2001 Volvo V70XC

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 VOLVO V70XC. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE HESITATED UNTIL THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS ENGAGED FORCEFULLY. IN ADDITION, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000.

WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEED ON AN INTERSTATE MY CAR LOST POWER COMPLETELY. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE SHOULDER SAFELY AND CALL VOLVO ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALERSHIP WHERE IT SAT FOR A MONTH BECAUSE THE PROBLEM COULDN'T BE DETERMINED. THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO ME. ABOUT SIX MONTHS LATER THE SAME EXPERIENCE OCCURRED, ONCE AGAIN WHILE TRAVELING AT A HIGH SPEED ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. THE "PROBLEM" WAS FIXED AGAIN. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN AND OUT OF THE DEALERSHIP FOR VARIOUS REASONS FOR YEARS. WHEN I WAS FINALLY FED UP WITH IT AND DECIDED TO SELL IT, IT NEEDED MORE ELECTRICAL WORK. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT A DEALERSHIP LISTENED TO THE PROBLEMS I HAD WITH THE CAR OVER THE YEARS AND FELT THAT IT WARRANTED A CALL TO THE VOLVO REP. I GAVE HIM ALL WORK ORDERS WHICH I HAVE FROM THE PURCHASE DATE OF THE CAR. HE WAS TOLD BY THE VOLVO REP THAT SINCE ALL REPAIR WORK HAD NOT BEEN DONE AT A VOLVO DEALERSHIP THEY COULDN'T HELP ME. NORMAL WORK SUCH AS OIL CHANGES, ETC. WERE DONE BY A MECHANIC WHO ONLY WORKS ON SAABS AND VOLVOS. UPON LOOKING FOR THE NAMES OF VOLVO EXECS THAT I COULD WRITE A LETTER TO I STUMBLED ON A WEBSITE ABOUT VOLVO PROBLEMS AND PEOPLE WHO WERE TRYING TO HOLD THE COMPANY ACCOUNTABLE FOR MECHANICAL FAILURES OF ANY TYPE. I WROTE TO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO STARTED THE WEBSITE AND HE SUGGESTED THAT I SEND MY E-MAIL TO STEPHEN MCHENRY AT NHTSA WHICH I DID. AFTER TRYING FOR MANY DAYS TO DO SO AND FAILING TO CONNECT BECAUSE OF SOME PROBLEM WITH THE MESSAGE TRYING TO REACH MR. MCHENRY I JUST LET IT GO. WE NEED TO SELL THE CAR BECAUSE WE CAN'T AFFORD TO FIX ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED. THE PROBLEM IS HOW DO I SELL A CAR THAT NEEDS OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS OF WORK? I AM FORWARDING THE E-MAIL I TRIED TO SEND TO STEPHEN MCHENRY TO YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. WHAT CAN I DO? AM I TOO LATE IN REPORTING THIS? WHAT DO YOU ADVISE ME TO DO? THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. SUSAN K. LUXEM *TR

ETM/ECM REPLACED 1/2006. SUBSEQUENT SOFTWARE UPGRADE 05/08/2006, 08/09/2006. ROUGH CRANKING IDLE. SUBSEQUENT SHIFTING PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSION. FOLLOW UP WITH SOFTWARE UPGRADE TCM ON AUG. 9, 2006. PROBLEM STILL PRESENT. TRANSMISSION SHIFTING JERKS BETWEEN 2 AND 3RD GEAR UPON ACCELERATION/DECELERATION. ROUGH SHIFTING WITH KICK DOWN SHIFTING AT SPEEDS +60 MPH. *JB

MY VEHICLE STALLS WITH NO WARNING. 1. NO WARNING, SEEMINGLY NO EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. 2. FAILURE MANIFESTS ITSELF IN A COMPLETE SHUT-DOWN OF CAR. THE CAR BECOMES A HAZARD WHEREVER FAILURE OCCURS, ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAY. NO POWER STEERING OR POWER BRAKES. 3. THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED FOR THIS PROBLEM ON 6 OCCASIONS. DEALER REPLACED THROTTLE BODY TWICE, ABS CONTROL MODULE THREE TIMES, AND A WIRE HARNESS, WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT THE PROBLEM IS REMEDIED. *JB

TRAVELING ON LOCAL ROAD, LOST POWER GOING UP HILL. WITHIN SECONDS CAR COMPLETELY DEAD. SOME ALARMING MESSAGE CAME ON, LIKE "TOTAL SYSTEM FAILURE" WITH THE EXCLAMATION POINT IN RED. CAR WOULD NOT START. CALLED VOLVO ON CALL AND WAS TOWED AFTER WAITING AN HOUR ON ROAD. NO SHOULDER ON ROAD. PAID $1300 TO HAVE ETM REPLACED BY VOLVO SERVICE IN WESTPORT, CT. NOT TOLD THAT THIS WAS VERY COMMON PART THAT NEEDED REPLACING.. ONLY FOUND OUT AFTER A WEB SEARCH. *NM

I WAS IN HEAVY COMMUTE TRAFFIC, GOING ABOUT 60 MPH, WHEN MY VOLVO CROSS COUNTRY [2001] SUDDENLY LOST POWER. AFTER TOWING, I WAS TOLD THAT MY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE HAD FAILED. THE REPLACEMENT COST WAS ABOUT $1100. SUBSEQUENTLY, I WAS MADE AWARE THAT THIS IS UNDER INVESTIGATION AND A CLASS ACTION IS FILED IN CA. I HAD NO EARLIER PROBLEMS OF THIS NATURE, AND HAVE ALWAYS MAINTAINED MY CAR. I HOPE THAT YOUR INVESTIGATION IS FRUITFUL, AS THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. MY SITUATION COULD HAVE RESULTED IN ONE OR MORE FATALITIES. *NM

ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2005, MY WIFE WAS DRIVING OUR 2001 VOLVO V70XC IN THE LEFT LANE OF A BUSY FOUR-LANE STREET DURING RUSH HOUR. WITHOUT WARNING, THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER. FORTUNATELY, MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER THE CAR ACROSS THE LANES OF ON-COMING TRAFFIC INTO A PARKING LOT. IN IDLE, THE CAR WAS SHUDDERING. ONCE TURNED OFF, THE CARE WOULD NOT INITIALLY RESTART. AFTER A FEW ATTEMPTS, THE CAR DID RESTART AND WE WERE SUBSEQUENTLY ABLE TO DRIVE IT TO THE LOCAL VOLVO DEALERSHIP (PEDERSON VOLVO). IN THE INTERIM, MY WIFE TALKED WITH A SERVICE MANAGER WHO SAID HE WAS ALMOST CERTAIN THIS WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM). SUBSEQUENT ANALYSIS AT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMED THAT THE ETM HAD FAILED AND WOULD REQUIRE REPLACEMENT. WHEN QUESTIONED, THE SERVICE MANAGER ADMITTED THAT THE FAILURE OF ETMS WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION. HE ALSO INDICATED THAT WE WOULD BE REIMBURSED SHOULD A RECALL BE ISSUED. *NM