Volvo throttle module recall?

[jmoser]

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/03/1auto-170127.htm

Seems the truth is out regarding Volvo throttle body module failures.

Anyone who has paid for this outside warranty should raise holy he!! with your service manager.

Cannot remember if I cleaned mine at 30K with air filter change or not, have done my Toyota truck a few times over 74K.

[babalu87]

Great find
Just in time, mine has a rough idle @53,000
Going in for a key and fob, maybe i'll get the ETM replaced too.

Think I should print out the article and bring it with me? :D

[Tom H]

This not a good situation. Volvo is aware of this problem and has essentially tried to shove it under the rug so-to-speak. This failure is capable of causing a fatal accident or at the least placing the unaware driver in a vary compromising position. So much for Volvo safety.

[DonWillson]

Good for you guys and gals, raise a fuss. However, don't forget that the cleaning is only coincidental, it is the throttle position sensor. Until it is redesigned you are still driving a time bomb.

VEXED wants the 3 Rs.
Redesign to incorporate a non contacting throttle position sensor
Recall using the current design until a new design is developed
Reimburse for all costs incurred.

There are 512,000 of the 70 and 80 series cars and now I found some 60s.

I am sending out occasional notes to 70 VEXED memebers, no charge, just sent me your name, phone number, e-mail and a brief description of your failure. Would you be willing to be interviewed by LATimes or CBS Channel 4 Denver? Also make sure you include the mileage at failure and whether you think your under hood temperature is Texas, stop-and-go in August or Montans highway. It appears that the temperature of the ETM influences the life of the potentiometer.

Don Willson
[email protected]

[Filibuster]

This reminds me of the transmission glitch which I had on my MY03 (a well known problem which you can read about in several threads on this board). I had to go to Volvo several times before they managed to fix it (download new software) and everytime they appeared as if they never heard about it and almost question if I was not imagining it... When I took a loaner car I would have to pay for it, other times I took public transport and waisted a lot of my time.

For Gods sake Volvo, if there is a problem tell us about it and do a recall. Cover ups are criminal I'd say. In the case of the transmission glitch, Volvo knew about it (since there is a new software to download), why do they simply not contact all owners which have the bugged software and invite them to have the new software downloaded and if they cannot do it while you wait they should provide you with a free loaner. THen you could forgive them and perhaps put your trust in them the next time you are going to buy a car... I hate it when manufactures are deliberatly trying to cover up faults.

I'd bet there is a lot of car out there which still have the faulty software since some persons are just not aware enough to notice that the transmission behaves funny occasionally or cannot be bothered .

[john65b]

I also am glad to see this TB issue come to a head with Volvo. When I questioned a Volvo salesman here in Salt Lake about the throttle body problems on a potential used XC70 purchase, he said he and the Volvo service department had no idea what I was talking about. Then I sent him a few of the threads regrading the TB issues from VolvoXC.com, and he requested that I deal directly with the sales supervisor from that point on. That was enough for me to purchase a used XC70 elsewhere, which I eventually did. I mean what the heck, why would I want to pay an extra $4500 for the "Certified" used XC70 and not be any better off than buying from a private party? Get real. Just for the hell of it I looked them up (they are the only Volvo dealer in SLC) and the BBB website had an "UNSATISFACTORY" rating for them....

Luckily there's another Independent Volvo service center in town I will deal with from here on out. I just don't trust them...

[Len]

The article said that Volvo start to fix ETM on early 02 models. Is this meaning that models after 02 do not have an ETM problems anymore?

[01XC70Idaho]

I have an 01 XC and live in Idaho. We have 9000 miles and 3 months left on our warranty. I will be in Denver the week of May 23rd and am going to have some warranty work done. (Upper motor mount and leaky power steering line.) Is there any chance of me getting the throttle body changed at the same time? What should I tell the dealer... it's not a recall yet, but at the same time I want it changed before I travel back to the land of no Volvo mechanics!

Also, do any of you have any suggestions of common problems I could check before I go to the dealer for repairs. This will probably be the last time I can get to a dealer before my warranty runs out.

Thanks

[Edmonds17]

Go into the dealer and complain. They won't fix it but you should complain anyway.

Volvo won't replace a throttle body until the car dies. Dumb, but that's Volvo's policy.

