Worried about ETM

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 01 Jun 2009, 21:25

Hey all,

As I've been reading more and more on these forums, I've become increasingly worried about my ETM.

I've got a 2000 V70XC getting near 127,000 miles. It has the original "white sticker" ETM with the software upgrade.

1. Since late last year I've been noticing a rough idle when starting up cold: it will usually beginning idling at 1200 rpm then slowly bounce up and down until finally settling at the normal idle after about 30 seconds. It doesn't do this if the engine is already warm though. MAF is not the problem.

2. When braking the RPM will dip down to 700-800 or so then quickly pop back up to normal when I get to a complete stop. The quicker/harder I brake, the more it tends to drop. Never gets near stalling though. Vacuum lines are all new and brakes seem fine.

3. One time (and one time ONLY; last year) I was trying to accelerate quickly from a stop, I started moving but noticed that I wasn't going very fast and the RPM was at almost 2500. I let off the pedal, tried again and it went fine ever since. No transmission problems.

4. When coming back from school this last time, I had the cruise control at 70 MPH for almost the whole way. Every 10-20 seconds I noticed a little hesitation (I didn't touch anything). Felt like a little gust of wind, almost like it wanted to disengage, but only for a split second.

My dilemma... I'm covered by the warranty until April 13 2010. No ETS light or anything right now. I go to school 500 miles away from August to December and then January to June. I have no money for the upgraded rebuilt ETM at the moment. I tend to drive at constant speeds (I've seen that this tends to prolong the life of these early ETMs a bit). So basically I'm hoping that if it does fail, it fails soon... and I've heard that XemodeX can't always re-manufacture the original "white sticker" ETMs.

Does it sound like this ETM is on its way out? I dunno what to do...

Is it possible to do a well-documented XemodeX switch now and then demand a refund from Volvo for me having to replace the "failed" unit?

mykemac · Post by **mykemac** » 06 Jun 2009, 09:36

given that you have problems with idle when starting cold looks like the problem is occuring in open loop which leaves it more lightly that etm is at fault,a look at some live data from a scanner for throttle position when cold and comparison when hot would be worth looking at,you may have a pending fault code that would be worth looking at,this code is held by car's ecm and can be read on scanner,this code will eventually appear on your dash if the fault occurs more than the acceptable amount of times or goes out side the components spec more than say 4 or 5 times lets say,pending code will automatically be deleted after a set period if it doesnt go pass component parameter spec,although in some cases like srs airbag light this will light without pending,i know im going of track but hope this helps

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 06 Jun 2009, 11:09

ecbsykes wrote: Is it possible to do a well-documented XemodeX switch now and then demand a refund from Volvo for me having to replace the "failed" unit?

I'm very confident that your chances of getting them to pay for that are damn near zero. They don't even want to pay for their own parts, let alone someone else's.

I suggest you call your local Volvo dealer, describe your symptoms to them, and see what they will do for you. They might spring for a new "yellow sticker" ETM, which will also probably fail eventually, but will give you a lot more miles. Then if that one fails and you still have the car you can go with XeMODeX.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 06 Jun 2009, 14:23

Thanks for the responses! I figured the refund for the xemodex would be probably pushing it a bit. I'll talk to the dealer and see what they say (clean MAF...) and go from there. I'm hoping to be able to do the upgrade soon, having a summer job certainly helps!

I'll maybe take a look at the scanner thing, but I don't now if it'll help much. Although, didn't the software upgrade actually make it so that the codes don't show as much?

I've been to the dealer a couple times, and so far they haven't done me wrong, so hopefully I can get something out of them!

Post by **Brucebo** » 08 Jun 2009, 17:08

You may want to try the Ebay route. Salvage (E)throttle bodies on Ebay are going for about $200. These are usually pulled from wrecked cars, not because they are bad. There is a better than 50/50 chance the software load is compatible, otherwise you may have to pay a dealer to reload it.

-Bruce

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 08 Jun 2009, 17:47

Bruce, my understanding is that it better be off of the same type of car for this to work- same model year, etc....still a risky proposition...the dealer would have to load everything on after "blanking" out the ETM and some seem to know about this and others will give you the, "it can't be done."

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 17 Jun 2009, 11:12

So I went to the dealer today to explore options. The service rep that I talked to was very nice let me know what I could do.

He said for $100 they would do a full diagnostic (which is nice since it'll let me know of any other issues the car has), and ANY problem with the ETS would be covered as well as the diagnostic charge if they find a problem. This includes throttle body cleaning and/or ETM replacement. I realize though that they may go crazy with "it's the battery cables, it's the idle valve, it's the MAF", but it's worth a shot. Apparently I don't have the famed software update either...

Although I know it still isn't a permanent fix, if I can get this done more or less free then that's fine with me. As much as I want the xemodex part, I just don't have the money right now.