Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| 880026 | 03/01/2004 | 10006040 | Updated method used for fault-tracing the srs (supplemental restraint system) when diagnostic trouble code (dtc) srs-00bb and / or srs-00c0 occur. *tt | 04/12/2004 | |
| 3724 | 10/22/2002 | 3724 | 10000306 | Cem fault tracing. *tt | 02/21/2003 |
| 8826 | 05/23/2001 | 3619 | 621834 | This information assist in fault tracing of uem, sunroof, and remote diagnostics. *tt | 10/03/2001 |
| 3714 | 01/18/2001 | 616748 | Information on vehicles exhibiting a dim not functioning and / or an intermittent no-start condition caused by a loose b+ connection in the engine compartment. *tt | 03/09/2001 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||||
| 3370014 | 09/01/2001 | 624089 | Subject regarding headlight bulb replacement. *yd | 11/01/2001 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| 3717 | 08/17/2001 | 626131 | Subject regarding wiring diagram update. *yh | 12/12/2001 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 10/05/2001 | 2 | 01/03/2001 | |
| 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 | |||
| 08/10/2006 | 67000 | 1 | 06/18/2005 |
| 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 | |||
| 12/06/2005 | 59000 | 1 | |
| 1. wife was driving on a highway @ approximately 45 mph. 2) engine idled roughly, stalled then message showing performance reduced showed in the car information screen. car was able to restart, then driven to dealer for repair. it is believed to be an etm failure. *jb | |||
| 08/31/2005 | 6 | 07/01/2005 | |
| 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 | |||
| 08/01/2005 | 78000 | 30 | 02/24/2005 |
| Car surged periodically without gas pedal engaged. when coming to a stop or slowing down in traffic. idle was erratic and sometimes car stalled causing safety concerns. when car stalled it was difficult to restart due to idle dropping. car has stalled when pulling into traffic. *jb | |||
| 09/25/2005 | 66000 | 1 | 06/10/2005 |
| 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 | |||
| 09/27/2005 | 74080 | 1 | 03/15/2001 |
| 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 | |||
| 09/07/2005 | 62000 | 1 | 04/15/2004 |
| 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 | |||
| 03/06/2004 | 39000 | 36 | 02/14/2004 |
| 2001 volvo xc70 cross country wagon sputters and stalls signals fail etc... we bought this car used from a volvo dealer 1 year ago and have had trouble since cant get any help from volvo the car only has about 40,000 miles we feel very unsafe in this vehicle especially with our small kids in the car thank you. *jb | |||
| 08/24/2005 | 62500 | 1 | 07/10/2005 |
| My 2001 volvo v70xc (purchased less than two months ago from a volvo dealer) suddenly warned performance reduced and lost all acceleration -- was probably going only several mph. the dealer determined etm failure and replaced the part, fortunately under warranty as this was a volvo certified pre-owned care. luckily this happened on a quiet road -- but only a short time after i had been driving on the mass pike. | |||
| 08/25/2004 | 75010 | 1 | 11/11/2000 |
| In august of 2004 while traveling at highway speed, my 2001 volvo v70 xc began to buck violently and slowed to a crawl. this was sudden, with no preliminary hint that anything was wrong. the incident could very well have caused a serious accident had there been any other traffic on the highway at the time. subsequently, the problem was diagnosed at smart motors volvo in madison, wisconsin, as a failed throttle body. the replacement part and labor cost $934.25. the highly experienced volvo mechanic suggested that such throttle body failures were, in his experience, more common in colder climates where fuel additives to prevent ice in the fuel line were present. he also said that other makes of car that used the same throttle body were having the same very high rate of failure. *jb | |||
| 06/09/2005 | 94000 | 2 | 10/10/2001 |
| Please add me to the growing list of people who had their electronic throttle module fail on them while driving in heavy traffic. it failed on me( with no prior hint of failure ) causing the car to go into idle speed while crossing a very busy intersection. i called the dealer and they told me i could reset the computer buy a combination of door lock turns which i did. it then failed again in a very dangerous condition (sitting at a red light with a long line of traffic behind me) while driving to the dealer to be replaced two days later. it failed at about 94,000 miles but i don't consider this a part which should have such a design flaw. and if it is going to fail - the cars' computer should not cause the car to go into limp home mode. it was replaced by the dealer at a cost of around $900 with a one year warranty. *jb | |||
| 04/25/2005 | 82899 | 1 | 08/19/2000 |
| 2001 v70xc volvo . car started to loose power unexpectedly. when you needed to pull out into traffic it might hesitate. i had it repaired by volvo and they replaced the electronic throttle module at 82,899 miles. *jb | |||
| 02/20/2005 | 63000 | 1 | 02/18/2005 |
| Recently purchased volvo v70xc and was driving across the country when the etm failed south of austin. i was on the highway south of austin traveling about 70 mph when the car stalled out, leaving me with little control over steering or breaks. luckily was able to get to the side of the road. after a few minutes was able to start the car and limped to the local volvo dealer, where they told me the etm had failed and which they replaced. *jb | |||