Living a long distance from a Volvo dealer is a serious problem. Volvo "Customer Care" says it's your fault "for living in a sparsely populated area." They should put a warning label on these cars saying "Warning: These cars can only be repaired at a Volvo dealer." That way, people would understand when they buy the cars that service is almost impossible at independent garages.

Hope you make it back to Idaho.

Edmonds17

[Bluegrass-XC]

01XC70Idaho - How many total miles are on your 2001? Tell the dealer you've experienced intermittent failures. Say that you've experienced rough idling and hesitation when accelerating. Say you've had the dash light (ETS) come on for no reason and when you stopped and restarted the car the light went out. Same thing for the car going into "limp-home" mode (on an extremely busy 4-lane). Pulled over - turned car off, then restrart with no problem.

I experienced ALL OF THE ABOVE beginning around 60,000 miles. I had the ETM replaced under third party extended warranty at 66,000 miles. I also had mine "cleaned" to the tune of $241 and it lasted ONE MONTH - rough idle and hesitatation came right back. I live in a warmer climate (Florida panhandle - gulf coast) so I suspect my problems excellerated with the warmer temperatures. The final two "near failures" occured at the beginning and end of a 650 mile trip (each way).

I'm not telling you to lie to your dealer if you haven't experienced any problems. Without knowing how many miles are on the current unit, there's no way to accurately access your situation and advise you on how to proceed.

[01XC70Idaho]

My 2001 XC has 41000 miles on it. I called the dealer today and told them I would be bringing it in for the motor mount and leaky power steering bottle. I mentioned to him that it had a rough idle and he sort of got defensive about it. "What do you mean rough idle?"... "Well, our mechanic will have to duplicate the problem here in order to fix it."

I just don't want to get stuck with a bad throttle body four hours away from the nearest dealer!

Are there any other things I should check before taking this thing in? There is a light out in the dash which lights the temperature dial for the passenger... are these lights covered under warranty? I want to check every little thing that could be a common problem and have the dealer deal with them before the warranty is up.

Thanks in advance

[Bluegrass-XC]

01XC70Idaho - Don't take any crap from the dealer if he gets defensive about "rough idling". He damn well knows what's going on with the ETM by now - or at least SHOULD know.

The dealer here listened to me when I told him I knew how the ETM was "supposed" to function and I knew why it wasn't functioning properly. I also mentioned the california "secret warranty" and he basicly backed off and did what I asked him to do - clean the ETM. He did tell me that he advised against it and suggested replacement - at around $1,000. Being the stubborn cuss that I am - I ignored him and had it cleaned - only to have it last about a month. What I didn't know at the time was that my extended warranty (third party) covered the damn thing (until I forced the issue with my independent mechanic). I just wasn't ready to bend over. You shouldn't either.

[dtlayman]

Don,
We were experiencing the symptoms that have been discussed but we didn't know what was happening. One evening, thankfully in town, we pulled out on a busy 2 lane road and the car lost power and the check engine light came on and we creeped up the hill and pulled off the road. The car acted like it wouldn't start and then after a few tries it started up and ran in limp mode. We drove to the gas station and put gas in the car and waited a few minutes and the car seemed to start and act normal with same symptoms we had experienced before. We called the dealer and drove the car 1 hour to the dealer. At 57,000 miles they said I needed to replace the throttle module and accelerator pedal sensor (DTC ECM-9150 and ECM-904D). When I ask about cleaning they discouraged us. The dealer worked with us and we ended up paying for 1/3 to replace.

Keep us posted - Travis Layman, 540-574-0204, [email protected].

Also, we live in Virginia and this occurred during the month of February. 1/2 of our driving is city stop and go and 1/2 is long trips to take the kids to see the grandparents. I am just thankful that this didn't occur on the interstate out of town with the kids or when we needed power to avoid an accident,etc. This is a SAFETY and QUALITY issue! Thanks for your work.

[john65b]

DTLAYMAN...

What did you ask or say to the Volvo dealer to get them to reduce the price by 2/3? I can't get my Volvo service manager to work with me at all...at 57k you should be out of warranty, right? Or is it just the case where you had the car from new and the dealer service Manager gave you a break?

Or is your last name Gotti??

Just curious....

[funglenn]

Interesting, my throttle body began to have a rough idle at 29,000 miles, and I merely took it in to the dealer and they replaced it same day. They gave me no hassle whatsoever. It was no where near dead when they replaced it.

