My recent ETM failure....

[MikesS70]

Hi all,

I have just gone through having my ETM replaced under the factory extended warranty ....I made the cutoff by *two* days. The car is a 1999 non-turbo S70, 2.4L I-5 with auto tranny. It had about 96K on it when the ETM failure began. I thought I would share my symptoms for anyone else going through ETM death throes....

The ETM began to fail in very subtle ways at first ...when moving off from a stop, the throttle would seem slow to respond to pedal movement and then suddenly surge for a brief moment before returning to normal. During cruise conditions the engine seemed to have what I'd describe as a lean surge ...small variations in engine speed independent of any throttle movement. Every once in awhile the engine would "hiccup" ...feeling like the tranny shifted. All of these symptoms could be classified as random since they did not always happen every time the car was driven.

The biggest symptom was idle. One day, after starting the engine, it would idle as if it were running on less than five cylinders ...very rough but relatively stable (at about 1,000 rpm's). When the engine exhibited the rough idle, the "Check Engine" light illuminated. I downloaded the codes with a generic OBDII scanner. With the use of an AllDATA subscription I was able to convert them to the Volvo DTC's. There were no misfire codes ...only DTC's relating to the ECM and Throttle Unit and referencing faulty communication and/or internal faults. When the engine was exhibiting the rough idle, it would rev up but coming back down to idle was very erratic. When driven with the rough idle condition, the engine would not run above approx. 2,000 rpm's which equated to about 30mph. You could floor the pedal and all it would accomplish would be a tranny downshift ...it would not run above 2,000rpm ...it was locked in an apparent "limp home" mode. What was totally weird about this rough idle was that it would come and go without rhyme or reason. The day I was planning to drive it to the dealer (with my wife in close trail) I first gave it a test drive on my street to see how it would run (the limp home mode I described above)...I felt I could get it to the dealer via the back roads okay. Three hours later when we left, the car started and idled perfectly ...it ran normally but exhibited the surges and hiccups I described ...and the Check Engine" light was still on.

*Not once*, through all of these symptoms, did the ETS light ever illuminate. To me this is proof positive that the software "update" that Volvo issued along with the extended warranty for the ETM essentially hobbled the ETS monitoring system to the point it is useless. Considering Volvo's stature as the builder of some of the safest cars made, this backroom hijinks of a "fix" is certainly a slap in the face to their cusomter base. In my view, the throttle system on this car was so over-engineered as to become a detriment to reliability and safety.

This will certainly be my first and last Volvo. I, for one, will never buy another one again.

Mike

[bw77]

I have a 99 S70GLT with 98K miles on it, purchased 5/26/99, so I am 3 days from expiration of the warrantee period. I have not had problems with the ETM yet.

I have heard that the dealership makes you go through a protocol of replacing other items before they okay the ETM replacement. So I was wondering how the dealership handled it in your case.

[MikesS70]

I have a 99 S70GLT with 98K miles on it, purchased 5/26/99, so I am 3 days from expiration of the warrantee period. I have not had problems with the ETM yet.

I have heard that the dealership makes you go through a protocol of replacing other items before they okay the ETM replacement. So I was wondering how the dealership handled it in your case.

Well, the "dealer" I went to initially was an ex-Volvo dealership; they are able to perform most repairs (as most of the mechanics are still there) and Volvo diagnostics. They are not able to perform any factroy warranty work ...to include the replacement ETM ...so I had to have my S70 flatbedded 35 miles to the nearest Volvo dealer (covered by insurance).

The car was tripping the appropriate DTC's even after the throttle body was cleaned; Check Engine was light on and the car exhibited the usual running characteristics of a failing ETM. If you're experiencing the funky running characteristics plus triggering the DTC's even after a cleaning, then I think they have no choice. I suppose some dealerships, in order to milk you for some more of your hundred doallar bills, will tap dance around the issue. In this case, having a high level of knowledge regarding the repair, the symptoms and what is involved will help you greatly with the dealership.

Mike