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Volvo • Flaming Volvos • Fuel leak recall • Other complaints

Roxanne of Edmonton OTHER (08/18/08)
My 1999 Volvo V70 was purchased in September of 2006. The car is wonderful to drive however it seems to have some issues which, although under recall, Volvo refuses to fix. My first contact with Anglo Canadian Motors - the only Volvo Dealership in Edmonton, AB, Canada was a tremendously stressful experience! It all started on February 3, 2007. I was driving to my Stepdad's to have the oil changed on my car (he does all my oil changes and knows a lot about cars but is not a licensed mechanic), the oil pressure light came on about 1/2 way to my destination so I pulled over and immediately popped the hood and checked the oil, the levels were good. I started the car again and the light was still on so I called my stepdad to ask what might be wrong. He obviously asked about the oil level and I told him that it was reading fine. He suggested I add some oil, just to be safe and bring the car straight to him so he could check it. I did as he said - the oil pressure light did not go off at all. My stepdad checked everything he could think of but couldn't find anything wrong. He changed the oil and suggested that I take it into Volvo to have them check it - I had to have it towed as I didn't want to do any damage just in case. Let me be clear here, the only issue was that the oil pressure light was illuminated. There were no funky noises or smells or smoke or anything. All else seemed fine with the car, it ran fine, it drove fine, nothing really seemed to be wrong except the light. Here's where things get bad - I had the car towed to Volvo, it was a saturday afternoon so of course Volvo closes early - they did however promise that they would look at it first thing Monday morning. Monday morning came and went so I finally called them Monday late afternoon to find out what was going on - they still hadn't looked at it. I called again on Tuesday morning and they still hadn't looked at it. Called again Tuesday afternoon and finally they had looked at it however the news was NOT good. I was told by the Service Rep that the car would require an engine rebuild as the heads' were damaged and that this work was going to cost me about 8000.00!!! I was obviously shocked beyond belief and obviously requested more explanation (I am a woman by the way so I'm not sure it that plays any part in this whole scenario...). The Service Rep continued to tell me that the car was severely damaged - supposedly because I had driven it after the oil pressure light came on - and that the engine would need to be rebuilt. How is this possible? There was, as I stated before, no funky noises, no smells, no smoke, no nothing! Not to mention, I could have purchased a brand new motor for the car for what they were quoting me for the rebuild! I asked if they could fax me a copy of the diagnostic report and of course was told they couldn't do that. I told them to stop everything, hung up the phone and called my husband at work. I told him what they said and he was so shocked he couldn't speak. I explained that logically, what they were telling me did not make sense at all. My husband hung up the phone and called Volvo himself - Volvo stuck by their guns and gave him the same story. I then called Volvo and told them not to do anything and that I would be down to pick the car up then next day. The next day my husband and I went down to pick the car up. I was given Volvo's report on the car which states exactly this NO OIL PRESSURE LIGHT ON AT THIS TIME. CHECKED OIL LEVEL. GOOD. OIL LOOKS AIRATED. SUPSECT OIL PAN SEALS DAMAGED. WILL ALSO LIKELY REQ HEAD TO BE REBUILT (LIFTERS NOISY, AND CLOUD OF SMOKE C OMING OUT OF TAIL PIPE). *NOTE* THERE MAY BE OTHER DAMGE TO ENGINE ABOVE AFOREMENTIONED ISSUES. After we got the keys back, we started the car - nothing was wrong, the oil pressure light was off, there was no unusual noises or smells or smoke or anything. My husband drove it down the road and it seemed to be fine. We were both mystified however we had found a reliable mechanic through a friend who new all about Volvo's so we took the car directly to him - we drove it there and had no problems. The next day (Wednesday February 7th) our new mechanic took a look at it - I worked right next door to him so I was anxiously awaiting his findings! I had told him what Volvo had said and showed him the report that I was given. By that afternoon he came and talked with me and I was more than relieved as you will understand after this next bit of information! My 'trusted' mechanic came back to me with this on his report Oil pressure light was not on when vehicle moved into shop. No exhaust smoke. Oil level good. Remove oil pressure switch. Oil pressure cold, idle 85psi. 2500rpm 75psi. No problem with oil pressure. Remove filler cap when running, valve train is being lubricated. Recommend changing oil more ofter to help clean up sludge build up. Inside valve cover and on sending unit there is sludge/ carbon. Do not recommend doing an internal engine flush as this could caused problem if too much sludge remove at one time. Road test, no valve train noise detected at city or freeway speeds. What was the problem - well, the people who owned the car prior didn't maintain it very well, the oil had not been changed regularly and there was a build up of sludge - what was required to fix it - an oil pressure switch was replaced, the part cost 23.91. My total bill with part, labor and tax 147.99! A far cry from 8000.00!!! And all I had to do was get the oil changed every other month to get the sludge cleaned up - I am now back to regularly scheduled oil changes and the oil pressure light no longer comes on! Needless to say, my trust in Volvo service has diminished extensively! No, actually, my trust in Volvo service is completely GONE! Unfortunately, my contact with Volvo continues as now I have a recall issue that needs resolution. In October 2007, the ETS light came on and not knowing what this was I took out my owner's manual and looked it up. The Electronic Throttle System - whatever that is - was at fault. Not knowing what this was I did some research on the internet and found out that Volvo has a recall on this. Now, the car wasn't really doing anything out of the ordinary at this