S80 2000 Engine performance

I have 2000 S80 with 42K miles. Recently its been runing very strange at
around 60-80 MPH. Very sluggish throttle response. The dealer says
everything is ok but I think it runs like crap. I've been driving this car
since new so I know what it normally drives like. He suggests changing to
premium fuel but I think its more like a trottle control issue. Any body
have any ideas?

Thanks,

Stuart

 

Have you had the ETM Recall performed on this car if not it should be
done if you had the recall done the dealer will check the car for any
DTC'S & if any were present relating to the ETM then corrective action
was performed

--
"*-344-*Never Forgotten"
Is for the New York City Firemen who lost their lives on September 11,2001.
The official count is 343, but there was also a volunteer who lost his life
aiding in the initial rescue efforts. And I will never forget them as
long as I live,
nor should any American.

 

"The dealer says everything is ok but I think it runs like crap"

yea, make sure the dealer does the $1,000 up-date
to the .... throttle body..as they are obligated to do...due to the
recall and legal matter a year ago....the dealer may be
trying to wiggle out of that, if so, the volvo of n america
corp needs to be notified, as this would be a serious
matter.....w/the courts and all......you know your s80 a hell
of a lot better than the service mamager...keep us posted, as i have
a 00 s80t6 w/150,000 miles on it, running great...and i still need
to have the dealer do the throttle body update.....i just havn't
had the time to drop it off yet.....

 

This is very close to your story:

"Thousands of irate customers have complained of dangerous stalling
episodes on major thoroughfares, and of Volvo representatives trying to
shift blame by telling owners they had bought bad gasoline or did not
follow the recommended maintenance schedule."
---------

"One unhappy customer, Danuta Wilson of Bethesda, Md., was traveling
with her husband and two young children in January when their 2000
Volvo V 70 XC station wagon suddenly stalled and would not start.

The vehicle had only 42,000 miles on it but was more than four years
old, so Wilson had to spend nearly $1,000 to replace the ETM. She said
a Volvo dealer told her it was her fault -- that "if it's happening at
42,000 miles that must mean the car has been abused or you've been
putting wrong gas in the car."
-------

"She wrote to Volvo to request a recall on safety grounds. In reply,
Volvo suggested that experiences like hers were rare. "Sometimes
individual vehicles experience isolated situations," said the Volvo
letter. According to Wilson, Volvo "was lying that this was an unusual
occurrence, whereas it is not."
-----


Give 'em hell man! This is another reason I am hesitant to buy a new
Volvo -- the damn lies the company told over this problem.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/06/1auto-170127.htm

Jamie

 

My S80 went through two ETM's. Volvo covered the first one in their
original warrantee and reimbursed me for their second one which cost
me around $900. I don't believe this is a recall. All Volvo has agreed
to is to refund money to those who replaced the ETM after the
warrantee and to extend the warrantee on this part to 10 years 200,000
miles. If your car is running fine and you tell Volvo to replace it
I'm pretty sure they won't do it. As I said this is not a recall.

Good luck,
Don

 

I haven't had the ETM replaced. I just got back from another 500 mile
round trip to Santa Barbra from Redwood City and the car ran like crap
again. One thing I did notice is that it is particullary bulky with the AC
on. When I turn the AC off it runs a lot better but still not well.

Several things I've observed:

1). With the AC on and driving flat and level there is noticable bucking.
This seems to happen when the trottle is just barely open.
2). On decents with the AC on the bucking becomes more pronounced as the
trottle completely closed. This seems to me like the AC control is trying
to crack the trottle a bit when it shouldn't.

3). The transmission (automatic) seem slow to kick down from OD into 4th
when taking a grade. In fact, I've depressed the accelorator almost to the
floor before it will kick down. Almost no noticeable increase in engine
output is observed when the trottle is depressed.

Stuart

 

Here is an example of symptoms for a bad ETM:
"
What conditions might be evident if this system needs repair?
Your vehicle may experience situations related to the affected
Electronic Throttle System function in which the Check Engine Light or
ETS light illuminate.
Additional symptoms that may be associated with this condition include,
uneven engine idle, and/or the onset of "limp home mode", a condition
that affects drivability potentially restricting maximum vehicle speed
to between approximately 10 and 30 miles per hour.
Is this warranty extension a recall?
This is not a recall campaign. As the limited warranty on the ETS has
been extended, there is no corrective action required. Unless you
experience the above mentioned symptoms you do not need to contact your
retailer. At your next regularly scheduled service appointment or
retailer visit after March 1, 2006 Volvo will install the upgraded
software on your vehicle."

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/chat/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5991

 

I hate to do this, but this bugs me. As a classic Volvo owner, and
openly anti-new-Volvo, here's what bugs the crap out of me.

In the late 80's Suzuki had a Samurai that was prone to flip over.
Consumer Reports reported this and Suzuki sued them for it. Why? To
protect their reputation and market share. To this day Americans know
this and Suzuki is forced to build and sell the cheapest things they
can, with super warranties, trying to regain trust in the consumer.

Volvo, as a Swedish company is in "limp home mode", so Ford buys them
out. Well, Ford is in "limp-home-mode" and together these two companies
have a serious problem on their hands with these 1999-2001 cars.

So, rather than come clean with the consumer and make bad things good
-- they go defensive. They rather protect the bottom line, market
share, profits. To what expense? Consumer trust and loyalty.

I can understand the business logic in doing so -- but to what end? Do
they think we shall just forget this as time goes by?

Maybe the uninformed consumer whose only knowledge of Volvo is a tv ad,
or their reputation for safety, might buy this car -- those who know
will not.

Therefore, I strongly dislike the present Volvo corporation and cannot
in any way support what they are.

..02 cents,

 

Jamie~
I did have the software upgrade in May 2006 when "surging" at idle was noted
with the ac on. After this upgrade, surging at 50-60MPH was noted. This
was "fixed" and now the car doesn't drive well at all. Particullary bad
with ac on.

Stuart