VOLVO Complaints

(1) VEHICLE IS 2001 VOLVO V70 XC CROSS COUNTRY. THIS VEHICLE USES AN ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM) MANUFACTURED FOR VOLVO BY MAGNETI MARELLI. THE ETM REPLACES A TRADITIONAL THROTTLE CABLE AND CONTROLS ENGINE SPEED WHEN PUSHING ON THE GAS PEDAL. (2) ON JULY 9, 2005, THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE IN MY 2001 VOLVO FAILED AS I WAS ENTERING A HIGHWAY FROM A COMPLETE STOP AT AN INTERSECTING STREET. TRAFFIC ON THIS HIGHWAY OPERATES AT OR ABOVE THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT OF 55 MPH. I WAS ACCELERATING AT OR NEAR WIDE OPEN THROTTLE WHEN THE ETM FAILED. THE FAILURE RESULTED IN THE ETM GOING INTO "LIMP HOME MODE," WHICH CAUSED THE THROTTLE TO ONLY OPERATE AROUND IDLE SPEED (APPROXIMATELY 800 RPM), AND NOT ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE TO AVOID BEING HIT BY APPROACHING TRAFFIC. MOVING FORWARD AT IDLE SPEED, I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER THE CAR BETWEEN APPROACHING VEHICLES AND COASTED ONTO A GRASS BARRIER SEPARATING AN ENTRANCE RAMP FROM THE MAIN LANES OF TRAFFIC. THE CAR THEN STALLED. THE CAR'S COMPUTER READOUT ON THE DASHBOARD DISPLAYED "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE" AND THEN "ENGINE SYSTEM FAILURE." THIS FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING, AND I WAS FORTUNATE TO NOT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A REAR END COLLISION. (3) DON BEYER VOLVO IN FALLS CHURCH, VA INFORMED ME THAT THE ETM HAD FAILED AFTER ONLY 49,000 MILES. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT VOLVO CARS IS WELL AWARE OF THIS DEFECT AND IS CURRENTLY THE SUBJECT OF VARIOUS INVESTIGATIONS AND LAWSUITS SURROUNDING THIS ISSUE. VOLVO HAS REPORTED TO THE CALIFORNIA CLEAN AIR RESOURCES BOARD THAT UP TO 94% OF ETMS WILL FAIL BEFORE THE VEHICLE REACHES 100,000 MILES. THERE IS NO REGULAR MAINTENANCE TO BE PERFORMED ON THE ETM. VOLVO TECHNICIANS CANNOT DETERMINE WHEN AN ETM IS ABOUT TO FAIL. DRIVERS SIMPLY HAVE TO WAIT TO BE UNEXPECTEDLY STRANDED. THE REPLACEMENT PART IS IDENTICAL OR NEARLY IDENTICAL TO THE ORIGINAL ETM, MAKING ANOTHER UNEXPECTED AND PREMATURE FAILURE VERY LIKELY. *NM

THROTTLE CONTROL MODULE HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON AND THE CAR STOPPED SEVERAL TIMES ON THE HIGHWAY AND I FINALLY CALLED AAA TO TOW ME FROM BEDFORD KY WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 46 MILES TO LOUISVILLE KY WHERE I LIVE AND WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR. THE DEALER CHARGED ME $403.88 WHICH WAS SUPPOSE TO BE HALF OF THE COST. THIS WAS DONE 7/6/04 AND I PURCHASED THE CAR 1/3/04. *NM

MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ON A BUSY 4 LANE HIGHWAY WHEN THE CAR STALLED WHILE IN MOTION. SHE WAS UNABLE TO RESTART IT WHEN IT WAS IN NEUTRAL. SHE CAME VERY CLOSE TO AN ACCIDENT AS IT WAS A VERY BUSY STREET. HAD THE CAR TOWED TO VOLVO OF FIFE AND THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. SAID NOTHING REGISTERED ON THE COMPUTER. I TOLD THEM THIS HAD HAPPENED TO ME ONCE AND SEEMED LIKE A VAPOR LOCK. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A PART THAT HAS GONE OUT ON SOME OF THE EARLY MODEL S80'S BUT IT'S $1,300.00 TO REPLACE AND THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT UNLESS THEY KNEW FOR SURE. THE PART HASN'T BEEN REPLACED AND MY WIFE IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF IT STALLS WHEN SHE'S DOING 65 MPH DOWN THE FREEWAY. *NM

(1) DRIVING ON INTERSTATE AT MAXIMUM LEGAL SPEED FOR SEVERAL HOURS. (2) ENGINE ABRUPTLY STOPS WITHOUT WARNING RESULTING IN LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND BRAKES. ATTEMPTS TO RESTART ENGINE WHILE MOVING NOT SUCCESSFUL. NEGOTIATE THROUGH TRAFFIC TO SHOULDER OF ROAD, NARROWLY AVOIDING ACCIDENT. (3) VEHICLE SAT ON SIDE OF ROAD FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES AND THEN RESTARTED WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. WERE ABLE TO CONTINUE TRIP AND RETURN HOME. (4) TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP. ENGINE WAS CHECKED, BUT NO PROBLEMS FOUND. (5) THIS HAS OCCURRED TWO TIMES DURING THE FOUR YEARS WE HAVE OWNED VEHICLE .. *NM

