2001 Volvo V70: sudden loss of power

Filed Sep 21, 2010 · Transmission · 139,000 miles · OK

Automatic transmission on 2001 volvo v70 2.4t - transmission service required light is on, check engine warning light is on, as well as orange exclamation. Also no delayed shifts. Got the feeling this should be a recall item. While stopped at a light or stop sign I hear the transmission ?falling out of place? And shortly after the gas pedal is applied the transmission grabs with a hard slam/audible clunking noise but for a second you have no control of vehicle and if on a hill it rolls a little bit before transmission kicks in. No accidents yet, but I fear driving it at all, since the slip could result in total loss of power to the wheels while the automatic transmission shifts. I have told the service technicians at volvo in tulsa, ok about this issue, but they have not resolved the problem. Their advice is to purchase a new car on trade-in or spend $5,000 on a new transmission. This should not be happening to volvo even at 140,000 miles. I firmly believe the problem is a potentially deadly one in that it could happen to anyone at anytime and anywhere in stop and go traffic. Now the vehicle's electronic climate control is dead (no power to it) and the same service technicians at the same dealer now tells me it needs to be replaced for $1400. The sunroof also has a mind of its own and works whenever it wants. Sounds like a lot of electric issues at the same time which leads me to believe it is not a transmission problem but a computer/electric issue.

Filed Dec 3, 2007 · Transmission · 70,000 miles · FL

I am the original owner of a 2001 volvo v70 station wagon with 88,000 miles on it. It has received its regularly scheduled servicing. I have brought this vehicle back to the dealer numerous times, once while under an extended warranty and now while it is no longer under extended warranty service. The reason was to have them check and repair the slipping transmission. The slip occurs between 1st & 2nd, and 2nd & 3rd. This is about the 20-40mph range. When it slips, the tran sometimes revs up to 4,000 and the engine just revs up for a few seconds, (in a stalling-like fashion) then the transmission grabs with a hard slam/audible clunking noise. I have told the dealer that this is very dangerous as it leaves you in an "out-of-control" state. They dealer can find no codes on the transmission to document the problem, but does agree that the slippage occurs. They have done s/w updates to make it shift better. We just spent $1500.00 on making the problem go away, but yet it is still there. The transmission has been slipping since before the last extended warranty servicing, but has recently become very much escalated since even coming out of service. I don't know how they could even have sent us home in this car with my family in it. It immediately went back for repair the next day after the $1500 servicing. No accidents yet, but I fear driving it at all, since the slip could result in total loss of power to the wheels while the automatic transmission shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. I have told the service technicians at volvo of this concern, but they have not resolved the problem. Their advice is to purchase a new car on trade-in or spend $5,000 on a new transmission. This should not be happening to a car driving only on city streets for less than 45 minutes at a time and at only 88,000 miles. I firmly believe the problem is a potentially deadly one in that it could happen to anyone at anytime and anywhere in stop and go traffic.

Filed May 7, 2006 · Acceleration · 67,276 miles · NC

On the way to an appointment my wife was driving our volvo v70 t5 on a major highway when suddenly the car lost power and a message stating "performance reduction" was visible on the console. The car felt like it was about to stall at any minute and was only able to be driven at 20 MPH. She was able to pull the car over to the hard shoulder but as she was about to enter a section where road works had removed any hard shoulder she decided to stop and call for help. We arranged for a tow truck to pick the car up and take it to our nearest volvo dealer. When we arrived there and explained what had happened the first question asked by the service rep was "have you had the etm recall performed ?" I stated that we were not aware of any recall and had not received any letter from volvo of north america. 2 days latter once the car had been diagnosed by the dealer it was discovered that it had been caused by an etm/ECM failure. The replacement part number was 30785453. I also spoke with volvo of north america and was informed that there was no recall but a warranty extension on that particular part. I asked why I had not received a letter yet concerning it and was informed that they we still in the process of sending them out. Since then I have discover evidence that the letter was available since november 2005.

Filed Mar 31, 2006 · Acceleration · 75,400 miles · CA

Electronic throttle module failed on 2001 volvo v70 t5 at 75,400 miles. Failures of this component are common due to poor design of etm. Vehicle goes into "limp home" mode at unpredictable times. Most recent failure was as my wife was merging with traffic onto freeway. From 55 MPH vehicle suddenly lost power and reduced speed to 20 MPH in traffic!. My wife crept over to the shoulder and called a tow truck.

Filed Mar 28, 2006 · Acceleration · 65,000 miles · CO

Failure of "electronic throttle module (etm)". Loss of power while driving with no advanced warning or other indication immanent failure. Car went into "limp home mode" which provides enough power for the vehicle to be driven, but because the engine management computer attempts to keep a fixed, somewhat above idle, throttle setting, releasing the throttle does not result in engine braking as normal for a manual transmission vehicle. Neither situation, loss of power or loss of throttle control, is acceptable and could cause an accident. The sudden loss of power nearly resulted in my being rear ended, luckily the driver behind me reacted quickly enough to avoid hitting me. The dealer installed new software in the etm in an attempt to rectify the problem.

