V70 coughs and dies then won't start.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Thursday 10th July 2008, 13:11

I was sitting in our local Postman's Office car park and couldn't get the engine started, it fired up and I could put my foot down to get the revs to climb, but as soon as I took my foot off the pedal it dropped back to zero and died.

Call out a recovery, but after a call to my other half she told me to try putting my foot on the break and then start the engine, this I did and got it going long enough to drive it around the corner to a garage. They looked at it and after putting a diagnostic unit on it said the car was fine, not showing any problems with the engine or autobox.

Next they got me to sit in and start the car and then run it until it switched over to gas, which I did and the car ticked over without any problems, but as soon as I switch back to petrol it cut out. Next they took the Air Mass Indicator out of the loop and the car ran on petrol and ticked over no problem. The guy said that the AMI would not show up as a fault on the diagnostic unit, but when it was switched off the engine maintenance warning comes up on the readout in the car.

I drove it home and it's gone back in this morning for them to fit a new AMI which I'm hoping will sort the problem.

The problem seems to be that the AMI was telling the cars computer that it was getting to much air and stopping it from firing.

I'll let you know what happens when I get it back.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Thursday 10th July 2008, 16:54

Just picked the car up the problem was the Air Mass Sensor. They have replaced it with a new pattern one, around £100 cheaper than the Volvo one, it has a two year warranty. Total cost was £209.29, the sensor was £155.62 plus vat , so I'm hoping that's sorted the problem out.

It's running a lot better now on petrol for the short time it's running on it

Now to find a replacement for the naff HU-403 cassette radio.

**Wombatbomb** · Thursday 10th July 2008, 18:29

Keep the receipt etc for the sensor very safe, the pattern one's are notoriously poor.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Thursday 10th July 2008, 18:42

I keep all my receipts for everything to do with my Volvos. The old T5 has a folder with everything from oil changes to tyres and a change of radio. It's handy when I need to sell the car, the more info you can provide the better.

Thanks anyway for the tip it's always good to hear from others.

**Wombatbomb** · Thursday 10th July 2008, 18:44

So do I, unfortunately my wife has this habit of "tidying" things, apparently to a very safe place. So safe, in fact, that normally my stuff is never seen again

**Porcine_Aviator** · Sunday 20th July 2008, 23:06

The latest on my V70 is good news and bad news. The car started doing the same thing so it went back to the garage, they had it for two days and had no luck at all. They stripped out some of the pipes that were cracked and replaced them. Still did the same thing so they put the old flow control back on, it wouldn't start at all. So the new unit went back in and it started but coughed and died then started. So, as a last resort he phoned our local Volvo garage and they put him on to a website where he found the problem described, put the car back together and dropped it around to me.

His searching found that the throttle module is the problem and it was so bad that Volvo have extended the warranty to 10 years or 200,000 miles. As he had had the car for two days I asked him what the charge was and his words were a real surprise "There's no charge, we couldn't fix it so how can we charge you?".

I got on to Volvo who confirmed that if I take it into a dealer they will do the work under warranty. So a quick call to a company and she's booked in for Wednesday and they are doing a service at the same time.

It's still running but some very odd things are happening, like the Aircon came on without the ignition switched on. It cuts out at lights and then won't start, until it will cause the most embarrassment. Put your foot down to pull away at a roundabout and the revs climb and she just sits there, it almost red lined once before it engaged a gear. Drive along with cruise on and the revs will suddenly jump and then drop back. Then you get a juddering just like you are going over rumble strips, then it stops and you can drive for miles and nothing happens. To add to this I won't pull out and floor it, like I did in my 850 T5, at the moment, I never know if it's going to take off or slow down. It's like driving a 2CV

With all these things happening my other half has called her "Christine"

The best thing about her is the LPG conversion, I filled up yesterday it cost me £19.10 went out today for a run to see some National Trust places and on the way home I filled up, theres a Shell filling station that does Autogas at 54p a litre near Ilminster. Total for the run down to Yeovil, Lytes Cary, Barrington Court, Ilminster, was £8.10 and we had to sit in traffic on the way out in the morning, due to the world and his wife, or so it seemed, coming into Weston for T4 on the Beach. So the LPG is allowing us to get out and see the countryside, and escape the chaos that's Weston on a weekend.

As for the garage, I'm going to drop a case of beer around for them as a thank you.

Right that's it I'm off to bed, an early night is called for.

