NHTSA Complaint #10149598 — 2000 VOLVO S80

IN AUGUST 2005, WE TOOK OUR VEHICLE IN FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AT 67500 MILES. I AM THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF THIS VEHICLE AND HAD NOTICED SOME PROBLEMS WHICH WERE DISCUSSED WITH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT. THIS VEHICLE HAD STALLED AT PARKING LOT SPEEDS AND IT HAD BEEN SPUTTERING AT TAKE-OFF. MY HUSBAND PRESENTED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT WITH A PUBLICATION FROM THE HIGHWAY SAFETY BOARD WHICH DISCUSSED A PROBLEM WITH THE THROTTLE BODY ON THE VOLVO S80. AS WE WERE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS DESCRIBED IN THIS PUBLICATION, MY HUSBAND ASKED THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY ON OUR VEHICLE. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT AS VOLVO HAD NOT ISSUED A RECALL, THEY WERE NOT AUTHORIZED TO REPLACE THIS WITHOUT THE VOLVO WARRANTY COMPANY REVIEWING THIS ISSUE WITH OUR VEHICLE. THE WARRANTY COMPANY DID EXAMINE OUR VEHICLE, BUT DECLINED TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY AT THAT TIME. ON DECEMBER 11, 2005 MY FAMILY (HUSBAND AND TWO CHILDREN, AGES 2 AND 10 MONTHS) WERE TRAVELING HOME TO THE ATLANTA AREA FROM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE. WHILE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE, I NOTICED THAT IT BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AND DECELERATE AND THEN COMPLETELY LOST POWER. WE WERE TRAVELING ON I-75 SOUTH AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND WERE ABLE TO GET TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD WHEN THIS HAPPENED. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAD TO PULL OVER ONTO THE LEFT SHOULDER AS THE TWO RIGHT LANES WERE IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE. WE WERE THEN ENDANGERED BY TRAFFIC MERGING TO THE LEFT WHICH IN SOME CASES ATTEMPTED TO PASS ON THE LEFT SHOULDER. WE HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO NALLEY VOLVO IN MARIETTA, GEORGIA WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY 34 MILES FROM WHERE WE ORIGINALLY BROKE DOWN. AS THIS HAPPENED ON A SUNDAY EVENING AND NO RENTAL CAR BUSINESSES WERE OPENED, WE THEN HAD TO GET A TAXI TO TAKE US THE REST OF THE WAY TO OUR HOME. ON MONDAY MORNING, MY HUSBAND SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE BODY. *JB