2000 V70XC cannot accelerate, wrong gas?

goVolvo · Post by **goVolvo** » 20 Dec 2014, 23:42

I just got a 2000 V70XC turbo. Loved the shape and seems most things work fine. Hear some growling sound when accelerating. Seems some kind of exhaust leak. It is time to fill the gas, so I added a tank of #89 at 76 gas station. Next time I started the car, it shakes, RPM is between 600 to 700. Press gas pedal it only go up to 2000 to 2500RPM, not willing to go higher. Driving is possible but only 20mph at most on flat road. Any slight uphill it can hardly climb up.

Is this called limp mode? Is it because the gas is not #92? How to fix it? Does it help to replace spark plugs and wires? Love this car, please help or let me know the best Volvo repair forum. Thanks.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 21 Dec 2014, 01:25

Running a tank of 89 isn't going to cause that type of problem. Running low grade gas problems tend to accumulate over years, not one tank.

What lights are on on the instrument cluster? Check Engine? ETS?

This sounds like an electronic throttle module problem but the ETS light being illuminated would confirm that.

Your car doesn't have spark plug wires, it has individual coils for each of the cylinders that that spark plug actually gets plugged into.

When you filled up did you top off the tank? I have had problems just after a fill up where I tried to squeeze in another half gallon or so to round to the nearest dollar and I managed to fill the EVAP system charcoal cannister with gas. In my case the car ran like crap after startup for several hundred miles. Now when I fill up I go until the pump clicks off and that is it.

If it is running that bad you should have a check engine light and thus you should be able to read the error codes with a scanner.

If you can describe what lights are lit on the cluster and post back any Pxxxx code numbers it will help us help you.

One other common problem that causes a turbo car to run that poorly is when one of the hoses to or from the intercooler either tears or pops off. Carefully check all of the fat hoses that come from the turbo out toward the radiator and then the fat hoses that come back from that area to the throttle module which is mounted under the intake manifold.

...Lee

goVolvo · Post by **goVolvo** » 21 Dec 2014, 04:54

The ETS light was on when it was running ok. I remember on the way to the gas station the ETS light was actually off. And it was off after the gas fill. ABS and traction control lights were and are still on, which I am not worried much. Check engine light is not on, which is wierd. I should get an OBDII reading anyhow today. I filled the gas just after the pump stops, didn't top off.

The turbo pipe maybe was leaky. I heard rumbling noise before. Don't know if it is totally broken or just leaky. Just bought it yesterday and only started several times and drove about 15 miles then crawled several miles home. Lot of things to learn about it.

So transmission is probably not a problm here right?

Post by **abscate** » 21 Dec 2014, 07:45

You definitely have engine trouble, so forget about the transmission for now.

If you stand still and rev the motor do you get the growling noise? A loose induction (turbo hoses) system will make a funny noise under hood. Have someone rev it while you listen with hood up.

If you are getting ETS light( even if it's off now) then you have electronic throttle body problems. It's a 500-1000 USd fix. Look at your ETB and see if it has a white or yellow label and report back.

The 1999-2000 model year had a problematic Magnetti Marelli ETB covered in a forum below, FYI. Mine made it to 137k without service, then pooped out.

goVolvo · Post by **goVolvo** » 21 Dec 2014, 08:40

The engine does not rev to higher than 2500RPM even if in P. No growling sound. When it was running ok I did hear low tone growling and it becomes quite loud when accelerate, like exhaust leak.

From the research at night and info from here, seems ETM problem is pretty bad now. I am looking to get a used XeMODex one from e bay that fits turbo engine. Hopefully it is plug-and-play. If that doesn't work then I probably go with XeMODex repair directly.

goVolvo · Post by **goVolvo** » 21 Dec 2014, 14:33

Another thing is seller told me catalytic converter needs to be replaced. No chance to get under the car so still not sure how bad it is. Could it be clogged totally and engine does not run? Again need to take a look if tail pipe exhaust anything at all.

MAF sensor is another thing to look at. Seems I need OBDII reader. Ordered a VIDA DiCE and will have chance to try in couple of weeks.

Post by **E Showell** » 21 Dec 2014, 18:11

Plugged cat will make the car sluggish.

goVolvo · Post by **goVolvo** » 22 Dec 2014, 10:03

i tried driving it this morning and it is back to normal. Seems something wrong when car is hot? I looked at the tail pipe, seems exhaust is fine, does not seem to be clogged. Will keep an eye on it. Will replace ETM in a week. But I have to limit my driving to several miles near home.

goVolvo · Post by **goVolvo** » 22 Dec 2014, 15:03

Driven 15 miles today just fine. Only noticed one time it does not start, cranking is weak like battery is low. But battery is just days old and I have the receipt. Waited a minute and it started just fine and runs great since then.

Also ETS light is not on. Try read code at autozone and it is all clear, no code. Check Engine light went off around 1 minute after started.

Loosen wires somewhere? It is so hard to tell. I'll keep driving it. Will try to get the turbo pipe leak fixed. Will fix the ABS module. Maybe replace spark plugs. Then hopefully it should be pretty good shape.

Marilyn99 · Post by **Marilyn99** » 02 Jan 2015, 14:08

I vote for ABS control module. I had one go on me and this exactly how it behaved. You can get rebuilt ones for a reasonable amount - I paid about $250.00 for mine several years ago and it came with a lifetime warranty. At first the car runs badly intermittently (with ETS and ABS lights on) but it will progress to running badly all the time.