Erratic idle + erratic acceleration on a 2001 S40 - ETM?

[mrbrize]

Hi all,

I have posted the following in the S40 sub-forum and was redirected to this section. Could someone assist me by confirming the problems below are lincked to my car's ETM?

So, I just bought a third hand Volvo S40 from 2001 petrol manual 1.8i, which would be absolutely perfect but for the following problems :

- The acceleration is erratic. There are "holes" in the power when I accelerate, compensated by surges forward. It is not dramatic and doesn't seem to present any danger just yet, but I am worried about it. However, the engine lamp never came on so far.
- The idle is erratic as well. The revs increase and decrease continually, between about 1000 and 1500 just after starting the car, and it then goes down a bit and oscillates between 500 and 900 rpm.
- Not sure whether this is normal or not, and if it is related to any of the problems above, but I find the car to fume quite a lot (white fumes), even after driving for 10 minutes.
- Finally, it seems to me the car has a very heavy petrol consumption. Even though I drive in the city only, it seems to drink more than 15l per 100km (sorry I can't speak in miles and gallons...).

So, since I am an absolute dummy when it comes to cars and technical stuff, I went to the mechanic to get the car checked (a random mechanic, not a Volvo dealer). He thought he had solved the problems by cleaning some sort of valve in the "throttle housing", which was incredibly dirty according to him. Problem persisted, and he advised me that the whole "throttle housing" would likely need to be replaced, and "no surprise since that's a typical Volvo problem". He also mentionned the Lambda sensor might need to be replaced, if the throttle housing wasn't enough.
Further, he checked the gas emission, and told me I wouldn't be able to pass the NCT (safety car test) as it stands.

So, here are the questions :

1 - Are my three symptoms (erratic idle, acceleration and emission) linked to a single problem, and is that problem coming from the ETM?
2 - What is the difference between ETM, trottle housing and throttle body?
3 - What would be the price for a new ETM (in pounds, euros, dollars, whatever I'll make the conversion) from Volvo? Are all Volvo dealers able to replace that if specifically asked?
4 - I have read about XeModex ETM's. Are those available in Europe (I am located in Ireland)? If so, do they need to be shipped from Canada?
5 - Depending on the diagnostic you come guys up with, could you let me know how long I may drive the car like this? What's to expect if I don't do anything, in terms of safety and condition of the car?

Many, many thanks in advance for your help!

[mrbrize]

OK, I have forgotten to add that the car has 58.000 miles.

My questions above may not be all relevant to this section of the forum, but I would like to make 100% sure about one thing :

Half the posts and articles I have read thus far around ETM state that the S40 such as mine doesn't have one, the other half state that they do... What's the truth then, nobody seems to know for sure?
Or does that mean that a 2001 S40 does have an ETM, but there is no serial defect on it, and therefore no recall/extended warranty?

Thanks guys, depending on your answer I'll go back to the S40 section to try and find out different causes to my problem

[ChrisatXeMODeX]

Your S40 has an old fashioned cable connecting gas pedal to the throttle, there is no ETM in it.
Have the vehicle scanned and see what the codes are, my guess bad O2 or high fuel pressure.

[mrbrize]

Great thanks!

Just another question then : will there be codes to read even though I don't have any lamp on on the dashboard?

[ChrisatXeMODeX]

Yes, there will be codes especially when you have misfire and fluctuating idle.

[mrbrize]

Thanks XeMODex!