I really loved Don Beyer Volvo in Alexandria. They also did the transmission software upgrade for free. Of course my 01 was still under warranty.

I love it, but am concerned about such a wide spread issue, it is making me pause about buying an XC90

[AWD*V70XC]

Interesting, but am concerned about such a wide spread issue, it is making me pause about buying an XC90

Forget your pause, there are no known issues relating to the ETM and XC90's, go ahead and get your '90, if you really want it, you will enjoy it.

[dtlayman]

We bought the car new with this dealer and I think they called it "goodwill" since it wasn't that far out of warranty. I am thankful for the break for now but I hope to see more from Volvo - recall with re-engineered ETM. Otherwise we will have serious questions in the future when it comes to Volvo.

[sherwinb]

I have a 2001 with 100,000k I bought used. about three weeks ago. It runs great but yesterday was the second time the "reduced performance" message popped up and i felt the car was going to die. I let it sit for 5 minutes started it again and it drove great.
Can anybody tell me if this is even worth taking up with Volvo or should I just got get the ETM replaced. I am curious to see if this has been changed previously on my car or not (carfax didn’t reveal this fact).

Will they charge me at the dealership if I ask them to hook up the computer to figure out the error codes and would this confirm the ETM problem I am speculating?

I absolutely loved my local Volvo dealership, they went over and beyond to help me many time with my older Volvo models, however, with my newest '01 all I get is bad attitudes and rude parts and service people. Any advice would be appreciated.

[littlewaywelt]

I have a 2001 with 100,000k I bought used. about three weeks ago. It runs great but yesterday was the second time the "reduced performance" message popped up and i felt the car was going to die. I let it sit for 5 minutes started it again and it drove great.
Can anybody tell me if this is even worth taking up with Volvo or should I just got get the ETM replaced. I am curious to see if this has been changed previously on my car or not (carfax didn’t reveal this fact).

Will they charge me at the dealership if I ask them to hook up the computer to figure out the error codes and would this confirm the ETM problem I am speculating?

I absolutely loved my local Volvo dealership, they went over and beyond to help me many time with my older Volvo models, however, with my newest '01 all I get is bad attitudes and rude parts and service people. Any advice would be appreciated.
There's no reason carfax would know about something like that.
If you bought it used about three weeks ago, I'd demand the dealership take care of it. It will be an $850-1100 repair.

[sherwinb]

I didnt expect Carfax to reveal this problem, the only reasons I mentioned that is because it did mention a fan recall. The car was not purchased from a dealer (private purchase) but I will talk to the dealership and see what my options are I guess. Would prolonged driving while this issue is present wreck anything or just continue to deteriorate the ETM?

[AWD*V70XC]

Would prolonged driving while this issue is present wreck anything or just continue to deteriorate the ETM?

The only problem will be caused to the ETM. When it gets sicker there will be no turning back. You will always have the symptoms of a spluttering engine. If you get the light Performance Reduced on the max speed you will be able to do is 70 mph, you will also find the engine holding down a gear and high revs, this of course will produce higher fuel consumption. You could find someone to clean the module out, this has worked on other members cars and is a hell of a lot cheaper than getting it replaced.

[littlewaywelt]

I didnt expect Carfax to reveal this problem, the only reasons I mentioned that is because it did mention a fan recall. The car was not purchased from a dealer (private purchase) but I will talk to the dealership and see what my options are I guess. Would prolonged driving while this issue is present wreck anything or just continue to deteriorate the ETM?
carfax will only mention recalls. Still, you should contact the dealer to make sure all recall work has been completed.
Eventually the car won't go, which could be a few days or a few weeks. I would contact the seller as well, especially if there wasn't an "as is." Did you sign a contact?

[GoMocs]

Will fuel conditioner help? Should i even be using the stuff? I use lucas fuel treatment.

[sherwinb]

Where is this ETM located? If enough of us write into Volvo is there a chance we can get this $1000 subsidized. I mean this ETM isnt something we would think to replace due to wear and tear like brake pads. Moreso, this issues is not cause by how one drives the car, its random right?

I just called the dealership, after being put on hold for nearly 30 minutes i finally spoke with an "advisor" who said I should bring in the car and pay 181.90 for them to hook it up and tell me the codes. I was shocked!

When asked how much the replacment ETM part and service would cost she said she did not know and couldnt tell me today. When I asked if she had heard of this replacement she replied its very rare. I DONT GET IT!!

