2000 Volvo V70XC

VOLVO DEALER-SERVICED 2000 VOLVO V70XC WITH @60K MILES OCCASIONALLY REFUSED TO START. DEALERSHIP FLASHES CHIPS. 6 MONTHS LATER, AT 67K, ELETRONIC THROTTLE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES REPEATEDLY DURING 1500 MILE JOURNEY CAUSING VOLVO TO SURGE & VARY SPEED CONTINUOUSLY. PROBLEM REOCCURS OCCASSIONALLY DURING NEXT WEEK BEFORE VOLVO V70XC CAN BE DEALER SERVICED - PLANNED TRIP CANCELLED DUE TO QUESTIONABLE STATUS OF VOLVO RELIABILITY. VOLVO DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT ADMITS EVENTUALLY ENGINE WOULD JUST QUIT STRANDING OCCUPANT. SINCE OUT-OF-WARRANTY, OWNER PAYS $1200 REPLACEMENT OF FAULTY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE. OWNER OBTAINS OLD PART BUT NO LONGER TRUSTS VOLVO WITH WIFE & CHILD AS REPLACEMENT THROTTLE BODY SAME WITH NO BETTER GUARANTEE AGAINST FAILURE.

MY SON'S 2000 VOLVO 70 XC FAILED DUE TO A FAILIED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM). AS A RETIRED ENGINEER I WANTED TO KNOW WHY. I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS A COMMON COMPLAINT FOR THE 1999, 2000 AND 2001 SERIES 60,70 AND 80 MODELS AT THE TIME OF FAILURE THE CAR FIRST EXHIBITS HESITATION, SURGING AND ERATTIC IDLE. AT FAILURE IT GOES INTO A LIMP- HOME MODE OF 20 MILES PER HOUR OR STALLS. FROM YOUR WEB SITE I HAVE FOUND 101 CASES LISTED FOR THIS FAILURE. I HAVE PERFORMED FAILURE ANALYSIS ON 5 UNITS AND HAVE IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM. IT IS THE WEARING OUT OF THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR POTENTIOMENTER. VOLVO HAS CONSISTANTLY KEPT THE DEALERS AND CUSTOMERS IN THE DARK AND BLAMED THE PROBLEM ON A DIRTY THROTTLE BORE AND OTHER ERRONEOUS CAUSES. OTHER THAN THE COST OF REPAIRS, ABOUT $1000, IS THE REALIZATION THAT THE REPLACEMENT PART IS OF THE SAME DESIGN AND IT TOO WILL FAIL, ONE CORRESPONDENT REPORTING 3 FAILURES OF THE SAME TYPE. THE FAILURE APPEARS TO BE ACCELERATED BY HEAT, THUS NORTHERN TIER STATES HAVE FEWER FAILURES THAN SOUTHERN STATES. THERE ARE ABOUT 860,000 CARS WORLD WIDE WITH OVER 250,000 IN THE US. I ESTIMATE THAT MORE THAN 80% WILL FAIL, ONE OR MOER TIMES, WITHIN 100,000 MILES. TO DATE NO ONE HAS BEEN INJUREID OR KILLED THAT WE KNOW OF BUT STALLING ON A BUSY FREEWAY IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. I CAN SEND YOU MY REPORTS OR YOU CAN PICK THEM UP OFF OF THE INTERNET. I ALSO HAVE FAILED PARTS FOR YOUR EXAMINATION. PLEASE HAVE AN INVESTIGATOR CONTACT ME. WITH A DIRECT E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR THE INVESTIGATOR I CAN SEND MY DATA. DON WILLSON, 970 266-9797, DONWILLSON@COMCAST.NET