| 08/04/2005 | 40375 | 3 | 01/10/2001 |
| Low beam headlight failure. message indicated low beam failure. inserted new bulb in left low beam holder. did not function. to be certain that i had a good bulb, i removed the right low beam bulb and inserted it into the left low beam holder. this bulb, which had worked previously, now failed and i was left with no low beam headlights. the same problem occurred with my 2000 volvo cross country. *nm | |||
| 04/13/2005 | 52000 | 30 | 03/03/2002 |
| We are having problems with our vehicle as identified in a newspaper article with our volvo. the dealer we purchased the vehicle from originally refused to correct the problem of the loss of power, stalling and other defects with my vehicle under warranty (they claims to have been advised by volvo that they could not fix the problem without a reduced performance light coming on) until i told them that if i was killed (the last time this happened, i lost power as i was entering i-95 north during rush hour and was nearly broadsided by a construction vehicle merging from the opposite direction) it would cost them a lot more than simply a repair. after threatening a lawsuit, they agreed to download some software to correct the problem. while the issue is not as prevalent as it was, we still have occasions when we get power surges, lose power and the electrical systems do not work properly in the vehicle. i do not feel safe driving this vehicle. the transmission/air flow problem is just one of many issues we have had with this vehicle - many of them safety related. we were told by the dealer that they were aware of the problem through a notice they received from volvo - a notice was the kind that notified the dealers of the problem were not required to advise customers unless customers complained (this was the same issue with an internal engine fan which apparently can catch fire without warning - the dealers got notice about that, but the customers did not - if we complained about issues with the fan, depending on the kind of fan it was, it would be fixed under warranty - otherwise, we would be responsible for replacing the fan at the cost of over $500 - our fan, after we complained that it came on for no reason while the vehicle was parked, was finally replaced last summer by the dealer but they had to get special permission from volvo to do it. apparently, these fans can come on and cause the engine to overheat, and there have been fires because of it. *jb | |||
| 07/13/2005 | 75500 | 1 | 01/15/2002 |
| I own a 2001 volvo cross-country. i was driving at 65 miles per hour on interstate 95 between baltimore and washington when my car starting shaking violently and stopped driving. suffice to say, this incident was extremely scary. the car was towed to a volvo dealer. the mechanic advised that the electronic throttle was defective. the repair cost me $1,300. i was unhappy to learn that volvo is well aware of this problem, but will not issue a recall or reimburse consumers for this repair. *jb | |||
| 02/16/2005 | 57500 | 2 | 04/20/2001 |
| 1. we noticed that car idled irregularly at stops and seemed like it was going to stall sometimes. we were coming up on 60,000 mile service interval & thought that at that appointment we would have them adjust. 2. feb 2005 - we drove car out of resid. development onto 2 lane road & car lost power, the check engine light came on, we were able to get to the top of the hill 500 yards after we turned out on road. at top of the hill we cut the car off to see if it would run better after re-starting. it took a few minutes to get it re-started (i had to push the accelerator down aggressively). the car computer said we were in limp mode and we drove at a very slow speed especially up hills to the first fuel station. we shut off the car for 10 minutes & got some fuel. after this the car ran ok but the check engine light was back so we called our dealer. 3. we drove the car 1 hour to dealer and they said the etm needed to be replaced. the invoice also says they replaced the accelerator. we don't have the old part. wish we did. *note-on june 2 (with 61,000 miles) on a trip with family (2 small children) the car was running fine but just north of charlotte, nc at dark the car lost power in the middle of i-77s and we had to pull over to the emerg. lane. for 15-20 minutes we tried to start the car thinking the computer might reset. everytime we tried to start it seemed like it was going to start (not like battery failure) but then it would just shut off immediately. it finally started and we drove to the hotel with no problem. next morning we took to nearest dealer - university volvo. they ran diagnostic at a fee and found ecm codes 6806 (turbo control syst.) - 904d (fuel pedal sensor) - 981a (control module fault) but faults were no longer present so they said there was nothing to do. our home dealer - charlottesville volvo looked at the car when we got home and they couldn't find any problems. *jb | |||
| 07/11/2005 | 45879 | 1 | 06/29/2005 |