[V70bad]

Hello
Has Volvo moved forward on recalling for the ETM? This just happened to me on a very busy street,
The cars computer displayed the message (performance reduced) then the car started to die right in the middle of major traffic
I barely made it to safety. I have a 1-year daughter this scared the Hell out of me!

[sherwinb]

I was debating writing in again to discuss my specific issues with the ETM. It is happening when I sit in stop and go traffic. Once the traffic opens up and I can gas it freely, the car will show reduced performance and stop.

I know there is some traction for the recall, but I have not heard of an official recall going on. I hope I am wrong??

[tgrumaj]

From some of the posts on the First Gen. board if anything it sounds like Ford/Volvo is digging in thier heels in light of the suit and attempting to be even more rigid on the "it's maintanance and your problem" stance they have been taking selectively. Lot's more "hard line" responses from dealers and regional reps in response to requests for warrenty treatment or replacement of the ETM. This is very much classic Ford, GM approach to these types of problems vs. Toyota, BMW, Honda approach. We'll see how long the pain has to last before they cave and how much impact on the brand. That latter one hurts the most for me personally as I have been a Volvo owner and loved my Volvos since 1989. But I'm afraid this isn't my "fathers Volvo" anymore. Still a good car, but the corporate philosophy definately is changing and I'm not a big fan of that change. Bottom line is we all need to keep pushing and complaining to all avaiable representatives both inside and outside the company. See Don Wilson's posts and help in his VEXED effort. That's your best approach for now.

[DonWillson]

Here is an update on the activities of VEXED?
Don Willson for VEXED
[email protected]

A couple of weeks ago I sent out an e-mail to about 100 dealers in the US. It expanded on Myron Levin's article in the LA Times. I explained that the problem was not deposits in the throttle bore and even included a photo of a damaged potentiometer film.
A few days later I was told that all of the e-mail addresses on the web sites had been removed. Interestingly enough no one replied to the letter.
If you have a dealer you want the letter for, send me their E-mail address and I'll send the article. Use [email protected] and put "Please send" in the subject line and their e-mail in the body. Or you can print out the attachment.

I checked Europe and Asia and was able to get about 1000 e-mail addresses. It was translated into Italian by a VEXED member in Milan and sent to dealers in Italy. I'm waiting for help on a German translation.

I have an appointment with an Investigator at an ABC affilate TV station on June 16th. On their web site they say, "The Investigators -- tackle stories that uncover fraud, corruption, and cover-ups." How does Volvo fit in here, 1 of 3, 2 of 3 or 3 of 3? I included suggestions for them to investigate.

I met with the Director of Constituent Services for my U.S. Congresswoman and when I explained the sudden failure she said "that's terrifying". I was requesting that she, for my congresswoman, find out why NHTSA has not done an investigation considering their are over 100 complaints recorded.
She is also going to request that they start an investigation. She sent my failure analysis and their list of comlaints. I impressed on her that just recalling and replacing the ETM with another of the same design was not acceptable, we want a redesign.

I sent the dealer's letter to Warranty Week magazine.

This was in the news this week. The important thing is "to fix safety defects that include sudden stalling." Previously we had these quotes from Ford, "Stalling is not a safety problem, our cars have enough momentum to get to the side of the road." and "I would not worry if my daughter's car stalled on the LA freeway, she carries a cell phone."

Updated: 2:37 p.m. ET June 13, 2005

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 260,000 vehicles, most of them large pickup trucks, to fix safety defects that include sudden stalling of diesel engines, U.S. federal safety regulators said Monday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the stalling problem affects F-Series Super Duty pickups from the 2004-2005 model years as well as the 2004-2005 Ford Excursion full-size sport utility vehicle and E350 and E450 vans.

About 180,100 of these vehicles are equipped with 6.0 liter diesel engines and the recall stems from a potentially faulty fuel injection control module, NHTSA said.

Beyond the 260,000 vehicles that NHTSA revealed, Ford said an additional 18,000 vehicles are also being recalled in Canada and Mexico, company spokeswoman Kristen Kinley told Reuters Monday.

Two reports of minor injuries have been linked to the problem, Kinley said.
(Apparanty VEXEDed problem is that we have no injuries to our knowledge)

She said Ford was also investigating 2003 model-year F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks equipped with the 6.0 liter diesel engines due to various engine performance issues.

