STALLING 94 850, girl going CRAZY!!!

seamansteph · Post by **seamansteph** » 28 Jul 2005, 17:19

First time volvo owner, thought I was getting a "mechanically sound" car. I've had it since 2-05, love the car hate the stalling issue, I have been following this website since 3 days of purchase of my darling volvo, when it started, the mechanic I bought it from is calling me a liar, left it with him 2 weeks last month, he said it never stalled one time, I dont believe him it took me 35 min. to get to the shop to drop it off, should have ONLY taken ab/ 8 min. & when i picked it up it stalled with in 1 mile. He's an asshole I have decided. It has only gotten worse, I live in Atlanta, single mom 3 kids that cry when they have to get in my car because they know it will die & they will sweat to death waiting for it to start again, replaced so far the distributor & rotor, new fuel filter, egr valve($200) still stalls, cleaned the throttle body & plate, replaced one cracked hose, Someone help me or please direct me to a cliff to send it off of...... I am pulling out my hair & really have a bad taste in my mouth as afar as volvos go[/b]

Post by **kelvin6** » 28 Jul 2005, 22:19

You know mechanics only test drive the car for a short distance, which probably isn't enought to reproduce the problem.

As for the mechanic who called you a liar (if actually said that word directly), thats a BIG NO NO (I work in retail, I know) in customer service, you should report him to his manager or something (unless he's independent, then unfortuantly there isn't much we can do). That is unacceptable by all means. Where do live, because I know that in California, the car buying lemon laws may apply to you. Anyways find ANOTHER MECHANIC, and get a second opinion.

As for the problem, stalling can be a lot of things and since you're a first time Volvo owner, you might not know how this car is supposed to feel. I would ask you if the car seems to be lacking a lot of power, because if it is, its either the catalyst is clogged (which is going to be $$$) or the timing belt is slipping/damaged. Just out of curiousity, does that car restart itself after stalling? Because if it does, it probably is the timing belt.

If it was the catalyst, (your car might have two O2 sensors) a check engine light will light and codes will be present. I would assume that the mechanic has does done the obvious checks, like spark plugs, air filter, fuel pump and so on.

How does the car behave before it stalls, does it sputter, make noises, or just goes flat dead? What are the current miles on the car? Any other recent work on the vehicle? Some descriptive answers will greatly help.

This problem doesn't seem to be related to the transmission, so thats a good thing, but do remember to do maintainance on the vehicle before it ends up with costly repairs.

When I bought my Volvo 850 recently, I knew I was buying into a higher end car, which I also knew came with more "expensive-related things" with it. It was well worth it, the car is somewhat reliable (at least to me), a good performer on the streets, a most importantly, SAFE.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 29 Jul 2005, 02:03

thank you for your response I did forget to mention that I have also replaced the timimg belt, a coolent sensor??(thats what mechanic called it) & I know this sounds very "BLONDE" but they have also done other things that I would remember if I heard it, have you checked the "offical stalling thread?" my car is doing the EXACT same thing, no sound, no sputter, just dies & before I have even noticed I'm no longer running all of the dash lights come on if I have got enough speed at the time I coast to a safe place & turn the car off after putting in park, wait5, sometimes 25 minutes then it will start again & off I go but recently 30 days just to go to the grocery(approx.1/2 mile) takes me 30 min. just to get there b/c of the excessive stalling out, I cant describe how terrified I was last week when turning left @ stop sign got up only enough speed to land me & my 3 kids stalled in the middle of a VERY busy intersection an expedition was about 18 inches from the side of my car by the time the brakes stopped screaming, I havent drove it since. I agree they are rated highly in safety which is why I bought it, although not in my case, oh the mechanic, the one who said I was lying,hes the guy who sold me this "mechanically sound" car, my word is as good as oak, & is the owner of a small auto shop. I lose! Last time I spoke w/ him he said nothing is wrong w/ my car I responded a bit bitch like & suggested his wife & I trade cars for a few days, see how confident he felt w/ his 3 little ones in that death trap, he hung up on me. I made my point w/ him. Please read this & give me any more suggestions... Thnaks, Stephanie