| Car: 2001 volvo v70 awd xc mileage: 45,879 while driving the vehicle on a controlled access highway, the car without notice lost power. the engine would not accelerate beyond 1,000 rpm and the car decelerated rapidly from approximately 60 mph to less than 20 mph. given the rapid, unexpected deceleration, it was quite possible that the loss of power could have lead to a very serious situation. after pulling off to the side of the road and restarting the car, it would run normally for a period of time. prior to this incident, the car performed normally and no warning light indicators were activated. the car was brought to a volvo dealer, who after inspecting the car stated that electronic throttle control (throttle body) had failed and needed to be replaced. cost incurred for throttle body replacement were $845.25, including labor. *jb | |||
| 07/20/2005 | 42133 | 2 | 08/24/2001 |
| While driving with my 6 year old daughter at 70 mph on highway 58 in golden, co my 2001 volvo xc wagon suddenly lost power and i could only go 10 mph on july 20, 2005. i was able to exit and parked the car for an hour. it restarted and ran normally for about 5 minutes when i had a second sudden loss of power while driving 65 on 6th avenue in golden. the message center on my dash said service was urgent, so i stopped the car on the exit ramp for 1.5 hrs. until a tow truck arrived which towed the car to rickenbaugh volvo in denver for a cost of $142.50. the next day, i paid rickenbaugh volvo in denver $982.53 to replace the throttle unit and gasket, and remove, clean and replace the crank case ventilation nipple and $272.68 for emissions service. *jb | |||
| 06/29/2005 | 57000 | 2 | 10/31/2004 |
| Traveling on montana highway 93 at 65 mph my 2001 volvo v70 awd suddenly lost power. i pulled off the side of this heavily traveled 2 lane highway causing traffic behind me to swerve into the oncoming lane of traffic. the car was towed to the nearest mechanic, where it was diagnosed with an electronic throttle module problem. volvo recommends cleaning the module which was done. i picked up my car on saturday july 2, 2005 and on monday july 4, 2005, the car died suddenly on a busy 2 lane county road. once again i pulled off to the side of the road. now the only option is to replace the electronic throttle module at a high cost, $1000.00 plus. my car only has 57,000 miles on it. i have been made aware that volvo knows of this potentially harmful situation and has done nothing to repair this defective etm. the thought of causing and accident on a busy road when a volvo suddenly looses power is frightening. if you could please help in letting volvo know that they have a responsibility to keep our roadways safe. a sudden loss of power should not be a normal operating method. thank you allison beougher | |||
| 01/03/2005 | 58000 | 30 | 02/23/2003 |
| 1) electronic throttle module (etm) shuts down the gas pedal where you have no control on acceleration 2) etm shutdown could cause a major accident 3) replace the etm at $1100 the owners should have been notified under warranty to clean the etm. *jb | |||
| 06/01/2003 | 10000 | 10 | 08/08/2000 |
| I was recently told my 2001 v79xc needed ball joints, then sway bars and someone else said struts! also: i have had the car diagnosed, the system reported throttle module errors and electircal or circuit problems; throttle module cleaned, then replaced; headlights replaced 3 times (wiring causes shorts); gas filter replaced two junes in a row gas propelled out of the tank back at me upon pumping (something about air intake line was clogged), the brackets underneath the car are totally rusted not stainless steel! i had the cooling fan replaced, car overheated into the red! i too have had little time to enjoy my car. the e brake sticks in the winter, because the coating on the lines/cables is cracked, broken/burned due to improper suspension. my sun roof, interior lights and rear hatch door works intermittently in cold weather. the glove compartment was rattling loudly and the dealer i bought it from tried to fix it and told me i had to live with it! of course another dealership fixed it outright. the seatbelt frequently sticks and doesnt take up the slack intermittently only to get shut in the drivers door frequently, when i just about think it has corrected itself. and, there is a strange draft on the front passenger side window that gets quite cold in the winter. the seal seems fine and its another problem no shop seems to know anything about. | |||
| 04/21/2003 | 25000 | 3 | 09/19/2000 |
| The xc70 has stalled 3 times while driving over the last 2 years. the dealer has replaced two different sensors. the dealer feels the care is fine, the problem can not be readily reproduced. the first two times it stalled, it happened last year. the most recent occurred last month. my wife was driving the car down a four lane highway, and it just stalled as she removed her foot off the accelerator. i am very concerned. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 04/13/2005 | 52000 | 30 | 03/03/2002 |