Ford, which has warned of significantly lower earnings this year, has said its core automotive operations may not be profitable in 2005. The second-largest U.S. automaker also has been losing U.S. sales and market share to Japanese-led rivals. (may we help, 800,000 cars at $500 to $1,000 each for

Separately, NHTSA said Monday Ford was recalling 78,675 Super Duty pickups and chassis cab vehicles from the 2005 model year because their fuel line may separate from the main fuel bundle.

Fuel line separation can cause engine stalling or leakage, possibly resulting in a fire, NHTSA said.

The agency identified the trucks affected by the recall as F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty pickups and said they were equipped with 5.4 or 6.8 liter gasoline engines.

No accidents or injuries have been linked to the fuel line problem, Kinley said.

[littlewaywelt]

Outstanding work.

[DonWillson]

Here is an update on the activities of VEXED?
I met with the Director of Constituent Services for my U.S. Congresswoman and when I explained the sudden failure she said "that's terrifying". I was requesting that she, for my congresswoman, find out why NHTSA has not done an investigation considering their are over 100 complaints recorded.
She is also going to request that they start an investigation. She sent my failure analysis and their list of comlaints. I impressed on her that just recalling and replacing the ETM with another of the same design was not acceptable, we want a redesign.said.

Just before noon today, June 15th, I received a call from an investigator at NHTSA. Apparantly my congresswoman's Director of Consitituent Services had some pull.

I could not tell how much of my data he had read but offered to send hime anything else he needed,The NHTSA guy, I'll call him Dan, asked some insightful questions and listened well. Some of his questions were:
Q. How does the limp-home work.
A. One spring and a stop sets the no power/limp home position. The other acts line a normal throttle return spring. The servo motor is able to drive against either and drive it to idle or full throttle.

Q. Do other cars use this ETM? A. Not as far as I have been able to determine.

Q. What method do others use for TPS? A. I have seen one other potentiometer though it is built different on a Bosch.

Q. Is this potentiometer replaceable? A. Not that I have been able to figure out.

Q. I'm having a hard time equating this to safety, but I am trying. A. There was just a recall on Ford diesels and Touoto Prius fir stakkung as a safety issure.

Q. Has it failed on you. A. I don't own one, it is the car that my granddaughters will learn to drive in.

Q. How does the car act when it is failitng?
A. Early on it hesitates and surges.
Then later on it goes into alimp home mode.
When you do some action like exit from a freeway is sometimes stalls.

I mentioned my e-mail to the administrator that had over 100 cases listed.
I told him the e-mail addresses had been pulled from US dealer's web sites.

I have his e-mail and name and will be sending him strong evidence as to the safety but not covering him up with incidental information.

DonWillson for VEXED
[email protected]

[XC70Geo]

Good signs Don, great work. I think, the technical data and evidences you gathered are clear, I hope the guy at NHTSA will read them carefully.

[tgrumaj]

Your work (and the objectivity and detail of that work) with the NHTSA I believe is the best approach to get this remedied. This is exactly the type of pressure that will make a recall and rebuild of the part happen. Given the foucs on "safety" maybe a link with people giving info on the "story" of their experience with an ETM failure and a focus on the danger or risk that was associated with the incident would allow us to build a case for the NHTSA. I've read some pretty "scary" stories on variouis web sites (Here, Brickboard, etc.) and it's fortunate someone has not been hurt directly by the loss of power/stall or that that incident hasn't lead to some other problem indirectly (e.g. broken down in a dangerous area and something happens)

[vector]

I just ran across this site looking up Electronic Throttle Modules (ETM) on google. You guys are great.

My wife and kids were heading home yesterday on I95 in CT and the car (2001 XC70) suddenly lost power. I95 to begin with is death defying but when you lose the use of your "gas pedal" things really get grim. They had to cut across 2 lanes to get to the breakdown lane narrowly missing being run over by semi's and others. The car was towed to the Volvo dealer, diagnostics were run and I got the call saying the ETM was shot. $1200!

This is the last straw with this car. We have had bad wiring harnesses, dried out bushings etc. etc. All on a 2001 car. I can't believe they are putting peoples lives at risk and not admitting they have a problem. This has the MO of a typical Ford cover-up. Volvo is going to reimburse me for this one!