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 29 Jul 2005, 02:08

I thought i was already logged in the response was mine

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 29 Jul 2005, 03:42

Check your codes and reference them using the pages listed under the header "DTC codes" found here. If the problem is related to some sort of sensor, the codes will pinpoint it. If you get no codes, problem is most likely fuel related. Fuel issues are a bit more complex. You should have a multimeter or a continuity tester at the very least to troubleshoot electrical things with the fuel system. The two most common fueling problems are the injection relay, which is located on a little slot type thing above the fan shroud, and the fuel pump relay, found in the relay/fuse box. The injector relay is easy to check. The problem with it is that the 4 wires that are connected to it start to get corroded and make bad connections. Visually inspect the wires and make sure they are making good contact. As for the fuel pump relay, it is sealed and can't be inspected. Here's something to test real quick though: Go to some low traffic place and try to get the car to stall and pull to some place safe. Take key out of the ignition and open the hood. Have someone put the key back in the ignition and turn it to position II while you stand and listen under the hood. About 2 seconds after they do this, you should hear a humming noise. It's the fuel pump; but don't confuse the IAC buzzing as the humming noise. Now, if you hear this humming noise, it means that the fuel pump is getting a signal and that the fuel pump relay is most likely working correctly. If no humming noise, fuel pump relay is dead. I have a couple extra fuel pump relay's laying around. I'll send you one of them free if it is determined that yours is bad. Now, if the car doesn't restart, the most likely culprit is the injector relay. Let us know what you find.

seamansteph · Post by **seamansteph** » 29 Jul 2005, 08:41

oh gosh how could I forget when my darling mechanic put on the new EGR valve, very recently he broke my throttle plate, he said he didnt have time to replace it & that you could no longer get that part unless used from a junk yard, I cant even get to a junk yard to look for one so he suggested sealing the "crack" with JB Weld, I have no idea, can I do that?? The piece looks plastic to me?

Post by **kelvin6** » 29 Jul 2005, 09:50

How the hell do you break a TB plate? Something tells me you need to give this mechanic a simple little hand gesture (if you didn't get the joke, middle finger)? What the TB plate is part of your throttle body, which it's only job being to let air in or block it off to the engine. I played with this part many times, and believe me, the crack to the TB plate was probably caused by some human error, I just don't see how it could break naturally. If the TB plate has crack and lets say is leaking air, then the car will surge in RPMs at idle. This part is usually a metal piece and its usually hidden away in the intake tubing, so I would suspect tampering.

Something does strike me about the fact that you are able to restart the car after a certain amount of time. This indicates that a crucial part is being "heat soaked". This can be really bad if the electronics in the car are being heat soaked (which would be very rare) or if the belts are warping under heat (which I suspect). If it was the belt, mainly the timing belt, then more than likely it just needs replacement. If it was the electronics, like ECU, then we have Ebay for parts. It can also be other components like a failing Ignition coil (which does increase resistance, due to heat), then again Ebay is you best bet (and probably your cheapest place for parts).

Relays that fail intermitantly, is not uncommon, but the fact that it does after a specific amount of time is really strange (unless heat soaked). Same goes with the fuel pump.

I would like to ask you again, what is the miles on this car so far? If the timing belt hasn't been changed in the past 60K miles (70K is the real limit), the its long overdue. If the belt does break, and unlike some japanese cars, it WILL cause major amounts of damage to the engine.

I'll admit it, your problems sounds very familiar, in fact my friend's Toyota Corolla had nearly the exact same symptoms as you described (almost, the car was able to restart imediately). That car in my opinion was is worse shape than your Volvo, considering it would stall at almost all the traffic lights it encounters. I've tried numerous fixes, like giving it a small tune up, which did help out the car by not stalling so frequently, but didn't cure the problem completely. Then I found a sticker stating the timing belt was last changed 90K miles ago! The belt should have been long replaced already. Thats like gliding on thin ice, very risky (especially for our volvos). I know pointed all the focus to that belt, because more than likely, that belt is damaged and slipping (the car seemed pretty powerless). Unfortuantly I couldn't prove it, as that car was totaled in an accident before I got that chance to replace it. That car caused a lot grief, because I know now that car literally inside out, I desperatly tried numerous fixes, but none worked.

Tsquared · Post by **Tsquared** » 29 Jul 2005, 10:10

Can that shop. Do not go back.

Take the short drive up 85 to Lawrenceville up 316 and turn right on Hwy 20 and the business on the corner is Volvo Service Center. They know their Volvo's and are not as pricy as the local dealers. I do 95% of my own maintenance but they do the other 5%. Give full detail and they will get it fixed.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 29 Jul 2005, 10:58

Drive it to your nearest Saturn dealer before August 1st and trade it in on and get the "employee" discount on a 4-person sedan or Vue. Hopefully, it won't stall as you dtive in. Timing is everything.

Post by **kelvin6** » 29 Jul 2005, 23:53

Ah, Saturns, their cars are lightweight and have dent resistant panels. Its not to obvious to some people to how they can do that. The body panels are all made of plastic. Instead of seeing a dent bashed up saturn, I saw a hole cracked right though through the plastic. Lightweight and small isn't always good, particularly at very high speeds, the car can easily become unbalanced and vibrations occur as faster, larger vehicles pass by you. Its pretty scary, you can actually be blown around by the wind and feel the draft from cars like mine.

I couldn't even drive my friend's civic over or even near 85, because it was becoming very unstable. I used to be able to drive my Mazda 626 over 100mph before it became unstable. My Volvo is probably even better at it.

(I wouldn't try it).