Filed Jan 10, 2006 · Acceleration · 44,000 miles · CA

My wife was on one of the busiest freeways in southern california during rush hour traffic, when our 2001 v-70 began missing and losing power. By the time she limped home to the next off ramp, she was traveling at approximately 20 miles an hour, in traffic moving nearly 60 miles an hour. Obviously, this created a significant safety hazard for my wife and other travelers. She was able to drive the car to the dealer, calabasas volvo, at about 20-30 miles per hour. At the dealer, she was informed that the gas pedal linkage required replacement at approximately $300 (copy enclosed), and that the etm would be cleaned. I had already found information on the web that showed cleaning was ineffective, and the likelihood of continued safety risk. In fact, the information on the web explained that volvo has agreed to an extension of the warranty on this part to 200,000 miles or 10 years. I, frankly, was stunned that a car manufacturer would acknowledge such a fundamental design flaw and commit to such a long period of time for replacements for the effective life of the car. It appears that someone at volvo does recognize that the etm failure could cause injury or even death of the vehicle operator and occupants. I called the service department and urged them to replace the etm. To my absolute surprise, they explained that volvo has directed dealers to clean first, replace later, although they agreed that the etm would probably fail within a short period of time. Now my wife is much nicer than me, and since I had some discussions with the calabasas volvo service department regarding their incompetence with the fan recall, they chose to give her the car back after the cleaning and she accepted it. Within two miles, the car was experiencing the exact same symptoms that it had earlier in the day. In other words, volvo policy has placed my wife and family at risk of death or injury.

Filed Dec 21, 2005 · Acceleration · 87,000 miles · WA

I have a 2001 volvo v70 t5. This car has the high failure rate electronic throttle module component. During highway driving, I experienced a sudden loss of power while in passing lane of a 2 lane highway. The message window on the dash flashed "performance reduced" this occurred during while passing a semi with other cars following closely behind in a caravan. It was in pouring rain with water from the semi splashing over the windshield. Needlesstosay, this was a nervous moment when power was suddenly lost. I was able to slow down and pull off to the next exit ramp where the engine was sputtering while idling. Shutting off the engine and restarting made the problem disappear. About 3 months later, I'm getting "performance reduced" message nearly every day. Finally trace it down to the etm internal fault using a obdii reader I purchased to diagnose this problem. Volvo dealer confirmed the finding and replaced the etm.

Filed Nov 25, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · 42,855 miles · OH

Dt: the contact stated the electronic throttle module (etm) failed. The engine idle dropped, and surged upon starting the vehicle. While driving the vehicle it surged and then lost power. The vehicle stalled while at a stop light and would not immediately start back. The vehicle started again after the fourth attempt. The etm was replaced approximately a year ago, but now the vehicle experienced the same problems again. *ak after the repairs the consumer continued to experience problems. Updated 01/04/06.

Filed Nov 14, 2005 · Acceleration · 50,000 miles · MN

Dt: the contact stated vehicle was losing power while accelerating and would only go 15 MPH. He would coast to the side of the road and turn the vehicle off and back on. This happened daily. He took the vehicle to the dealership, and the throttle box was replaced. The problem has not come back since the repairs. *ak updated 12/27/05.

Filed Oct 11, 2005 · Acceleration · 82,000 miles · MA

While driving the car at highway speed (approximately 65 MPH) the volvo v70 t5 lost power and began running extremely rough. Car had to be pulled over immediately to the break down lane. On the dash, the indicator panel stated performance reduced. After turning engine off and restarting, car began to run fine again only to happen again a few miles down the road. Car had to be limped to the dealer. Dealer replace the engine throttle module (etm) at cost of $1032.00.

Filed Sep 20, 2005 · Electrical · 97,823 miles · CO

My 2001 volvo v70 spontaneously lost power and died. I was stranded far from home with my daughter on a friday night. After supposedly being repaired at the dealership, several months later on a road trip, again far from home, my car all of a sudden started coughing and losing power, on the highway at highway speed, putting me and my passengers at risk. I was able to cripple it on, and the dealership eventually replaced the throttle body and related computer module, but I understand that it could possible happen again. I live in a remote area and need to be able to depend on my car. I cannot be stranded on the open road at any hour and in any weather.

Filed Sep 15, 2005 · Acceleration · 40,850 miles · AZ

See existing the federal safety agency action number pe05041 for this failure type (1) drove through puddle (2) "engine system service required" light; loss of power (limp-home mode) (3) failed electronic throttle module replaced (total cost $1106.82); failed module is available although I took it apart to find problem - worn-through butterfly valve position sensor as described at http://vexedvolvo.org/.