Again thanks for all the great information and be careful out there.

[Bluegrass-XC]

Ahhhhh .... another happy customer. :D

[anna123]

I think that each incident needs to be reported to www.nhtsa.dot.gov as well as Volvo. Just posting it here educates some people, but this needs a RECALL before someone is killed.

[tgrumaj]

Vector,
It's critical for all users that you report this incident to the NHTSA on thier web site. It's easy to do and there is a critical need to get them involved in the recall effort. Your help is much appreciated.
Thanks

[anna123]

Reminder to all:
Even if your vehicle is not affected or if the unit has been replaced, just think, you might be following an affected unit on the highway that comes to a sudden and unexpected crawl. YOU would be at fault if you hit them. Please make calls for everyone's safety. I know that is why many of you purchased your car to begin with, you have a vested interest in safety.

[vector]

Vector,
It's critical for all users that you report this incident to the NHTSA on thier web site. It's easy to do and there is a critical need to get them involved in the recall effort. Your help is much appreciated.
Thanks

Just filed the complaint. I can't put into words how pi&%$d off I am at Volvo and the dealer. It is a shame that someone is going to have to get killed before these smug bastards do something. If there is anyone else that can make things happen please let me know.

[littlewaywelt]

I filed a complaint a few days ago.

[ArtSmart]

Does anybody know if the ETM was redesigned or all of us with '03 '04 '05s are driving a time bomb?

What the heck was I thinking when I decided to go with Volvo? Should've chosen a 2 year old Audi A4 AWD. It was $18 000, 2.8L Turbo engine and highest marks for safety rating.

[tgrumaj]

As far as I have read 03+ (and I think most 02s) are not an issue. However, since most don't have the miles that 99-01s have who knows what will develop as the years and miles add up. At least at this point the problem seems focused on 99-01 model years. Enjoy that XC and don't worry. Let us "first gen" and 01 owners worry. And by the way....I'd worry more about an Audi! While I'm not familiar with the newer ones...the 02 and earlier have some issues as well. Check the Audi boards. Plus tons more room in an XC than an A4 Audi.

[ArtSmart]

I would have to disagree about 03+ not to be an issue. I haven't been able to find any information about Volvo redesigning ETM on later models. As far as I understand it is still the same.

There was a post on another forum about ETM failing on a 2004 XC70 (http://www.volvo-forums.com/t1600-2004-xc-in-the-shop-after-one-week.htm) :mad:

[Jack]

I don't know how true this is, but have no reason to suspect otherwise. This was posted near here (http://www.v70xc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6026&page=2&pp=10) a while ago:

The '02 and later Volvos appear to have less of a problem for two reasons. First, most '02's and later don't yet have the mileage of the '99 to '01's. Second, Volvo shifted in '02 and later years to a throttle body from Bosch. The '99 -'01 Volvos use a Magneti Marelli throttle body. Magneti Marelli is a Division of the Fiat Group. I suspect the Bosch throttle body is a slightly better unit than the Fiat version. The Bosch units will still fail but probably not as soon.

I'm hoping for the best with my 05XC, but for now it's leased for 45K miles!

[kyoshojoe]

Got this from brickboard.com, check it out to read more...

---
"G�teborgs-Posten 2005-05-06 15:10
Unclear how Volvo will handle malfunctioning throttles

G�teborg
Volvo Personvagnar has sold approximaltely 860 000 cars with the electronic throttle which is often subjected to failures
Approximately 120 000 cars with the throttle in question is in Sweden. Many more, 360 000, have been sold in the U.S.
The throttle is a part of the system that has replace the old carburettors
- The throttle controls the air flow to the engine, and therefore also the rpm. The failure may imply that the car goes down to idle while driving. This is the first the customer experience, the Volvo press chief Christer Gustafsson
says to TT.
Volvo Personvagnar has not yet decided how to act. Gustafsson do not want to exclude any alternative before the on-going discussions within the company are finished.

The most extensive is to recall and fix all the 860 000 cars. Another possibility is to give an extended warranty to the car owners. Different solutions on different markets can not be excluded. An answer from Volvo can be expected first within some weeks.
The company is not willing to give any calculation of the cost the failing throttles may cause. Considering the large number of affected cars, the economic effect can be expected to be significant, possibly billions (SEK)
- In Sweden, between 4000 and 5000 cars have already been repaired. In most cases within warranty, Christer Gustafsson says.
The failing throttles was delivered to Volvo by an Italian company. In the cars of model years later than 2001, the component has been bought from another source.
The throttles can either be replaced, or be fixed by changing the software that controls the function.

