general problems of the 2001 Volvo V70

Car stalls while turning or going over speed bumps. The car completely loses power when making right or left turns. It has also occurred in parking lots while driving over speed bumps. This usually takes place during acceleration. This has occurred on state highways, local, and parking lots. I do not drive the automobile on a regular basis; it is only driven occasionally (once a week). I consider myself lucky so far that nobody has rear-ended me.

First time, was in a drive through & just took off, hopped the curb, and hit talk box. Next 2 times were stopped quickly by me putting in neutral. Last time was just leaving parking space, and car jumped curb and I stopped 4 ft. From brick wall. Have had it tested 2-3 times by mechanics w/o success.

The ignition is shut off momentarily as the transmission attempts to downshift causing it to slip into neutral then engage the lower gear hard as the transmissions computer reestablishes control. This action is recorded on a video car camera operated by the ignitions on and off position. The hard shifting problem thought to be fixed by software update may be addressing the symptom not the cause. Acceleration is also affected at other times where the foot pedal is inoperable, but reestablished when shutting the ignition off and on. The drive train becomes wobbly after a short period of time at highway speeds making travel between cities unsafe. A clunking sound from the rear, as broken spring or loose bowling ball makes, is heard at times of mild acceleration at lower speeds. Perhaps a grounding strap my alleviate static buildup in the ignition system.

I started the car, placed the car in drive gear and idled through the parking lot traffic to the intersection but the car would not accelerate through the intersection though the condition restored after I pulled over and turned off the ignition and restarted it. Then the accelerator functioned normally. Had a semi truck been coming along, I would not be here to write you this letter.

My car had a sudden lack of power and in some turns would stall. These would cause a dangerous situation in traffic. I took the car to the dealer and they had the electronic throttle module and throttle body had to be replaced. This is very expensive and should not occur.

The car was shaking when started. It also had a horribly loud noise. I called to have it towed to the Volvo dealership but they were closed so I had it towed to the local mechanic in my town. He checked the system and said the throttle was defective and that I should have this done by warranty from the Volvo dealership. When I called the Volvo dealership in santa rosa, CA. They said that it could be caused by a dirty throttle and I should have the car checked first to make sure this was not the case. My mechanic checked this and it cost me $129. 35 for him to trouble shoot the situation to make sure this was a warranty issue. He then called the Volvo dealership and spoke to alex in service and told him that the problem was the throttle defect. The car was then towed to the dealership/service department. They checked it and said a part in the throttle was defective. They replaced that part and then had to replace the entire etm system. They had problems downloading the new software but finally were able to get it to run. They gave me a loaner car but wouldn't pay for my charges to have the problem diagnosed. ($129. 00). I would have had it taken to them in the first place but they were closed. This was very frightening! it took 5 days to repair the vehicle.