ON A TRIP ALONE TO VIRGINIA FROM LOUISVILLE KY WHEN CAR SLOWED DOWN AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS IN A DESOLATE PART OF THE MOUNTAINS IN W.VA WHEN THIS OCCURRED. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE DEALER IN LOUISVILLE, KY WHERE I HAD PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AND AFTER EXPLAINING THE SITUATION THEY TOLD ME TO NOT PULL OVER OR STOP BUT TO KEEP GOING,I COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO GO OVER ABOUT 45 MPH, AND THEY WOULD LOOK UP THE CLOSEST DEALERSHIP TO WHERE I WAS GOING AND CALL ME BACK. THEY DID THIS AND IT WAS CHARLOTTESVILLE VA WHICH WAS AN HOUR FROM MY DESTINATION. THEY WOULD NOT BE OPEN UNTIL THE FOLLOWING DAY SO I CALLED THEM AND TOOK MY CAR TO THEM AND THEY REPLACED THE MASS AIR FLOW PART #8670263-6 FOR A TOTAL OF $268.45 ON 12/3/04. WHEN I RETURNED TO LOUISVILLE AND TOLD MY DEALERSHIP THERE WAS NO OFFER TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THIS EXPENSE. I HAD 62,064 MILES ON MY V70XC WAGON AT THAT TIME AND NO WARRANTY WAS IN EFFECT. I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS IN THE COURIER-JOURNAL NEWSPAPER TODAY, AUGUST 2, 2005 AND FELT LIKE THERE ARE PROBABLY MANY, MANY MORE COMPLAINTS THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT. IF I CAN SUPPLY YOU WITH ANY OTHER INFORMATION PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO CONTACT ME. I DO A GREAT DEAL OF HIGHWAY TRAVEL AND AM ALONE SO I BOUGHT THIS CAR SO THAT I WOULD BE SAFE ON ALL OF MY HIGHWAY TRIPS. *NM

I OWN A 2000 VOLVO CROSS COUNTRY XC 70 THAT HAS EXPERIENCED STALLING AND LOSS OF POWER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. I CONTACTED THE DEALER I PURCHASED THE CAR FROM AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH VOLVO'S BETWEEN THE MILEAGE OF 35,000 AND 45,000 MILES. THEY ALSO INFORMED ME THAT THE REPAIR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER ANY RECALLS OR EXTENDED WARRANTY. A SEARCH OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE ON THE INTERNET SHOW THAT THERE IS AN ABOVE AVERAGE OF FAILURES OF WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS THE "ELECTRONIC THROTTLE SYSTEM". I FEEL THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT VOLVO IS AWARE OF BUT REFUSES TO HELP THE CUSTOMER WITH. IN MY OPINION, A $1,300 TO $1,600 REPAIR IS NOT NORMAL. VOLVO/FORD NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AND RECALL THESE VEHICLES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *NM

1998 VOLVO S70 T5-VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY, WITHOUT PRIOR INDICATION WILL CEASE TO OPERATE WHILE TRAVELING. ENGINE LIGHT WILL COME ON AND ENGINE WILL HESITATE AND THEN SHUT DOWN. OCCURS GENERALLY 2 OR 3 TIMES IN A DAY OR TWO AND THEN MAYBE NOT AGAIN FOR A MONTH OR SO. THREE DIFFERENT VOLVO REPAIR SHOPS HAVE BEEN INEFFECTIVE IN DIAGNOSING...FAILURE HAS OCCURRED ON HIGH SPEED ARTERIAL ROADS AS WELL AS WHILE IDLING/ STOPPED . *NM

I WAS DRIVING ON GALLATIN RD IN TN , A BUSY 4 LANE BUSINESS DISTRICT, WHEN MY VOLVO C70 LOST POWER AND I WAS FORCED TO COAST INTO A CHURCH PARKING LOT - I HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING OF THE INCIDENT UNTIL I SAW A SIMILAR STORY REPORTED ON YAHOO NEWS. THEY REPLACED THE COMPUTER UNDER WARRANTY AND IT IS WORKING FINE NOW (2 YRS LATER), BUT HAD THIS BEEN A BUSY HIGHWAY, I WOULD HAVE CAUSED A TRAFFIC PROBLEM. *NM

I READ IN OUR LOCAL PAPER THAT THE NHTSA WAS INVESTIGATING THE LOSS OF SPEED AND STALLING OF THE ENGINE IN VOLVO WAGONS IN THE 2001 MODEL YEAR. I TOO HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE. THE VEHICLE WOULD LOOSE POWER AND SLOW TO VERY LOW SPEEDS AND OPERATE IMPROPERLY. THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM WAS THE COMPUTER MODULE THAT REGULATES THE FUEL FLOWING TO THE ENGINE. I HAD TO HAVE IT REPLACED AT A COST OF OVER $1000. THAT HAS APPEARED TO SOLVE THE ISSUE. VERY EXPENSIVE PART TO HAVE GO BAD AND VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR WHEN IT FIRST OCCURRED. THE CAR SLOWED UNEXPECTEDLY IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND A LARGE TRUCK ALMOST RAN UP ON THE CAR FORTUNATELY SHE WAS ABLE TO TURN OFF THE ROAD AND THE TRUCK WAS ABLE TO SLOW DOWN IN TIME SO NO INJURY OCCURRED. *NM

ENGINE IS IDLING VERY LOW. HAS DIED ON MAJOR THOROUGHFARES 3 TIMES IN PAST 2 WEEKS. DID RESTART. TAKING IT IN IN 2 DAYS (EARLIEST APPOINTMENT WAS A WEEK FROM WHEN I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP). *NM