THE FOLLOWING YEAR THE SECOND MODULE EXHIBITED THE SAME SYMPTOMS. I DROVE IT TO THE DEALER AND HAD IT CLEANED FOR APPROXIMATELY $200. I WAS TOLD THAT THE MODULE HAD TO BE CLEANED EVERY YEAR - WHICH I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR - OR IT WOULD FAIL AND HAVE TO BE REPLACED. I WAS TOLD THIS HAPPENED TO ALL VOLVOS WHICH PREDOMINATELY WERE DRIVEN IN CITY TRAFFIC. I AM ABOUT DUE TO HAVE THE PROBLEM THIS YEAR. *NM

ON SEVERAL INCIDENTS OVER THE PAST 9 MONTHS THE CAR HAS STALLED ON THE HIGHWAY. IT LOOSES POWER AND EVERYTHING SHUTS DOWN. ONCE I STOP IT RESTARTS. ALSO, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE CAR WILL NOT "SHUT OFF" COMPLETELY BUT THE ENGINE WILL LOOSE ITS POWER AND THEN THE RPM WILL REV BACK UP SUDDENLY. VOLVO HAS ATTACHED A "BLACK BOX" TO THE ENGINE AND AS A RESULT REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND IT IS BACK. THE LAST INCIDENT WAS JULY 20TH. *NM

MY 2000 VOLVO C70 HAD A THROTTLE ISSUE. MANY TIMES BEFORE THE ENGINE WOULD TURN OFF IMMEDIATELY WHEN FIRST STARTED. RECENTLY, I WOULD GIVE THE ENGINE GAS AND THE ENGINE WOULD RATTLE AND FALTER. THE ENGINE WOULD RATTLE WORSE WHEN THE AC WAS TURNED ON. *NM

DT: CALLER WAS TOLD ABOUT THE VOLVO INVESTIGATION. SHE , HAD THE PROBLEM AT LEAST 4 TIMES. THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THEN A MONTH LATER, IT STALLED TWICE IN ONE DAY. DEALER SAID THE FIRST TIME MIGHT NOT BEEN ENOUGH TO MAKE THE WARNING LIGHT COME ON, BUT NOW THAT IT HAPPENED AGAIN THE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. MANUFACTURER SAID THE DEALER NEEDED TO LOOK AT IT, AND CHECK THE THROTTLE BODY. IT WAS A RECALL AND L SHE COULD BE REIMBURSED. CALLER SAID IT HAPPENED WHEN SHE WAS TAKING OFF OR SLOWING DOWN AT LOW SPEEDS.*AK

HI - IN APRIL 2005 I HAD MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE JUST BEFORE THE EXTENDED WARRANT EXPIRED IN MAY. THEY MENTIONED THIS ELECTRICAL PROBLEM BUT SAID IT WASN'T COVERED SO I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING SINCE I HADN'T NOTICED A PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MGR SAID IT DID NOT NEED FIXED ANYTIME SOON AND SENT ME ON MY WAY. IN JULY I NOTICED THAT MY CAR KEPT LOSING POWER ON THE HIGHWAY (VERY DANGEROUS I95 IN FT LAUDERDALE). I TOOK IT IN ON A THURSDAY FOR A DIAGNOSTIC AND THEY CAME BACK WITH A BUNCH OF LITTLE THINGS THAT TOTALED ABOUT $1500. I WAS THINKING ABOUT A NEWER CAR SO I ASKED IF ANYTHING WAS URGENT AND THEY SAID NO AND SENT ME ON MY WAY AGAIN. I STOPPED BACK BY THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY BECAUSE THE POWER WINDOWS QUIT WORKING, THEY SAID IT WASN'T RELATED AND I MADE AN APPT TO COME IN THE FOLLOWING MONDAY TO HAVE THAT FIXED ($210). ON MY WAY HOME, THE ETU LIGHT CAME ON. I GOOGLED 1999 S70 ETU AND WAS OVERWHELMED BY THE INFORMATION ON THIS PROBLEM. WHEN I WENT IN ON MONDAY I WAS LIVID THAT THEY HAD LET ME GO ON DRIVING THIS CAR WITHOUT TELLING ME OF THE POSSIBILITY OF IT DYING ON ME IN TRAFFIC. ALSO THEY HID IT FROM ME AND THEY WERE NICKEL AND DIMING ME JUST LIKE IT SAID THEY WOULD DO IN THE FORUMS! THE SALES MANAGER ADMITTED HE KNOW ABOUT THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, ETC. HE RAN ANOTHER DIAGNOSTIC AND GUESS WHAT - THE PROBLEM WITH THE ETU MIRACULOUSLY SHOWED UP. THEY WERE GOING TO CHARGE ME $1800 BUT DID ME A FAVOR AND KNOCKED IT DOWN TO $1375. CAN YOU HELP ME GET MY MONEY BACK - I AM ANGRY - I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. *NM

