NHTSA Complaint #10133658 — 1999 VOLVO S80

WHILE DRIVING, I SUDDENLY LOST POWER/ACCELERATION IN MY VEHICLE. MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO CAME ON. I TURNED THE CAR OFF, BUT COULD NOT RESTART IT. MY VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MY LOCAL VOLVO DEALERSHIP. DIAGNOSIS - REPLACE THROTTLE BODY AND DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE (ETM). BECAUSE MY VEHICLE WAS PAST THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY, I HAD TO PAY FOR THE REPARIS SINCE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY DID NOT SPECIFICALLY LIST THESE DEFECTS . . . $815 PARTS AND LABOR. APPROXIMATELY 1 YEAR 3 MONTHS LATER, I BEGAN EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS AS IN 2002 WHICH VOLVO DIAGNOSED AS A THROTTLE BODY FAILURE; HOWEVER I HAVE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO START MY CAR, BUT WITH SOME TROUBLE. NON-WARRANTY REPAIRS ARE COVERED FOR ONLY 1 YEAR. I CALLED THE WARRANTY COMPANY TO SEE IF THEY COULD HELP ME OUT. THE WARRANTY COMPANY KNEW OF THE DEFECT FROM PREVIOUS OTHER COMPLAINTS, AND THEY TOLD ME TO TRY TO WORK OUT A DEAL WITH VOLVO (WHICH DIDN'T HAPPEN). ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2002, I TOOK MY VEHICLE INTO VOLVO BECAUSE MY ENGINE FLUCTUATED WHILE IDLING. THE INTERIOR LIGHTS FLICKERED AS THE IDLE SURGED. VOLVO DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS AN IGNITION COIL FAILURE. PARTS AND LABOR COST ME $250. I TOOK THE CAR IN AGAIN ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2002 (5 DAYS LATER) WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I REQUESTED A FUEL FILTER CHECK/REPLACEMENT, BUT VOLVO DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM WITH THE THROTTLE BODY. THE CHECKED AND CLEANED THE THROTTLE BODY. THIS HAPPENED, OF COURSE, JUST 2 MONTHS BEFORE COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE THROTTLE BODY. I'VE SPENT OVER $1000 FOR MIS-DIAGNOSIS AND AN DEFECTIVE PART THAT VOLVO AND THEIR WARRANTY COMPANY HAVE KNOWN ABOUT FOR SEVERAL YEARS.