I'll let you know how things went after she goes in on Wednesday, I'm praying that it's not going to cost an arm and a leg for the service

**Porcine_Aviator** · Thursday 24th July 2008, 22:48

And the latest, I took the car into the company and they had it for the day, then at 5:30pm they hit me with a bill for £794. They said that Volvo had reduced the cost of the warranty work, they had paid a small amount towards the cost. Small being the operative word.

I paid up and drove home, a matter of 25 miles, about 10 miles from home the car started to cough, then as I pulled up onto the slip road it started to jerk and and then it cut out. Just the same as before.

I nursed it home after it stopping and starting, and when I pulled up at a roundabout the revs climbed to 5000 and then dropped. Then it tried to jump forward on to the roundabout , so I dropped it into neutral, it nearly red lined so I put it back into gear to kill the revs. It then did this for almost the rest of the way home.

This morning I phoned the company and asked them to pick it up and sort it out.

They told me they would let me have the V70 back by the end of the day, at 5:30pm after no phone call I rang and was told that the engineers had gone home and left no message about the car, some service.

I'm wondering if they are going to ask for more money for the work they didn't do yesterday.

Well another day another surprise, did you know that it costs £9.00 labour to replace a number plate bulb.

I'm driving a V50 1.6 D they have loaned me with 2800 miles on the clock, I'm not happy it's a bloody Ford diesel, acceleration when you first put your foot down, it's like the engines saying shall I go? Well ah oh alright and then it goes off. Once you're running it does seem to accelerate quickly.

That's it for now, maybe tomorrow I'll get Christine back.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Friday 25th July 2008, 19:10

Spitting bricks, the car has been in all day and not a word from them. I had to phone at 3pm to ask what was happening.

Now they are saying that it's a sensor on the LPG that's causing the problem, and there are two wires missing.

It might be me, but why wasn't this found and sorted out on Wednesday when they did all the work?

This afternoon they said they want to keep her in over the weekend and get her right for Monday!

They also said you have a loan car don't you? I replied yes but I'm not very happy about this.

So it's now Monday to get her back, I'm wondering what else they will find by then. I can hear the siphon going into high pressure suck on my bank account.

**Okete** · Friday 25th July 2008, 19:17

Flying Pig,

You are a more patient man than I would've been - are you sure these guys aren't pulling your pizzle?!!

**Porcine_Aviator** · Friday 25th July 2008, 20:14

I will know on Monday, until then I'm on slow burn

**Porcine_Aviator** · Wednesday 30th July 2008, 11:49

Well Monday came and went and still no car, they are blaming it on the LPG conversion. They say the will remove all the wires and get the car running on petrol so that I will have a car to use. But they want to keep it over night again to make sure it's okay.

So I let them have her after hitting the roof and saying that they had cost me money, the V50 diesel they had let me have was no safe.

I then phoned on Tuesday afternoon as they don't seem to bother phoning the client unless they are pushed. They said it was now working fine as they had dissconnected the LPG.

They dropped it off the this morning after doing an Essential Service, replacing rear disks and pads on the hand brake drum and other odds and sods. They told me it was running okay.

I drove it to get some fuel and guess what, the bloody car did the same thing as before, and to add insult to injury the Transmission Service Required warning light has now come on

I had e-mailed Volvo and they said it was the LPG that was the problem, well that has been proved to be a lie because the car is still doing the same thing with no gas on it. Boy do I hate being lied to.

I have just phoned them and hit the roof, I told them I want to speak to the group's MD.

I now have to go some where else to get the work done because they don't seem to be able to sort out the problem.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Wednesday 30th July 2008, 13:30

I have been on the phone to Volvo, I feel like I've be ripped off well a truly. They have told me that there is one other Volvo main agent in the area, Yeovil Motor Company, guess what? It's another branch of the same company, joy.

I have been on the phone to them and found out that the same person is the manager of both branches, so do I think I'm going to get the same service there? I'm tempted to put a poll on the page to see what peeps think :-)

I'm now waiting for a phone call from said manager to see what they can do, boy is Christine earning her name.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Wednesday 30th July 2008, 17:30

And now for something completely different:-( Just had a phone call from the MD of the company and he's arranging for the car to go back in again. we are having a new V70 on loan.

Now for the interesting part. My other half has been doing some research on the Volvo ETM and it seems that there is a major design fault. The ones fitted to to Volvo's 1998 to 2001 were Magnetti Marelli and they have a problem, and are known to fail. The company no longer make them and so the ones that are taken off the cars a refurbished and then put back on.

