NHTSA Complaint #10131781 — 1999 VOLVO V70

THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE IN MY 1999 VOLVO V70 AS BEGUN TO FAIL WITHOUT WARNING. OFTEN THE PROBLEM WILL FIX ITSELF UPON RESTARTING. HOWEVER, WHEN THE MODULE FAILS (AND THE ETS LIGHT COMES ON IN THE DASH), AN EXTREMELY SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER IS EXPERIENCED---ENOUGH THAT IT COULD EASILY LEAD TO A LOSS OF CONTROL. THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED AT LEAST 15 TIMES IN THE PAST 2 DAYS, AND IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD. VOLVO, IN THE OWNERS MANUAL FOR THE CAR, INDICATES THAT THIS FAILURE MAY SOMETIMES OCCUR (IN THE SECTION DESCRIBING THE ETS LIGHT) AND SUGGEST TRYING TO RESTART THE CAR. WHILE RESTARTING THE CAR DOES OFTEN WORK, I FIND THIS TO BE AN UNACCEPTABLE AND VERY SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD. VOLVO'S SOLUTION FOR ME IS TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE MODULE AT $1000 OR MORE. MANY HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME PROBLEM, THOUGH, AND THE DEFECT SEEMS TO BE CLEARLY SYSTEMIC. WHAT'S MORE, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT VOLVO'S REPLACEMENTS WON'T EXHIBIT PRECISELY THE SAME PROBLEM. *JB