2001 Volvo V70XC: sudden loss of power

Filed May 1, 2013 · Brakes, Engine · 134,000 miles · CA

I own a 2001 xc 70 volvo which I just bought with 133900 miles last friday april 26, 2013. The dealer showed me the maintenance records including a 3 month old california safety inspection report. On april 27, 2013, I was driving on a downhill stretch when all of a sudden, the car engine lost power, kicked like it wanted to jump ahead of me, all indicator lights flashed, and the car stalled and shut down rendering the brake and steering system inoperable. I had no means to control the car as it rolled down hill. I engaged the reverse gear causing the vehicle to stop. I called dealer right away. He told me to bring the vehicle to his mechanic the following monday on 04/29/2013. The mechanic inspected the vehicle and test-drove it and could not find any problems with the vehicle. He performed a diagnostic computer test and got an error message indicating an air intake problem. He asked me to bring the vehicle the following morning so he can test drive it more and find out more. While driving home, the problem recurred again, this time in the middle of a freeway. It was dangerous...luckily I was in the far right lane, so immediately I coasted to the side, with my hazards lights on and pulled to the side where the vehicle stopped itself. Imagine driving 80mph on a california freeway, and all of a sudden, the vehicle loses power, the engines kick jumps, and without your input, attempts to engage a higher gear but then stalls and immediately shuts down and the brakes and the steering wheel jams.. That is not safety. As I await for the mechanic to address this issue, I am filing this complaint because this is a safety issue. A car that passes a safety inspection test should not be abruptly shutting down in the middle of traffic and render the brake system and steering wheel inoperable.

Filed Feb 21, 2008 · Transmission · 67,397 miles · MN

2001 volvo v70xc with serious transmission problems. Consumer states that the transmission will lose power while shifting. Consumer states that it could be very dangerous when it happens while making a left hand turn. *kb the consumer stated the transmission failed momentarily between second and third gear.

Filed Oct 24, 2007 · Acceleration, Electrical · MO

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 the federal safety agency 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

Filed Aug 8, 2007 · Engine · 102,500 miles · VA

7/26/07 traveling on I-77 and the car ran great. Suddenly, in same manner as car did approx 2 yrs ago on same interstate rpms dropped, car lost speed, no response at throttle, and within a few seconds we lost power, brakes, steering. Since this seemed just like 2 yrs ago (we reported this incident in 2005) we thought maybe the car will start in 10-15m. After 15-20 m of attempts where car started & immediately stalled car did start and ran fine. Since 2 years ago dealers were unable to diagnose & correct we continued to drive that evening and again the following day. The following day the car stalled again on I-? Near atlanta, but this time in more traffic with difficulty getting car to side safely. Again car started like the evening before. Again-similar fuel level. We traveled 2 1/2 more hours on interstate. At destination and local dealer found no faults so no correction was made. After this 2nd occurrence we filled up more often 1/2 full or more. 2 days later and 7 more hrs on road without any problem.. As we arrive. Check engine light came on. Although car ran fine we took car to local dealer 1 hour away. They said they had a catalytic converter error but they didn't have one in stock. I told them I wasn't sure this was the problem that was causing the stalling because it stalled 2x (+1x 2 years ago) before the check engine light came on. I called my local dealer to discuss and he said he didn't think the catalytic converter was causing the stalling. Again, no definitive answers. After we left the dealer, the check engine light was off and it has stayed off. A couple of days later we drove the car 9-10 hours on the interstate to get home. Again, I kept the fuel levels approximately 1/2 tank and above. The car performed fine. We are very concerned about the stalling. When I check other complaints listed it appeared that someone else may have had a similar issue with low fuel stalling. Please don't hesitate to call to discuss.