Magnetti Marelli (MM) are no longer in business, and so there are no longer any new MM units.

Volvo have come up with a range of excuses as to why my V70 is not working including the LPG conversion. Well guess what it's doing it when the LPG is not running! They had disconnected it and left the parts in the rear foot well in a plastic bag.

It's the ETM and Volvo won't admit that it's the problem, in fact they will say it's due to the car not being serviced regularly by a Volvo main agent.

There are probably other threads on the forum about this but as this was a the first time I had come across it I asked about it and then did the follow up.

The Service Manager came around to pick up the car and I took him for a short drive to show him the problem. Short being the operative word, thousand yards/metres and it started to jerk and rev, then it cut out as I came to a junction, I was really pleased as they had said that the car was road tested over two days, some 30 miles, and nothing was found to be wrong.

So now we wait, it looks like it's going to be a long haul trying to get this sorted out and the car running properly. It looks as if Volvo are saying that if you have a car they built between 1998 and 2001 and the ETM dies forget it, get a newer car.

I wonder if this has anything to do with Ford's buyout of Volvo in 1999?

Well that's it for now.

To coin a phrase "I'll be back.

**Terminator** · Thursday 31st July 2008, 19:47

This is the first I have heard that Volvo UK do not stock or unable to get hold of replacement new Marelli ETMs.

Drop our resident parts' expert Rufe (Simon) from FRF Swansea a line who will confirm the situation.

The Guys you have been dealing with sound a right bunch of Muppets so demand a refund and take it to another dealer or a specialist.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Friday 1st August 2008, 18:17

Will do.

I've just had it back, one of the things I told them about, before it went back in again on Wednesday, was the Transmission Service Required message was on on the dash, along with the little red engine warning light.

The guy who delivered it said that it was fine no lights on at all. He also left me with the old Air Mass Sensor in a box. I say old it was fitted last Monday week.

I took the car out and with in a mile the Transmission Service Required message came up again. So I phoned the garage and told them, and I also pointed out that they had told me everything was now fine. They turned the delivery driver around and sent him back to me. Meanwhile I dropped into the garage that had put the new Air Mass Metre on to ask them to return it for a refund. The manager opened th box took one look and said "That's not the AMM we fitted!" I looked at it and it was covered in muck and sand, the only mileage it had done was 25 miles to the garage and return twice. Yet it looked as if it had done 100,000 miles. So they refused to take it back for a refund, and I have to say I would have done the same, it was looked really bad.

They have also said that the gearbox has "Intermittent Judder in 3rd 30/40 MPH" It wasn't doing that before it went in.

So I'm still driving around in a V70 D with 600 miles on the clock, and I can't say I'm happy, I want my V70 back.

**Porcine_Aviator** · Tuesday 5th August 2008, 16:20

The continuing story of a man and his V70. I have just had a phone call from the garage to say the car is on it's way back to me. Not bad going they have had it off and on for nearly two weeks, more on than off. Now they are saying that she is working and the problems have been sorted out.

The matter of the Air Mass Metre is being discussed with the mechanic when he comes back tomorrow, off on a course, probably on how to fix a Volvo ETM and why it's not the gas that was to blame when the car wouldn't go.

I'm going to make sure it's working properly before I let the guy go.

All I want is a working car back, is that to much to ask?

**Porcine_Aviator** · Tuesday 5th August 2008, 19:42

And Finally. It's back and working and at no extra charge. They delivered it this afternoon and while the guy was there I took him out for a drive. It ran really well so I sign off the work. Then I took the family out for a run just to be sure and other than a few odd noises, squeaks from the rear, I blame the people sitting in the rear, it ran really well.

I'm going to run her up to Manchester on Thursday, so I can be sure it's working as it should.

Am I glad I got recovery to home on it

It's now got s new Bosch Air Mass Metre, a new, well it's supposed to be new, ETM, the gas reconnected and running well, and the jerk in the gearbox fixed. So I'm a happy Porcine Aviator at the moment. But it will take a few miles of driving before I'm really happy, I hate driving along with the thought that something is going to go wrong.

I'm just hoping this will be the last about Christine on this thread.

**woz** · Friday 5th September 2008, 23:34

Originally Posted by Porcine_Aviator

And Finally. It's back and working and at no extra charge. .............It's now got s new Bosch Air Mass Metre, a new, well it's supposed to be new, ETM, the gas reconnected and running well, and the jerk in the gearbox fixed. So I'm a happy Porcine Aviator at the moment. But it will take a few miles of driving before I'm really happy, I hate driving along with the thought that something is going to go wrong.

