2003 Volvo S60

I HAVE A 2003 S600 AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GOES DARK AND ALL THE INSTRUMENTS STOP WORKING (SPEEDOMETER, RPM, FUEL, TEMP -- ALL GO TO ZERO) . THIS OCCURS INTERMITTENTLY, WHILE DRIVING, THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING FINE AND NO WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. I AM ALSO EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH INDICATOR LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD. AS AN EXAMPLE, THE BLINKER LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD ONLY WORK ABOUT 20% OF THE TIME. THE ACTUAL DIRECTIONALS ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE CAR ARE STILL WORKING ALL OF THE TIME. THE CONDITION SEEMS TO BE GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. IN ADDITION VARIOUS MESSAGES HAVE APPEARED -- SUCH AS SRS AIRBAG SERVICE URGENT, BRAKE FAILURE - STOP SAFELY. BROUGHT IT TO MY MECHANIC AND HE HAD TO REPLACE THE DRIVER INFORMATION MODULE (DIM) $1,300. HE STATED THAT HE HAS REPLACED 4 DIM'S WITHIN THE PAST MONTH. APPEARS TO BE A COMMON FAILURE WITH 2003 S60 MODEL. MY MECHANIC ALSO COMMENTED THAT IN THE PAST VOLVO DEALER WOULD ONLY HAVE 1 DIM IN STOCK -- THEY NOW HAVE 6 TO 8 IN STOCK. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A MANUFACTURER EXPENSE -- NO MATTER WHAT THE MILEAGE IS ON THE CAR. *TR UPDATED 08/04/11 *BF

THE INSIDE DOOR HANDLES ON MY VEHICLE BROKE. I WAS ABLE TO GET A NEW HANDLE ASSEMBLY FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE, BUT THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE A NEW HANDLE ASSEMBLY FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR. THE DOOR CANNOT BE OPENED FROM INSIDE THE VEHICLE. I'VE WAITED TWO MONTHS, BUT APPARENTLY THE NEW PART IS NOT AVAILABLE. *TR

I HAD A SIMILAR ISSUE ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO AND REPLACED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. JUST TODAY (9/25/10), MY 2003 VOLVO S60 BEGAN TO IRREGULARLY STALL WHILE DRIVING. WHILE I'M SLOWING DOWN, IT DOWNSHIFTS BY IT SELF, AND JUST DIES, AND WHILE I'M SLOWING DOWN, THE WARNING INDICATORS ON THE DASH ARE NOT LIT, AS IF NOTHING IS WRONG, BUT WHEN COME TO A COMPLETE STOP ALL THE LIGHTS ON THE DASH ARE LIT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT THEN COMES ON, IT WASN'T ON BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS WHEN YOU ARE SLOWING DOWN TO TURN AT AN INTERSECTION. THE CAR STALL, YOU HAVE NO POWER STEERING AND YOU ARE DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. THIS HAPPENED NO LESS THAN 10 TIME WHILE I WAS DRIVING TODAY. *TR

FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DOOR, WILL NOT OPEN FROM THE INSIDE AND WINDOW WILL NOT ROLL DOWN. WINDOW LOCKED IN PLACE AND THE MOTOR STRUGGLES IN ITS ATTEMPT TO ROLL IT DOWN. ALONG WITH THIS A WEEK LATER MY SUN ROOF DECIDED NOT TO OPEN, IN AN ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE SUN ROOF- ALL YOU HEAR IS A LOUD CLICKING SOUND. EVEN THEN IT BARELY CRACKS OPEN. *TR

I HAVE A 2003 S60 VOLVO. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH THE CAR WOULD GO INTO LIMP MODE AND THE SPEED WOULD QUICKLY DROP TO 10 MPH AND THE MESSAGE REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE WOULD BE DISPLAYED. THE CAR WILL NOT ACCELERATE PAST THAT SPEED. THIS IS VERY SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN BECAUSE THE QUICK DROP IN SPEED MAY LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. I TOOK THE CAR TO A VOLVO DEALERSHIP AND WAS INFORMED THE CAR NEEDS THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE SYSTEM REPLACED. THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH OLDER MODELS AND A RECALL WAS ISSUED AFTER A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. MY MODEL IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL, HOWEVER; IT IS EXHIBITING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM THAT USUALLY OCCURS WHEN THE CAR REACHES 100,000 MILES. *TR

2003 VOLVO S60 EXPERIENCED "DEATH" OF DRIVER INFORMATION MODULE (DIM), WHICH MONITORS ALL GAUGES ON THE VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP IS ABLE TO REPLACE THE PART FOR $1500! IT NOT AVAILABLE "AFTER MARKET" BY ANOTHER MANUFACTURER. RESEARCH ONLINE SHOWS THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AMONG 2001-2003 MODELS. THIS MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED, AS NUMEROUS PEOPLE ARE DRIVING WITHOUT DASH PANEL INFORMATION DUE TO THE EXORBITANT COST. THE PROBLEM BEGAN APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS AGO AND CANNOT BE REMEDIED WITHOUT BUYING THE DIM. *TR

THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT DOOR WILL NOT OPEN FROM THE INSIDE. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO GARDEN STATE VOLVO IN WALL, NJ IN MARCH FOR THIS TO BE FIXED. THE MECHANIC "FIXED" THE INSIDE CABLE WITH DUCT TAPE AND CHARGED US $175 FOR THE REPAIR. WITHIN A WEEK THE DOOR WAS BROKEN AGAIN. I CALLED GARDEN STATE VOLVO AND ASKED FOR THE PART TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM TO BE ORDERED. I HAVE CALLED SEVERAL TIMES AND I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE PART IS BACK-ORDERED AND IS COMING FROM SWEDEN. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION, IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT THE DRIVER CAN NOT GET OUT. *TR