The problem affects five- and six-cylinder S60, V70, XC70 and S80 with petrol engines, and affects model year 1999, 2000 and 2001

TT "
---

[pbear95]

Howdy All,

I am on vacation in Canada visiting family and almost got killed last night. I was making a right hand turn in my V70XC and pulled out in to traffic in front of a fully loaded dump truck that was pulling a fully loaded dump trailer. I had at least 1000 ft & enough time to accelerate - to my surprise the engine stalled. To avoid collision the dump truck had to swerve forcing two other cars off the road. When everyone came to a stop, there were a lot of very upset people - I had some serious explaining to do. Enough of last night’s adventure!!!

This morning, I took my 2001 V70XC w/ 76K miles to the local dealer and instructed them to diagnose & fix the problem. Last night after the near miss adventure, I spent hours reading this forum and all of the VEXED posts. I was certain, I already knew it was an ETM failure and was correct and when Volvo presented me the repair quote - in excess of $1100 CDN + taxes.

I immediately called Volvo USA Customer Relations; the Customer Service lady was not at all helpful and certainly was not in a position to offer assistance of any kind. More importantly, not willing to admit Volvo had any issues with failing ETM’s. She told me that Volvo USA had only just received the NTSB request for failure inquiry last Friday! (Her explanations lead me to believe this was not a full blown investigation – only an inquiry, what ever that means!!!) She did however acknowledge that Volvo Sweden was looking after issues over there, unfortunately nothing for the North American Market. She took my information and left me hanging with the bill & the outcome of the inquiry.

I then spoke to the local Volvo Service Advisor again and asked if they could do anything. I also asked that they hold onto the failed ETM as I was ready to send it to Don Wilson of VEXED for failure analysis. I then called Volvo Canada Customer Relations – thinking what could it hurt? I explained the failure and that the car was currently being fixed at the local dealer – he asked if I knew the mode of failure and confirmed exactly what the dealer had told me – the computer diagnostics showed the ETM failure. He said he would be in touch with the dealer or would call me back tomorrow. To my surprise, I received a call from the dealer to learn Volvo Canada’s “Good Will” was looking after the replacement.

My baby is back and runs like a dream… for now anyway! I know this is an interim band-aid solution and will fail again in another 40 to 60K miles. I was extremely pleased with the service I received today; this experience renewed my faith in Volvo, Volvo Canada at least, still not sure about what to think of Volvo USA.

The ultimate will be when Volvo - World Wide, initiates a total recall with a completely re-engineered design that will not fail.

[Pasi]

pbear95, sorry for our traumatic experience. I did a search in Goteborgs Posten archives and found many articles (in Swedish) about the problem:

http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=853&a=215529

[Sasquatch]

...
For Gods sake Volvo, if there is a problem tell us about it and do a recall. Cover ups are criminal I'd say. ....

Ever see the movie "Fight Club"? Remember what the star did for a living?

:-)

[nuvolvo2001]

Before your car totally failed, did you experience any problems such as rough idling or perhaps other stalls?

[tkirwan]

I have an '02 with 62K miles. We just got back from a 3K mile trip. On the last 200 miles or so of the trip we noticed the car would have incidents of single engine 'skips'. Now that we're home, the car idles very roughly when started until it warms up, and 'skips' more often during regular driving. We are scheduled for a 60K maintenance at a local non-dealer repair shop (very honest, knowledgable, and reliable). At that time we'll know if it's an ETM or not. I'll keep the group posted.

[Sasquatch]

I have an '02 with 62K miles. We just got back from a 3K mile trip. On the last 200 miles or so of the trip we noticed the car would have incidents of single engine 'skips'. Now that we're home, the car idles very roughly when started until it warms up, and 'skips' more often during regular driving. We are scheduled for a 60K maintenance at a local non-dealer repair shop (very honest, knowledgable, and reliable). At that time we'll know if it's an ETM or not. I'll keep the group posted.

Vapor lock? Fuel filter? We had a Nissan truck which had icing, that is right ICING on the fuel line which caused stalling. After sitting 5 minutes it started right up again (ice melted from engine's heat). Go figure.