Filed Feb 14, 2006 · Acceleration · 74,000 miles · SC

We have experienced the "reduced power mode" on our 2001 volvo xc70 numerous times between dec '05 and feb '06. The vehicle refused to go over 15 MPH until the engine was shut-off and restarted. This occurred twice pulling out of our neighborhood onto a major road, entering the highway while attempting to accelerate to highway speed and while attempting a passing maneuver on the highway around 60 MPH. In all situations, we were fortunate that someone was not right behind us (my wife and 2 small children) when this occurred, as the potential for an accident is very high. I took the vehicle to my local volvo dealer, where they diagnosed a problem with the electronic throttle module (etm), but stated there was an extended warranty covering this component. However, instead of replacing it immediately, the "procedure" called for cleaning the etm and downloading new software. Only after this procedure was followed and that the event recurred (storing a code in memory), would they be allowed to replace the etm. I picked up the car the same night and again, when pulling out of the neighborhood, the familiar "reduced power mode" message was displayed. I do not see why if there is a potential for repeated failure, that volvo would not replace the component immediately, since they are equated with vehicle "safety". The etm will now be replaced, but I cannot say that I will be any more comfortable with driving our xc70.

Filed Dec 15, 2005 · Acceleration · CT

2001 volvo xc70 lost power in evening traffic in early november and was unable to drive / was towed for repair that night and next day car started without incident at auto repair shop / repair shop ran diagnostics and was unable to identify a problem (at a cost to me of $119) / about two weeks later auto began to lose power again so I drove to another local repair shop / ran diagnostics and determined that etm throttle was cause of problem and suggested I have volvo dealer do repair since part is expected to have warrant extended due to number of failures (at a cost to me of $79) / local dealer replaced part and would not address potential warranty extension (at a cost to me of $1200).

Filed Dec 14, 2005 · Acceleration · 40,000 miles · UT

On eight different occasions while driving on the freeway at 65 - 75 MPH with cruise control on, my volvo v70xc, 2001, has experienced unrecoverable reduced power to idle. I had to make emergency lane changes to get to the side of the road before the car completely stopped. I found if I turned off the ignition and started it again it would run normally. I think there is something wrong with the electronic throttle control module. The "check engine" light comes on intermittantly.

Filed Nov 16, 2005 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 62,228 miles · CO

I was driving at approx 50 MPH on a major thoroughfare up a hill when my vehicle suddenly lost power. The computer displayed a "reduced power" message. I pulled to the right, and continued to drive about 1/8 mile at significantly reduced power until I could pull completely off the road (my children were with me and I wanted to be off the road). I pulled into a parking lot, turned off my vehicle. After a two phone calls, I attempted to turn the vehicle on. It seemed to run fine. I continued on, dropped my children at school, and drove to the volvo dealer. Their notes indicate: "...found that etm is defective and had internal faults in it. Also found that the codes were set for maf sensor reading out of range. Removed etm and found that it was cover with oil. Checked banjo fitting and found it to be plugged, clean out banjo fitting, replaced etm and maf sensor down loaded new software into car. Cleared all old dtcs and test drove car. Car now driving to volvo's specs." cost of repairs: $1332.47 ouch! The lost of power occurred first -- the additional problems were, I believe, a result of the etm failure or due to the fact that I needed to continue driving a short distance to find a safe stopping place. Replaced: throttle body, gasket, mass air flow, etm reload.

Filed Oct 31, 2005 · Fuel system · 89,427 miles · TX

Vehicle incurred minor loss of power while cruising at highway speeds followed by engine surges and repeated losses of power. Engine did not stall out, but did disengage cruise control and dash board did display reduced performance warning. After vehicle engine is shut off, the reduced performance warning temporarily disappeared and then reappeared after 10-15 minutes of driving. This engine behavior last about one week, and then the dash board displayed a new service maintenance-urgent message. The 2001 volvo xc70 was then drive immediately to volvo dealer and he determined the vehicle had a faulty electric throttle body and defective accelerator sensor. The repair cost over $1,075.00 to repair.

Filed Oct 23, 2005 · Acceleration · 57,133 miles · CT

While being driven, the car continuously went out of gear, lost power and had to be pulled over to the side of the road. The throttle needed to be replaced. Car was out of warranty and after negotiation volvo offered to pay 50% of parts and labor to replace the defective throttle.

Filed Oct 13, 2005 · Electrical · 66,000 miles · CT

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.

Filed Oct 11, 2005 · Acceleration · 61,800 miles · RI

Dt: the contact stated that 2001 volvo v70 xc experienced sudden loss of power while driving. At 70 MPH. It lost power and decelerated to 5 MPH in fast lane due to throttle module failure.