Throttle Body

Ffranzwa · Post by **Ffranzwa** » 25 Jun 2011, 09:03

I have had some new experiences w/ Volvo. Unfortunately, none of them are good.
A few months ago, we made the mistake of buying an '04 S60 for my wife, our first "foreign" car. It came from Chicago (ebay) and had 46K,which I consider a "new" car because we usually keep our vehicles well past 150K. I have done all work on our cars thus far.
It now has 51K and I just towed my wife to the dealership. Another unpleasant first experience, since it's the lowest mileage vehicle that I have ever had to tow.
The dealer says it's the electronic throttle module (#30711554) and wants $850 to fix it. I have located several suppliers willing to sell this part much cheaper, thanks to Matthew's Volvo Site!
My question is twofold:
-Is this a common problem w/ an 04 s60? I have never experienced a throttle body failure with any of our domestics (30+cars), with the exception of a '94 Olds Bravada. It had about 170K when it failed and I was able to piece it back together in about a day for $5. I sold it with 210K mikes!
-Is there any free (or low cost) instructions on how to replace the throttle body in this car? Normally, I would buy a Chilton's after purchasing a car to assist with repairs and help identify parts. The Internet has also been a valuable resource for repairs as well. It appears to me that Volvo has done an exceptional job of maintaining a veil of secrecy regarding repairs of their vehicles, as well as manufacturing safeguards to prevent even the most basic preventitive maintenance (a $50 tool just to get the cheap plastic oil filter cover off is a good example).
As you might have guessed, our Volvo experience will be short-lived. My plan is to pay the dealer for the diagnosis ($80), tow it back to the house, replace the throttle body, sell this car, buy another Chrysler 300 (127K and no tune-up!) AND CAULK ALL THIS UP TO A BAD DREAM!
No offense to you Volvo lovers out there, but I DON'T GET IT!
Thanks for reading my rant!
Fred Franzwa

Post by **JRL** » 25 Jun 2011, 10:15

NOT common on an 04 at all, (only 99-2001s the old design have issues), exactly what are your symptoms?

Remember YOU cannot install it, it needs software to for it to mate to the car and run
I would suggest a cleaning first and get a 2nd opinion

It's the price of the part, (PLUS software $60) PLUS labor to program AND install it
Actually that's quite cheap for a dealer, wholesale

jda2000 · Post by **jda2000** » 25 Jun 2011, 13:42

Fred, I think you are a bit confused about the older and newer cars with all its electronic modules.

All car makes started using electronic throttles (ETMs)around '98-'99, is not just a volvo issue. The wire driven throttle of older cars rarely fail, except for the throttle position sensor. These ETM have computer chips/circuit boards embedded into them and failure of these units is expensive , requiring software download from the specific dealer.

European car parts are 2-3x more expensive than domestic brands, so indeed repairing a chrysler would be much cheaper than a volvo. Good luck with your new purchase..

Ffranzwa · Post by **Ffranzwa** » 26 Jun 2011, 10:44

Thanks for the replies. It's much appreciated and good luck with the Volvo gig.

Post by **priapism** » 26 Jun 2011, 18:16

The ETMs are easy to repair replace, but you gotta go to a dealer to have them reprogrammed. As stated, these throttle-by-wire things are a new creation. It's very surprising to have an 04 with such low mileage fail.

What are the symptoms? Are you getting "reduced engine performance" messages? Does the car rev at all or do the revs just jump around?