2000 Volvo V70XC: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Dec 16, 2010 · Fuel system · 143,889 miles · CA

My 2000 volvo xc70 developed a dangerous engine condition that needs to be reported and corrected. The dashboard indicated a red ets light which according to the owners manual needs to be diagnosed by a certified volvo mechanic. I took the car to an independent volvo garage who identified the problem as a throttle body malfunction in the intake of the engine. The garage made a temporary ($300) repair and recommended that I visit a volvo dealer and warned that an appropriate repair would cost as much as $1,000 including parts and labor. According to the various volvo forums, this is a common and costly problem with these volvos. The symptoms include hesitation when accelerating, fluctuating idle RPM and outright stalling. This is a dangerous condition. I have parked the car until I can be reasonably assured that this can be suitably repaired preferably at volvo expense.

Filed Aug 9, 2007 · Electrical · 51,247 miles · CT

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 volvo v70xc. The contact believes that the electronic throttle module is a safety hazard. She stated that the vehicle will suddenly hesitate and come to a complete stop. While driving 60 MPH, the vehicle had a sudden loss of power. All of the instrument panel lights illuminated and the power steering failed. The speed decreased from 60 MPH to 0. She was able to pull off the road and stated that the entire electrical system was not working. The vehicle was towed to a shop and they stated that the cause of failure was electrical. The VIN and engine size were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 51,247.

Filed Dec 29, 2005 · Acceleration · 56,410 miles · NY

Vehicle required a new electronic throttle body despite being only six years old and having only 56,410 miles. Vehicle was initially mildly hesitating and jerking, then worsened to the point where we were concerned for our safety. We had no choice but to go to the dealer and spend $1,078.93 to replace the part. (kbb values vehicle at $14,365, so this repair cost approx. 7.5% of the value of the vehicle!) worse yet, the part was replaced with the exact same part, not a newer/re-engineered one less likely to fail. We have saved the part if anybody wants to look at it. This is not why we bought a volvo.

Filed Dec 12, 2005 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 40,989 miles · MD

On 7 december 2005, while driving vehicle north on I-94 in massachusetts at a speed of 65 MPH, suddenly the engine hesitated and lost power. Etc light on dashboard illuminated. I was able to take evasive action and pulled over to the side of the highway. Went to the local volvo dealer in south deerfield mass. To have the car examined. Dealer stated that they "cleaned the etm and cleared fault codes." drove the car back home (upper marlboro,md) on the evening of 8 december. Along the route home the car repeatedly hesitated. On 9 december, on andrews afb, etc light illuminated and car immediately lost power and stalled. Car restarted. On south osborne rd in upper marlboro while driving at 40 MPH, car lost power with no warning again. I had to literally drive the vehicle off the road to avoid being rear ended by approaching traffic. Car is at martens volvo in bethesda, md. The etm is scheduled to be replaced. Dealer in massachusetts and maryland state that the etms in this model car is defective.

Filed Aug 18, 2005 · Electrical, Fuel system · 44,190 miles · MD

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.

Filed Aug 15, 2005 · Acceleration, Electrical · 30,000 miles · MD

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.

Filed Aug 9, 2005 · Electrical · 57,000 miles · CO

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.

Filed Aug 5, 2005 · Fuel system · 107,688 miles · PA

Electronic throttle module etm causing hesitation while driving in heavy traffic. Volvo dealers service manager suggested bringing the car back while the ets warning light was still on. Stated that the etm should be cleaned every 30k miles or replaced. Nothing in the service manual mentions this type of service. The hesitation was intermittent but very uncomfortable driving while it was happening.

Filed Aug 3, 2005 · Electrical · 61,876 miles · NC

Failure of electronic throttle module on 2000 volvo v70 cross country. Hesitation was noticed and volvo cleaned the throttle module, I was not charged. At approximately 60,000 the car would hesitate at low RPM and the etm was replaced at my charge.

Filed Aug 2, 2005 · Engine · 62,064 miles · KY

On a trip alone to virginia from louisville ky when car slowed down and the check engine light came on. I was in a desolate part of the mountains in w.va when this occurred. I immediately called the dealer in louisville, ky where I had purchased the vehicle and after explaining the situation they told me to not pull over or stop but to keep going,I could not get the car to go over about 45 MPH, and they would look up the closest dealership to where I was going and call me back. They did this and it was charlottesville va which was an hour from my destination. They would not be open until the following day so I called them and took my car to them and they replaced the mass air flow part #8670263-6 for a total of $268.45 on 12/3/04. When I returned to louisville and told my dealership there was no offer to reimburse me for this expense. I had 62,064 miles on my v70xc wagon at that time and no warranty was in effect. I read an article about this in the courier-journal newspaper today, august 2, 2005 and felt like there are probably many, many more complaints that you have not been contacted about. If I can supply you with any other information please don't hesitate to contact me. I do a great deal of highway travel and am alone so I bought this car so that I would be safe on all of my highway trips.

Filed May 11, 2005 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 46,926 miles · CO

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, [email protected]