"SERVICE ENGINE SOON" (SES) LIGHT CAME ON RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS CAR WITH 55000 MILES ON ODOMETER. CALL TO VOLVO INDICATED THAT THIS USUALLY MEANT THAT THE ETM (ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE) NEEDS CLEANING. CALL LOCAL INDEPENDANT VOLVO MECHANIC. HE HAD ME CHECK THE COLOR OF THE LABEL ON ETM. SAID THAT I HAD THE ORIGINAL ETM AND THAT CLAING DOES NO GOOD, ETM NEEDS REPLACED AS HE HAS SEEN THIS ISSUE MANY TIMES. HAD INDEPENDENT MECHANIC REPLACE ETM AT A COST OF ~$800. FURTHER INVESTIGATION ON INTERNET FOUND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON OCCURANCE. ALSO NOTED THAT I HAD PURCHASED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY WITH CAR AND THAT THE WARRANTY EXPLICITLY EXLUDED ETM....COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT.....THE ETM FAILURE IS NOT ONLY A SAFETLY HAZZARD (CAR CAN NOT GO > 20MPH WHEN SES COMES ON..) BUT FOR A CAR OF THE ALLEDGED QUALITY OF A VOLVO TO HAVE A PRT SUCH AS A THROTTLE MODULE GO BAD AT 55000 MILES IS CRAZY. IN ADDITION IT APPEARS THAT THE REPLACEMENT ETM WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE...NOTE THAT THE VIN OF THIS VEHICLE IS [XXX], 1999 VOLVO V70-XC. UPDATED 07/19/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I AM WRITING AFTER SEEING A NEWS ARTICLE ON COMPLAINTS AGAINST VOLVO. I OWNED A 1999 XC V70 (WHICH I JUST TRADED) [XXX] TWICE SIMPLY LOST POWER WHILE DRIVING, AND WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO GET THE CAR TO GO FASTER THAN 10 MILES PER HOUR. THE FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED SOMETIME IN 2003, WAS REPAIRED, AND THEN FAILED AGAIN IN JUNE OF 2005. AFTER SPENDING AROUND $1,000 TO FIX THE PROBLEM I TRADED THE CAR IN. I COMPLAINED TO VOLVO SEVERAL TIMES BUT THEY WERE UNRESPONSIVE. *NM UPDATED 07/19/2012 *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

WARNING LIGHT, ENGINE RAN ROUGH, STALLED SINCE APRIL 2004 UNTIL JANUARY 2005, AND DEALER REPEATEDLY RAN TESTS AND CHARGED ME HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS FOR TESTS AND REPLACING PARTS THAT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM UNTIL JANUARY 2005. *NM

DT: 2005 VOLVO SAA. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT IS==WAS A GLARE IN THE WINDSHIELD. THE DASHBOARD ITSELF WAS A TWO TONE COLOR BLACK AND TAN. THE BLACK PIECE WAS RIGHT ABOVE THE STEERING COLUMN, AND THE REST OF THE DASH WAS TAN . THEREFORE CAN SEE A CREASE IN THE GLARE OF THE WINDSHIELD. DEALERSHIP SAID EITHER PAINT THE BLACK PART OF THE DASHBOARD TAN OR PUT DASHBOARD COVER ON AT MY EXPENSE. IF SUN GLASSES USED THE GLARE WAS OKAY, BUT IF NOT USED THE GLARE WOULD BE IN MY RIGHT EYE. CONSUMER MUST LEAN OVER TO THE LEFT TO BE ABLE SEE WITHOUT THIS GLARE. *AK

DT: BEGINNING LAST YEAR, WHILE DRIVING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD RPMS WOULD GO WAY UP AND FALL BACK DOWN OVER AND OVER FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. THEN ,THE ENGINE CUT OFF. THE VEHICLE STARTED RIGHT BACK UP. THEN, RIGHT AWAY THE PROBLEM WOULD OCCUR AGAIN. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE AIR INTAKE VALVE WAS REPLACED. THE PROBLEM STOPPED FOR A WHILE. THEN, THE EXACT PROBLEM HAPPENED AGAIN ON JUNE 15 2005. THE CAR WOULD STOP IN TRAFFIC. THE RMPS WOULD GO UP AND DOWN FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES, AND TTHERE WAS ELECTRICAL POWER. THERE WAS NO POWER STEERING OR BRAKES WHEN THE CAR SHUT COMPLETELY DOWN.*AK