I bought a 2001 V70XC T5 with 78k miles on it a couple of years ago. As the odometer ticked over 90k the car started showing signs of the ETM problem that this forum was very helpful to identify. The car had two main symptoms. One was noisy, stumbling cold starts. It sounded like it was missing and hunting when it started and then it bucked and chugged for the first few miles until it warmed up a bit. The second was "bucking" when it was on the highway. Even on cruise control it would "buck" several times. It felt like the drive tapped the brake a couple of times; just enough to make passengers look up and wonder what was happening. Hence the nickname "Bucky".
I took the car to a local mechanic for other service, and as part of the 90k the shop ran it through the full sweep test. The sweep test showed that the two sensors had a measurement difference between them of 9.5º. The mechanic said if the sensors had differed by 10º Volvo would have replaced the ETM under the warranty. He also showed the trace output where you could see the throttle hunting wildly at low speed idle. He also got an engine code 91A7 during the full test but it was not a permanent failure. I also really did not want to take the car into the Volvo dealer for a $150 "sorry not bad enough to replace" story.
Hoping that the ETM might give out while still under the 10 year extended warranty I kept driving but no luck. The 10 years was up in December, 2010 and no permanent failure nor check engine light. It also never went into limp home mode.
Bucky was still unpleasant to drive and the problem would only get worse, so I made the decision to go with the XeMODeX remanufactured part. I ordered the part on a Monday and the rebuilt part showed up on Friday ready to install. The job is a bit intimidating but if you are comfortable taking out major engine parts you should be fine. The following steps summarize the work (forgive me if the names are not 100% correct)
Disconnect Battery
Remove short fresh air intake duct
- Pulls off by hand
Remove turbo intake duct
- 2 hose clamps plus two torx screws
Remove turbo intercooler intake hose (short hose by radiator the turbo intake duct was connected to)
- 1 hose clamp
Remove fan assembly
- Disconnect two electrical connectors, two torx screws and two bolts holding the fan in place. You will have to move the wiring harness to get the fan assembly out.
Remove oil dipstick retainer
- 1 bolt
Remove air intake duct from bottom of ETM
- 1 hose clamp
Disconnect ETM electrical connector from body electrical connector
Remove ETM from bottom of intake manifold
- 4 long bolts
Remove old gasket from intake manifold if it does not come out with ETM
Installation is the reverse of removal.
I decided on the XeMODeX because it was either that, a Volvo remanufactured part, or another aftermarket remanufactured part. The price on the XeMODeX was as good or better than the others. The sweep test output from the mechanic and the engine code confirmed that the ETM was the problem in my case.
When I started it up for the first the stumbling and missing were gone. The cruise control on the highway no longer bucks. Bucky is all calmed down and nice to drive again.
Good luck and enjoy!
XeMODeX tamed Bucky the V70XC's ETM Problem
Just curious if your car STARTED the hesitation/surge at slightly greater throttle setting than to maintain speed on a level road?
My '01 S60 T5 w/ 105k starts and idles rock smooth, but maintaining speed, especially slightly uphill, or accelerating just a bit, the car bucks as if you are being hit with head-on wind gusts. It's worse w/ a hot soaked engine (if you restart after the car has set hot for 5-20min) or with the A/C on. When cold, it's more like someone adding/removing throttle about every 1/2 sec.
I just had the car to the dealer, and they said no codes were present, and after they replaced the fuel pump under a recall, they could not duplicate the condition. It was smooth until 1/2 way home (20mi) after I picked it up at the dealers, now it's back as bad as ever.
At this point I am trying plugs, coil packs (all were replaced once), MAF, etc., but hesitate to throw $600 at the problem until I am SURE it's the problem. The dealer said they did a sweep test and it was w/in specs, so not exactly sure what that means. I'd have felt better if they had said, "Yes, it's going, but it's not bad enough to replace, yet."
My '01 S60 T5 w/ 105k starts and idles rock smooth, but maintaining speed, especially slightly uphill, or accelerating just a bit, the car bucks as if you are being hit with head-on wind gusts. It's worse w/ a hot soaked engine (if you restart after the car has set hot for 5-20min) or with the A/C on. When cold, it's more like someone adding/removing throttle about every 1/2 sec.
I just had the car to the dealer, and they said no codes were present, and after they replaced the fuel pump under a recall, they could not duplicate the condition. It was smooth until 1/2 way home (20mi) after I picked it up at the dealers, now it's back as bad as ever.
At this point I am trying plugs, coil packs (all were replaced once), MAF, etc., but hesitate to throw $600 at the problem until I am SURE it's the problem. The dealer said they did a sweep test and it was w/in specs, so not exactly sure what that means. I'd have felt better if they had said, "Yes, it's going, but it's not bad enough to replace, yet."
Howdy. Apologies for the late follow up.
My V70XC showed the worst problems while coasting or decelerating at highway speeds especially down hill. It would give an annoying short buck and surge and then keep going. It was also very rough at startup. It stumbled and hunted around trying to find idle. As several other posters have suggested, it depends on where the ETM contacts are worn out.
A local shop that specializes in Volvos replaced the plugs and the coil modules. He also ran the sweep test which showed the two sensors were about 9.5º off. According to him, Volvo replaces the ETM if the sensors are off by 10º so no luck there.
It took me two tries at replacing the ETM with a XeMODeX unit. The first unit failed for some reason after only 8 starts. Chris at XeMODeX shipped me a replacement unit and I shipped the defective unit back. The second unit has been working beautifully. It took me about 2 hours the first time, an hour to put the old one back in, and only about 45 minutes to put the second unit in.
The $650 price is not cheap but the Volvo dealer wants over $1,000 to replace the unit with a Volvo part that will exhibit the same problem eventually.
Good luck if you decide to replace your ETM with a XeMODeX. I am very glad I replaced mine.
My V70XC showed the worst problems while coasting or decelerating at highway speeds especially down hill. It would give an annoying short buck and surge and then keep going. It was also very rough at startup. It stumbled and hunted around trying to find idle. As several other posters have suggested, it depends on where the ETM contacts are worn out.
A local shop that specializes in Volvos replaced the plugs and the coil modules. He also ran the sweep test which showed the two sensors were about 9.5º off. According to him, Volvo replaces the ETM if the sensors are off by 10º so no luck there.
It took me two tries at replacing the ETM with a XeMODeX unit. The first unit failed for some reason after only 8 starts. Chris at XeMODeX shipped me a replacement unit and I shipped the defective unit back. The second unit has been working beautifully. It took me about 2 hours the first time, an hour to put the old one back in, and only about 45 minutes to put the second unit in.
The $650 price is not cheap but the Volvo dealer wants over $1,000 to replace the unit with a Volvo part that will exhibit the same problem eventually.
Good luck if you decide to replace your ETM with a XeMODeX. I am very glad I replaced mine.
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 4 Replies
- 1204 Views
-
Last post by precopster
-
- 3 Replies
- 1073 Views
-
Last post by precopster