2000 Volvo V70XC

BOUGHT USED 2000 VOLVO V70 XC 3 WEEKS AGO. DRIVING 35 MPH WHEN THE CAR STARTED SHAKING, FELT LIKE BUCKING & FLAT TIRE. THEN THE CAR JUST DIED. ETC (ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL / MODULE) LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS TOLD IT WOULD COST AT LEAST $900 TO FIX AND THAT ONLY A VOLVO DEALER COULD FIX IT, NOT MY VOLVO MECHANIC. I WAS TOLD BY VOLVO OVER THE TELEPHONE THAT THIS WAS "BEING LOOKED INTO" THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM. IF I WAS GOING ANY FASTER I FEEL AS THOUGH IT WOULD HAVE CAUSED AN EXTREME SAFETY ISSUE. LUCKILY I WAS ON A BACK ROAD IN VT AND THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD. IT WAS ALSO VERY DIFFICULT TO GET THE CAR COMPLETELY OFF OF THE ROAD BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT RUN AT ALL. I COULD NOT MOVE IT ON MY OWN.

ETS DASHBOARD LIGHT ON 2000 VOLVO V70 XC CAME ON WHILE DRIVING APPROX. 35 MPH. CAR IMMEDIATELY HESITATED AND SLOWED TO A SPEED OF APPROX. 15 MPH, THEN CAME TO A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND ENGINE SHUT DOWN. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RESTART ENGINE, IT DID START AND ARRIVED AT DESTINATION WHICH WAS CAR REPAIR SHOP. TRAFFIC BEHIND VEHICLE WAS STOPPED WHILE ATTEMPTS MADE TO RESTART CAR, AMID MUCH HONKING OF HORNS AND ANGRY COMMENTS. ON AT LEAST FOUR PREVIOUS OCCASIONS WITHIN TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, ETS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, AND EXCEPT FOR ONE OCCASION WHEN CAR STALLED BUT COULD BE MANEUVERED TO SIDE OF ROAD, ENGINE HESITATED BUT DID NOT SHUT DOWN. HENCE THE TRIP TO THE CAR REPAIR SHOP ON THIS DATE. AS I WRITE THIS, THE ETS SYSTEM IS BEING EVALUATED AND THE THROTTLE BODY IS BEING REPLACED. *NM

DT: THE CONSUMER OWENS A 2000 VOLVO V70 XC AND AT 30,000 MILES HAD TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE. WOULD TRY TO ACCELERATE AND THE CAR WOULD NOT GO, AND THEN STALLED. HAD ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. WHILE ON THE FREEWAY THE CAR STARTED SHAKING UNCONTROLLABLY. THE THROTTLE WAS REPLACED, AND THE REPAIRMAN TOLD THE CONSUMER THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE AGAIN BECAUSE IT WAS DEFECTIVE. SINCE THE CAR WAS FIXED THERE WAS SOME HESITATION . THE CONSUMER TOOK THE CAR TO A VOLVO SPECIALIST TO HAVE THE REPAIRS DONE. THE CONSUMER HAS NOT CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER. *AK

AS I WAS DRIVING THE ENGINE WOULD MOMENTARILY LOOSE POWER, THEN RESUME & THE ETS LIGHT WOULD COME ON. THE ETS LIGHT WENT OUT AFTER A WHILE. I REPORTED THIS TO MY SERVICE PEOPLE AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM AND TO BRING IT IN WHEN THE LIGHT STAYED ON. THIS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 10 TIMES AND THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED I HAD JUST GOTTEN ONTO THE EXPRESSWAY AND THE CAR LOST POWER. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF FAST MOVING TRAFFIC AND THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. MANY CARS HAD TO SWERVE AROUND ME CAUSING A GRAVE TRAFFIC HAZARD. I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT NO ONE HIT MY CAR AND POSSIBLY CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY. I CALLED FOR A TOW TRUCK AND AFTER WAITING ABOUT 15 MINUTES I DECIDED TO TRY AND START MY , THE ETS LIGHT WAS STILL ON. FORTUNATELY THE ENGINE HAD REGAINED POWER AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE OFF THE EXPRESSWAY AND BRING IT TO BE SERVICED. *JB

