electronic throttle body - 2004 volvo s60 2.5T

StickyPocket · Post by **StickyPocket** » 03 Jun 2025, 14:32

Hi all,

This past weekend I went (somewhat) camping in the 04 S60. It was pretty rainy, and I parked kind of on a hill where my front tires were on a hill and the back tires were not. When I tried to leave, the car made it a few minutes down the road, and then all the dashboard lights turned on, and I lost engine power. Upon trying to start, the engine was surging up and down at park. After waiting a while, it seemed to start and run - not great, but was going ok. RPMs were high when I put it into park (not stopped in drive), and it was running a bit weird at low speeds. Check engine light and Engine System Service light were now on.

The next day, I brought it to a reputable volvo specialist. Car was running perfectly fine on the drive over, making me wonder if it was just a weird thing with the weather and being parked on grass, perhaps water got somewhere it wasn't allowed. Mechanic scans the computer, and says it came back with an electric throttle body code, that it lost connection. He says that this is common (and upon searching it seems that it is), and he says it is a sign that the throttle body is failing, and it can happen again at any time, and continue to get worse. Says there's a change it was a fluke because of water, but most likely i'll have to get it changed. He has quoted me a ballpark of $1500 to replace it, as the wiring harness also has to be replaced with an updated version. He also recommends that since he's already in there, to replace the PCV system for an additional $500, bringing the total to a ballpark of $2000.

What are your guys' thoughts? Does all of that sound right? Does the price sound right? There are only 88k miles on the car, so i assume there's still plenty of life to it. If i do pull the trigger, should i have the PCV work done too (in that it's cheaper to have it done while he's in there)

Post by **br0dy519** » 04 Jun 2025, 12:02

All dashboard lights on and losing engine power sound more like a CEM issue, possibly water ingress, than throttle body. Best to remove and inspect it.

That being said, my 04 XC70 definitely had a bad throttle body that caused surging RPM's and fixed once replaced. There was also an issue with the ECM to TB wiring harness with our year so check the harness as well.

The price is high but unfortunately that's how much it does cost if you contract out the entire PCV job.

StickyPocket · Post by **StickyPocket** » 04 Jun 2025, 12:13

br0dy519 wrote: ↑04 Jun 2025, 12:02 All dashboard lights on and losing engine power sound more like a CEM issue, possibly water ingress, than throttle body. Best to remove and inspect it.

That being said, my 04 XC70 definitely had a bad throttle body that caused surging RPM's and fixed once replaced. There was also an issue with the ECM to TB wiring harness with our year so check the harness as well.

The price is high but unfortunately that's how much it does cost if you contract out the entire PCV job.

According to the mechanic, the code from the check engine light (which turned on after i went into limp mode) was the TB. Could that be a coincidence, or does it still sound like a CEM issue with that in mind?

Post by **jonesg** » 04 Jun 2025, 12:16

Not at those prices, tech wants to do the pcv whilst he's "in there" , well it doesn't require intake removal to swap the throttle body.
I'd drive it til it drops, then swap in a used replacement.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/393495851220?c ... 47c6d56d2c

Even new Bosch from FCP is less than $300.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... wE#fitment

Post by **br0dy519** » 04 Jun 2025, 12:23

Your electrics shouldn't all go dark with a throttle body failure. JG is right thought best swap in a used (thats what I did) and see if it helps.
PCV is a big job but he's charging top dollar for it, likely using genuine parts.

StickyPocket · Post by **StickyPocket** » 04 Jun 2025, 12:52

Car has been running perfectly fine since the blip. I think the cost (1500) is due to having to replace the wiring harness as well. The PCV job would be an additional 500 to make the total 2000

Post by **jonesg** » 04 Jun 2025, 15:34

StickyPocket wrote: ↑04 Jun 2025, 12:52 Car has been running perfectly fine since the blip. I think the cost (1500) is due to having to replace the wiring harness as well. The PCV job would be an additional 500 to make the total 2000

the new harness is around $60.

Fault codes are not part numbers, you also don't know how old that fault code was, it could have been there for years.
Buy a code reader and see if any codes return, I wouldn't do the PCV system unless it fails the glove test.

StickyPocket · Post by **StickyPocket** » 04 Jun 2025, 20:12

Would the code not be the reason for the check engine light being newly on?

The day the issue happened, car was idling much higher at park, but that has gone away.

Post by **MoVolvos** » 04 Jun 2025, 22:52

StickyPocket wrote: ↑04 Jun 2025, 20:12 Would the code not be the reason for the check engine light being newly on?

The day the issue happened, car was idling much higher at park, but that has gone away.

.
Read it for yourself next time and reset to see how long before it returns. If the PCV doesn't blow then don't think it sucks.

https://www.amazon.com/iCarsoft-Scanner ... 9hdGY&th=1
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https://www.amazon.com/iCarsoft-i906-Co ... 113&sr=8-5
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Post by **cn90** » 05 Jun 2025, 05:44

Could be PEM issue.
Throttle body can be cleaned for Free. I wrote the tricks in forum.