Let’s talk ETM Failure, but first…
Let’s take a look back at the infamous Volvo ETM problem, and the anger/frustration it caused owners. Because this was a truly a dark era for Volvo, having just been bought by Ford.
Not to worry, if you’re not in the loop, Ford sold Volvo to Geely years ago. Ok, now that that’s out of the way, back to our regularly scheduled, rightful rant by MVS Forums member MikesS70:
Another Failed ETM Story
MikesS70 » May 21st, 2009
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
Volvo ETM – I’ll Never Buy One Again
6 Comments
I had the software upgrade and stalling symptoms for a couple of years but did not go to the dealer because the ETS light did not come on so I figured I had no case. Now I had the car checked passed the warranty date only to find ETS failure codes but never had the dash light come on after the software upgrade by Volvo. I feel cheated by Volvo, can anything be done?
hi Daniel ,i guess my time soon will come i wonder if its etm ,but ,so far its this so,.. a big thanks regarding info for precision in australia since were weekend i wonder how long it take to ship repair and back ,.. average please.
re your failing etm, my 19 year old daughter was driving to uni on a 4 lane highway when the dreaded happened,complete power failure!by the grace of god she was able to manoeuvre the car to the emergency lane, much to the annoyance of other drivers doing 110 kmh.she eventually made it to her exam as the car went into limp mode, crawling along at 40kmh, no power to get up hills, extremely dangerous even for an experienced driver. shame on volvo for not doing a total recall of all cars with this type of etm. i took the car to a volvo dealership and they confirmed what i suspected after reading all about the symptoms on mathews volvo site, the etm was failing. $1,600 to replace it with a new etm which will eventually do the same thing as it uses the same system. after doing a lot of research i found the answer. there is a company in melbourne called PRECISION who rebuild your old etm better than new for only $360. there is a link to his site in one of the discussions etm’s on mathews volvo site, or contact mike directly on a melbourne toll free number 1300886955, his address is 173 murray road, preston, victoria 3072 australia. i put the reconditioned one back in and vroom, she goes better than ever. mike is also working on other electronic modules to improve them
please help!!! i have owned 40 to 50 volvo-rear wheel drive ones-i own a 2001 S60 with a bad throttle body.i have contacted volvo of america about this problem with the bad throttle body.the dealership has gone our of business-Ron Newton volvo of Anninston,alabama.the nearest volvo dealership is 85 miles away.volvo told me that it is my problem now, what is this extended warranity on the ETM. the computer update was installed. Can i get a used yellow ETM off of Ebay it work? my S60 volvo has 128k miles. huntsville volvo told me it would be $1000 to $1200 to fix it.this is not right.can anyone please help me. this is a great looking volvo-hate to let it go for nothing.thank you, kim
I bought a used 2000 S70 from a local dealership “as is – no warranty” in December 2010. No service lights on. They said car ran fine. Not long there after did the car start not running right. Felt like it was skipping or like it was going to die. Then it started getting worse and I barely drive it. I have only put 4k on it in 6 months. After reading these Volvo forums I realized it wasn’t just me that here was a major problem going on. I got a “code check” done last week and they tell me it’s the ETM. I never had a light come on to indicate there was a problem. I barely made it home after they checked the codes it went into limp mode. After a little research I find there was some sort of recall but the dealer states my car is too old even though it only has 74000 miles. Has anyone had any luck getting this covered under the recall? After all isn’t a factory recall a factory recall? Just saying.
I just had the ETM failure. It could have killed my wife as she ended up at 20 MPH on a busy 4 lane loaded with 18 wheelers and log trucks doing around 75MPH. They just can’t stop on a dime.
Anyway, I would just like to confirm that NO Service Engine Light came on. Yes, my 2000S70 (50,000 miles) also had the so called software upgrade. Makes you wonder if this new fault was intentional!
They had the gaul to try another software upgrade (really a “work around” to delay the mechanical defect. Fortunately, it didn’t work and they called Volvo America to get approval to replace the ETM. Apparently Volvo America is the problem, not the Dealers!
I did discover a potential “Limp Home” Emergency Proceedure that could work for some: Pull over and shut down the engine Let it sit a few minutes…sometimes it resets (you probably could disconnect the battery for 10 sec also but you loose the diagnostic code).
Start up and quickly get started and out of idle. Set your shifter in 3rd or 4th gear to maintain a higher cruise RPM. Avoid low RPM for any lenght of time.
Logic: The throttle position sensor is basically a coil with a mechanical feeler on it (a Potentiometer). The main wear area is the lower end. If you can stay away from that area, you might avoid the limp home mode.
It worked for me!