I WOULD LIKE TO ADD MY NAME TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR VOLVO'S ENGINE STALLING REPEATEDLY WITHOUT WARNING. I BELIEVE THIS MIGHT BE FROM THE UNIT THAT REGULATES THE AMOUNT OF AIR INTO THE VEHICLES ENGINE. I PURCHASED MY 2000 VOLVO V70XC FROM SANTA MONICA VOLVO IN OCTOBER 2001 AND IT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF MY ENGINE HAS STALLED OVER 20 TIMES WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT ANY WARNING. SEVERAL TIMES THIS OCCURRED WHILE I WAS DRIVING 65 MILES AN HOUR ON A FREEWAY THAT ALMOST RESULTED IN SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENTS. SOMETIMES I CAN RESTART THE CAR IMMEDIATELY, OTHER TIMES THE CAR HAS TO SIT FOR A WHILE, BUT FOUR TIMES I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED. THE FIRST TIME THE ENGINE DIED ON JULY 5, 2004 I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A VOLVO REPAIR SHOP IN VALENCIA, CALIFORNIA. THE NEXT MORNING THE REPAIR SHOP CALLED AND TOLD ME THE CAR STARTED FOR THEM WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. SO I DROVE TO SANTA MONICA VOLVO ON JULY 7, 2004 AND THEIR SERVICE DEPARTMENT REPLACED THE BATTERY. TWO MONTHS LATER (SEPTEMBER 1, 2004) WHEN THE CARS ENGINE DIED AGAIN WHILE I WAS DRIVING, THE CAR WAS TOWED TO SANTA MONICA VOLVO AND THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD ME THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH MY CAR. I TOLD THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT I DID NOT WANT THE CAR BACK UNTIL THEY FOUND WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT. THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE THEN SPOKE TO A MANAGER AND CALLED ME BACK TO SAY THAT MY ALTERNATOR WAS PUTTING OUT LOW VOLTAGE AND THEY REPLACED IT. THEN ON JUNE 30TH MY VOLVO LOST ALL POWER AGAIN WHILE I WAS DRIVING AND WOULDN'T START. THE CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO SANTA MONICA VOLVO WHERE I WAS TOLD THEY NEEDED TO DO A THROTTLE BODY CLEANING AND THEN REPLACE THE MASS AIR FLOW METER FOR A TOTAL OF $708. I BOUGHT MY VOLVO FOR SAFETY REASONS AND I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE UNSAFE DRIVING A CAR. I SINCERELY HOPE THAT YOUR INVESTIGATION LEADS TO A RECALL OF MY VOLVO. IT IS THE BIGGEST LEMON THAT I HAVE EVER OWNED! *JB *SC *TR

I OWN A 2000 V70 XC VOLVO. AT APPROXIMATELY 56,000 MILES THE ETS (ELECTRONIC THROTTLE SYSTEM) LIGHT CAME ON. SINCE THEN THE CAR SEEMS TO HAVE INSTANCES OF ACCELERATION HESITATION. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THE VEHICLE. I PURCHASED IT APPROXIMATELY THREE YEARS AGO WITH LESS THAN 30,000 MILES FROM A PRIVATE PARTY. ALL REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN PERFORMED BY THE DEALER OR BY TRAINED VOLVO MECHANICS ON THE RECOMMENDED SCHEDULE BY BOTH ME AND THE PRIOR OWNER. I AM AWARE THAT THIS APPEARS TO BE A FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH THE 99-01 VOLVO XCS. I HAVE CONTACTED THE ORIGINAL DEALER AND RECEIVED NO SATISFACTION ABOUT REPLACING WHAT CLEARLY APPEARS TO BE A DEFECTIVE PART BASED ON MY PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH SIMILAR VEHICLES. THE DEALER SAID THE PROBLEM COULD HAVE A NUMBER OF CAUSES AND THAT AN ELECTRONIC DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCE. GIVEN MY UNDERSTANDING OF OTHER OWNERS' EXPERIENCES I REQUESTED THAT THEY PERFORM THE TEST AT THEIR EXPENSE ($70) IN THE INTERESTS OF SAFETY AND TO HELP VOLVO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER DECLINED. MY OWNER'S MANUAL DOES NOT DISCUSS ANY REQUIRED OR RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE FOR THE ASSOCIATED PARTS OR SYSTEM. I AND THE PRIOR OWNER HAVE ALWAYS USED THE RECOMMENDED QUALITY OF FUEL (91 OCTANE). I DO VIEW THE POTENTIAL FAILURE OF THE ETS AS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY RISK BASED ON THE POTENTIAL FOR FAILURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND THE RAPID LOSS OF SPEED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. MUCH OF MY DRIVING OF THIS CAR IS ON FREEWAYS WITH 75 MPH SPEED LIMITS AND WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC VOLUMES. FROM THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE RESEARCH IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE FOR WHICH VOLVO SHOULD ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND PROVIDE APPROPRIATE REPLACEMENT PARTS. GIVEN THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS AND THE APPARENT SAFETY RISK THIS DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A "REGULAR MAINTENANCE/PARTS SIMPLY WEAR OUT" SITUATION. *JB

ON 1/20/05, OUR 2000 VOLVO V70 XC WITH 74215 MILES ON THE ODOMETER STARTED TO LOSE POWER, AND RUN ERRATICALLY. THE ETS LIGHT CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. WE MANAGED TO GET IT TO A LOCAL IMPORT SPECIALIST ABOUT 2 MILES AWAY FROM THE INCIDENT. LEFT US STRANDED IN WINCHESTER WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION. TOLD IMPORT SPECIALIST TO INSPECT AND CLEAN THE ETM MODULE, WHICH THEY DID. SAID THEY COULDN'T REPLACE IT BECAUSE OF THE PROGRAMMING ISSUES. COST US. $121.85. CAR WORKED WITHOUT ETS LIGHT COMING ON UNTIL 2/17/05. TOOK IT TO FAIRFAX VOLVO ON 2/18/05. THEY REPLACED THE ETM MODULE. THERE WAS 75005 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. COST TO US WAS $859.66 PARTS AND LABOR. SINCE THEN, THE CAR HAS NOT HAD THE ETS LIGHT COME ON. *JB