point, the light just came on and every now and then the engine would rev up and down when I was idled at a light or something - nothing really huge or even all that worriesome, just quizzical. I of course called Volvo to have the recall work done - great, not this again! I was told that it was a simple software download so booked it in for the download. On October 26, 2007 I took the car down for the download and waited since it would only be an hour to do. The service rep came out, said You're good to go. I asked if the download was done and he said Yes. But it may take a few hours for the software download to take effect so give it a day and if the light comes back on give them a call I was also told that the next step would be to replace the ETS module if the light wouldn't go off. I signed the paper, got my keys and left. The ETS light was off when I started my car and drove away. Within a few km's the light came back on again so I thought nothing of it and continued home. The next day the light was still on so I called Volvo. I was asked if the car was doing anything strange, at that point it was not so I was told to wait and see what happened. On November 2, 2007 my husband and I took our daughter out for dinner for her birthday and about 2 blocks from the restaurant we stopped at a red light and the car simply DIED, right in the middle of the road! Couldn't get it to start at all, all we got when we turned the key was a 'click'. We pushed it off to the side of the road and took a taxi home as it was quite late in the evening. Called Volvo first thing November 3, 2007 (saturday) and had the car towed to the dealership. Volvo couldn't even LOOK at the car until November 9th! I had to rent a car for a week! I explained that I had just had the software download done the week before and the ETS light had never gone out so it had to be something to do with that. They said they would look into it. On November 9th I was told that it wasn't the ETS, it was the Fuel Pump Relay switch. I asked if they would replace the ETS module because I was certain that was the problem. I was told that they could not do that because the diagnostic indicated it was the fuel pump relay so Volvo would not approve the replacement of the ETS module. I called my husband and expressed my distrust in Volvo's service department and although he agreed with me, he thought it best to simply have the part replaced and see what happened - 305.52 later! Volvo cleared the ETS indicator after replacing the fuel pump relay and I drove the car home. Within 2 days the ETS light was back on and I was back on the phone with Volvo. They booked me in for November 23rd to have it checked again. The ETS light goes on for a few days then goes off for a few days, then goes on, then goes off. When I took the car in on November 23rd, the light was off and I was told that they couldn't do anything if the light was off because they couldn't get the 'reports' that they need to submit to Volvo to have the work approved. I am now frustrated beyond belief! I called and spoke with the service manager and didn't manage to get anywhere however, I did get a tidbit of information that really ticked me off! I was told by the service manager that the ETS software download was originally done in 2004, I said that wasn't possible since I hadn't owned the car in 2004 and that I had taken it in for the download in Oct of 2007. The service manager was adamant that the download had been done in 2004. I then asked if the download would be done twice for any reason. He said No, because it was the same download and they would never do it twice. Interesting, I was told by the service rep on October 26th 2007 that the download had been done - note my quote from the service rep above. Okay, so the service manager insists, according to the maintenance records of my vehicle, using my VIN#, that the download had been done prior to me even owning the car and that this is 'on record' for my car according the the VIN# and that Volvo has access to all of this information - now tell me why, when I took my car in on October 26th 2007, the service rep didn't notice (or didn't care) that this download had already taken place - they had the reports ON THAT DAY that the ETS module was all messed up! Now, I can't get Volvo to do anything because when I take it down to them, they seem to find other things wrong with it and supposedly it can't possibly be the ETS module! So, to date, the ETS light is still on (it doesn't even go off anymore), the check engine light keeps coming on, my car stalls at intersections - though it does start back up again, it continues to rev when idling and sputters almost constantly. I'm now having some noticable issues with the braking although I've pretty much narrowed this down to only happening after I've hit a pothole or a bump in the road then braking - the brakes become quite sluggish and stiff and requires a lot more pressure to get the car to stop. I've replaced ALL of the window controls which was quite costly AND I've had to replace the tailgate lock (which is under recall as well but only for the year 2000 model - I currently have an inquiry in regarding this for a reimbursement of my money - ya well, a girl can have dream right!). I still love my car, overall it treats me quite well and still drives great most of the time - what I can't stand is dealing with Volvo. How is it possible that there can be an obvious defect that already has a recall out on it but the manufacturer won't honor their committment to it. It boggles my mind to realize this but even worse is the fact that there is no recourse for the consumer - we file the complaints and we talk to the people who are supposed to be there to help us but we get nowhere! Why is there not a governing body to which we can go with these issues who will actually assist us in resolving these issues and getting these manufacturers to provide the service and quality that they brag about when they're trying to sell you their product but that as soon as they have their money, they conveniently forget all about! This is what the issue truly is, not the fact that they're producing crap that in some cases poses a critical risk but that they don't feel the need or more importantly, the RESPONSIBILITY, to fix the problems and actually follow through with the promises.