| We are having problems with our vehicle as identified in a newspaper article with our volvo. the dealer we purchased the vehicle from originally refused to correct the problem of the loss of power, stalling and other defects with my vehicle under warranty (they claims to have been advised by volvo that they could not fix the problem without a reduced performance light coming on) until i told them that if i was killed (the last time this happened, i lost power as i was entering i-95 north during rush hour and was nearly broadsided by a construction vehicle merging from the opposite direction) it would cost them a lot more than simply a repair. after threatening a lawsuit, they agreed to download some software to correct the problem. while the issue is not as prevalent as it was, we still have occasions when we get power surges, lose power and the electrical systems do not work properly in the vehicle. i do not feel safe driving this vehicle. the transmission/air flow problem is just one of many issues we have had with this vehicle - many of them safety related. we were told by the dealer that they were aware of the problem through a notice they received from volvo - a notice was the kind that notified the dealers of the problem were not required to advise customers unless customers complained (this was the same issue with an internal engine fan which apparently can catch fire without warning - the dealers got notice about that, but the customers did not - if we complained about issues with the fan, depending on the kind of fan it was, it would be fixed under warranty - otherwise, we would be responsible for replacing the fan at the cost of over $500 - our fan, after we complained that it came on for no reason while the vehicle was parked, was finally replaced last summer by the dealer but they had to get special permission from volvo to do it. apparently, these fans can come on and cause the engine to overheat, and there have been fires because of it. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 12/18/2004 | 2 | 11/01/2003 | |
| Failure of electronic throttle module on volvo 2001 xc v70. the electronic module controls the throttle. the failure of this electronic at a high rate of speed can cause immediate loss of power or a surge in power resulting in a possible accident. this problem appears to be prevalent in volvo cars. the resolution is expensive ($1k). i am surprised that a recall was not made for this faulty component which has safety consequences.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 03/02/2005 | 43000 | 1 | |
| The key came out of the ignition while still in drive with the engine off. the last incident resulted in the vehicle rolling backwards and crashing. vehicle was totaled from the crash. vehicle was inspected on 04-12-05 by a volvo dealership representative, who confirmed this was a problem, but declined to fix the problem. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE | |||
| 10/05/2001 | 2 | 01/03/2001 | |
| 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 | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 06/01/2003 | 10000 | 10 | 08/08/2000 |
| I was recently told my 2001 v79xc needed ball joints, then sway bars and someone else said struts! also: i have had the car diagnosed, the system reported throttle module errors and electircal or circuit problems; throttle module cleaned, then replaced; headlights replaced 3 times (wiring causes shorts); gas filter replaced two junes in a row gas propelled out of the tank back at me upon pumping (something about air intake line was clogged), the brackets underneath the car are totally rusted not stainless steel! i had the cooling fan replaced, car overheated into the red! i too have had little time to enjoy my car. the e brake sticks in the winter, because the coating on the lines/cables is cracked, broken/burned due to improper suspension. my sun roof, interior lights and rear hatch door works intermittently in cold weather. the glove compartment was rattling loudly and the dealer i bought it from tried to fix it and told me i had to live with it! of course another dealership fixed it outright. the seatbelt frequently sticks and doesnt take up the slack intermittently only to get shut in the drivers door frequently, when i just about think it has corrected itself. and, there is a strange draft on the front passenger side window that gets quite cold in the winter. the seal seems fine and its another problem no shop seems to know anything about. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 06/01/2003 | 10000 | 10 | 08/08/2000 |
| I was recently told my 2001 v79xc needed ball joints, then sway bars and someone else said struts! also: i have had the car diagnosed, the system reported throttle module errors and electircal or circuit problems; throttle module cleaned, then replaced; headlights replaced 3 times (wiring causes shorts); gas filter replaced two junes in a row gas propelled out of the tank back at me upon pumping (something about air intake line was clogged), the brackets underneath the car are totally rusted not stainless steel! i had the cooling fan replaced, car overheated into the red! i too have had little time to enjoy my car. the e brake sticks in the winter, because the coating on the lines/cables is cracked, broken/burned due to improper suspension. my sun roof, interior lights and rear hatch door works intermittently in cold weather. the glove compartment was rattling loudly and the dealer i bought it from tried to fix it and told me i had to live with it! of course another dealership fixed it outright. the seatbelt frequently sticks and doesnt take up the slack intermittently only to get shut in the drivers door frequently, when i just about think it has corrected itself. and, there is a strange draft on the front passenger side window that gets quite cold in the winter. the seal seems fine and its another problem no shop seems to know anything about. | |||