I'm just hoping this will be the last about Christine on this thread.

Slightly better news then buddy, lets hope it stays that way!!!!!

Its not the jerks in the gearbox that needs fixing - its the jerks in the garage!!!

And are you gouing to name and shame them?? Sounds like shocking incompetence to me - save us from them ???

Woz.

**Dacvolvo** · Friday 5th September 2008, 23:57

Porcine Aviator

I've only just read your story of misery and would like to shake you hand for putting up with such crap from everyone. I'm amazed they've actually managed to fix your V70 and to be honest, if it were me and they'd mucked me about any longer, I'd have been selling the V50 on Ebay.

Well done

**Porcine_Aviator** · Saturday 6th September 2008, 11:42

And finally, I know I said it before - Well I think it's finally!!

I got the car back as I said and we drove up to Manchester with a side trip to Ellesmere Port and back no problem no problem. Did the whole run on about £60s worth of LPG.

The following day I took my better half up to Portishead a ten mile run. I stopped the car walked down the road a short way, then walked back to the car as I found a place to park closer, we were picking up some heavy stuff.
I got back in and turned the engine over, it wouldn't start, no matter what I did if just turned over and over. I left it for a while and tried again, nothing! So I called out a recovery company and they sent a guy to try and get it started. He took one look and said "It's a 2000 Volvo, they have these throttle modules on them"," Sorry but I don't think I can get it going, I'll try". He did and he couldn't.

So he called out a wagon and they took me down to Taunton Motor Company, where I have to say I hit the roof. I told them that I had paid to have the work done and they had failed to full fill their part of the deal. I had asked my other half to insure our 850 and get it back on the road, as this company just didn't know what they were doing.

I really ripped into the young guy in the service department, telling him that the people who had been doing the work were not fit to sweep floors let alone work on my car. I demanded that the car was put right or they would be seeing me in court and soon. I demanded a lift home and told them I didn't want another loan car as I didn't trust Folvos. I also demanded to be kept up to date with what they were doing, not a call when it was being sent back, but a call every day if need be.

They drove me home, and the following day they rang and said that the car had started no problem, after the battery had been charged. I told them that I didn't want to hear about it starting I wanted to have the problem sorted out.

From there on I had a phone call the next day a Thursday, they had been in touch with Volvo Sweden and a new Bosch ETM was coming from Sweden, it would take a week as it was being sent a part of a larger shipment.

It arrived on the on the Tuesday, so much for a week, and they fitted it, and by the look of it a new fan and Air Mass Flow meter. They drove it around on both gas and petrol for a day and it ran, so they told me, with no problems. On Thursday morning it was delivered to me and I took it out for a run, it worked!

Friday at 12:00 noon she who must be obeyed and myself headed out for the Twinwood Arena in Bedfordshire, The Rhythm Festival was on over the weekend and we wanted to see Steve Cropper and the Animals, The Troggs, The Pretty Things , Quicksilver Messenger Service and a load of other bands.

Christine ran without a fault, traffic jam on the A34, stop start not a cough not a splutter. The SatNav said it would take two and three quarter hours to get there, it was closer to five hours, but we arrived and she ran without a problem.

We had a great time, but we got bored between the acts, not a lot to do.

The only thing that went wrong the whole weekend was due to my stupidity

, I left the cap that covers the gas inlet on the top of the pump at Toddington Services on the M1, I was on the M4 before I realised, so I have had to buy another one.

Christine is now running well on both petrol and LPG, but I'm booking her into a specialist LPG fitting company to get her tuned.

So hopefully this is the last post as we have had her running without any problems,

but one thing I know for sure, come her next MOT and service she's going to the place I would recommend to anyone, I have been using them for 20 years now and never had a problem, Formula First in Winterstoke Road, Weston-super-Mare. The only problem is they only do things like track rod ends, silencers, MOTs, Tyres, Silencers, welding etc they don't do cam belts and the like.

As far as taking the car back to Taunton Motor Company or any of their other branches, NOT A HOPE IN HELL.

Just in case you're interested and for those who want to know, Steve Cropper is the guy who wrote Otis Reading's one and only hit in the UK Sittin on the Dock on the Bay, Wilson Pickett's 6345789 to name but two of many.

If you've seen the Blues Brothers, he's the guy with the long black hair and dark glasses who plays the guitar. He was a founder member of Booker T and the MGs and also wrote a load of other well known songs from the Stax and Atlantic labels.