ETM MODULE FAILED ON THE FREEWAY AND I HAD TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY STOP ON THE FREEWAY AT NIGHT. AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES THE CAR WAS ABLE TO STARTUP AGAIN. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR REPAIR, THEY DID NOT TELL ME THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL OF VOLVO AND I ENDED UP PAYING $128 DOLLARS FOR BOGUS TROUBLESHOOTING AND NO PROBLEM FOUND. THEN LESS THAN 4 DAYS LATER, THE CAR DIED AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME I WAS LUCKY AND IT DIED ON A SIDE STREET. I LOOKED UP THE PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND QUITE A FEW ARTICLES OF PEOPLE WHO HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM. UPON DRIVING MY CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP, IT DIED AND I HAD TO COAST THE CAR DOWN 3 HILLSIDE BLOCKS AND INTO THE DEALERSHIP. ANOTHER $50 DOLLARS WAS CHARGED TO ME FOR DOING THE WARRANTY WORK AND THE TOTAL COST TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE MODULE WAS $723.67. I AM VERY LUCKY TO HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THIS VEHICLE, BUT FOR ANYONE THAT DOES NOT, THEY ARE BEING TOTALLY SCREWED BY VOLVO AND ITS DEALERS BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT STEPPED UP AND REPLACED THIS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS MODULE THAT CAN LEAVE YOU STRANDED. IT ALSO APPEARS THAT THE PARTICULAR DEALERSHIP THAT I TOOK MY CAR TO, MADE TROUBLESHOOTING MONEY ON ME EVEN THOUGH NOBODY WOULD TOUCH MY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE PROBLEM WHEN I SHOWED THEM 3 PAGES OF ARTICLES THAT I FOUND ON THE WEB REGARDING THE PARTICULAR PROBLEM AND USER GROUPS THAT TALKED ABOUT COMPLAINING TO VOLVO.*AK

APPROACHING A RED LIGHT ON SLIGHT INCLINE, CAR STALLED AND ETS LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON. ADVISED MY SERVICE STATION THAT THROTTLE SYSTEM FAILED. CAR MAYBE DRIVEN BUT THERE CAN BE SAFETY ISSUES, AS THE CAR LOSES POWER WITHOUT WARNING, WHICH IS CLEARLY A HAZARD IN CROSSING INTERSECTIONS OR MERGERING INTO TRAFFIC AND THERE ARE ALSO EMISSION RELATED ISSUES WITH GAS MILEAGE AND EXHAUST SYSTEM. TO DATE, CAR HAS BEEN LOOKED AT BY TWO SERVICE STATIONS, DOUGHTERY'S AUTOMATIVE NAD STILLMAN VOLVO. I HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT THE FAILURE OF THE THROTTLE SYSTEM IN VOLVO MODEL YEARS 1998 TO 2001 HAS BECOME A FAIRLY COMMON PROBLEM. I HAVE CONTACTED VOLVO VIA TELEPHONE AND AN AUTHORIZED VOLVO DEALER TO SEE IF VOLVO HAS A PROGRAM IN PLACE TO CORRECT A CLEARLY DEFECTIVE PART ON CARS OUT OF WARRANTY. VOLVO WAS UNWILLING TO WORK WITH ME. THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THE DEFECTIVE THROTTLE SYSTEM IS TO REPLACE IT WITH A NEW SYSTEM. THEREFORE, I WILL BE PAYING OUT OF POCKET APPROXIMATELY $900.00 FOR A NEW THROTTLE SYSTEM, A PART THAT SHOULD CERTAINLY LAST THE LIFE OF A CAR. *AK

CROSS COUNTRY; AS VEHICLE WAS COMING TO A STOP AT ABOUT 5 MPH, APPLIED BRAKES, AND ENGINE STARTED RACING. THE CONSUMER KEPT APPLYING THE BRAKES, BUT VEHICLE ACCELERATED, AND REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE ENGINE REMAINED RACING. THE VEHICLE THAT WAS REAR ENDED HAD BEEN PUSHED INTO THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. THE CONSUMER THEN TRIED TO SHIFT TO NEUTRAL BUT ENDED UP IN REVERSE INSTEAD. THE VEHICLE SPUN 180 DEGREES IN REVERSE, THEN HIT A GROVE OF TREES AND COME TO A STOP. THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED THE ENTIRE TIME. DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE WAS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. *AK *SCC *NLM