Joseph of Belmont, MA August 16, 2008

Joseph of Belmont MA (08/16/08)
We purchased a 2004 XC90 Volvo. The car was purchased because of the reputation that Volvo has for a dependable, long running, safe car. That is simply not the case anymore. My wife took the car in because the transmission was not right. Much to our surprise we were told we needed a new transmisson. The car has only 41k miles on it!!!!!! Who has ever heard of that!?!?!?!?!?! We are in the process of deciding what to do and looking to Volvo for help. So far there has been nothing. I'm on board with the other Volvo owners who would like to file a Class Action suit!!!

Alison of Snellville, GA August 14, 2008

Alison of Snellville GA (08/14/08)
I have a 2002 Volvo XC- it has had so many problems I couldn't list them all, but a lot of these comments are very familiar. lights go out constantly, the fuel pump went out (now under recall _ I had already replaced it, wrote for my refund over 7 weeks ago and have never received the refund!, no number for contact) Now the transmission needs to be replaced, it revs really high in stop and go traffic and then lunges forward really hard when the transmission finally catches. We have been diligent with maintenance on the car, all recommended scheduled maintainance has been performed, oil changes are performed as required, everything. It's so frustrating, not to mention expensive. I love the safety features of this car, I love the styling of it, the interior is so well thought out- everything is right where it should be. But as far as reliability, I could never recommend one to a friend.

Last year I spent over 5,500.00 on repairs that I never would have encountered in the Hondas that I drove for years. Not to mention the lost time from work to take the car to and from the dealership constantly.

Ray of Freehold, NJ August 13, 2008

Ray of Freehold NJ (08/13/08)
My 2001 S80 Volvo showed a transmission service message. Brought the car into the dealer and told them of the problem. The service person was extremely understanding and helpful, provided a loaner car for the day for me. Unfortunately the problem was the transmission needed to be replaced. The problem that I have with Volvo is that the transmission was replaced just 19 months ago. It had the exact same problems. That time it was under warranty. I asked if there was anything Volvo could do as far as a warranty on the transmission seeing as it was changed such a short time ago. I was told that nothing could be done. So here I am with my S80 Volvo, needing a third transmission for the cost of 4700.00. Attempted to call Volvo with absolutely no luck. This is only the latest of issues with this car over the five years I've owned it. Will never purchase another Volvo again

Breanna of Acworth, GA August 7, 2008

Breanna of Acworth GA (08/07/08)
I bought my 2001 Volvo S60 pre-owned with 61,000 miles on it in 2006, It is now August of 2008 and I have had NUMEROUS problems with this car. First, my transmission went out about 3 months after I bought the car. For about a year nothing happened, then the whole front of the car started making a shaking sound. So the dealership replaced the bushings or something, costing way too much. I've gone through probably 8 headlights, 3 tail lights and 2 blinkers. The sunroof is somehow broken, the driver's side window sometimes doesn't go down, otherwise when it does, I try to put it back up and it goes about a quarter of the way then goes back down. My air conditioning unit has gone out, and to replace this is 1100 all it is is a new head unit, sort of. I just have had the worst time with this car. I've thought it was a lemon or something but i just don't know what to do! I'm all for a law suit there's no reason for people to replace a whole trnsmission for a car, it's crazy! I HATE VOLVO

Emrol of Chesterfield, VA August 3, 2008

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