NHTSA Complaint #10235247 — 2000 VOLVO S80

PAPERWORK WAS COMPLETED, I WAS ON MY WAY OUT, THE SALESMAN SAID, "MAKE SURE YOU PUT SOME OIL IN THE ENGINE, IT HAS NO OIL, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO INSPECT THE CAR." HE WENT ON TO SAY, "BRING IT IN SOMETIME NEXT WEEK AND WE'LL INSPECT IT."CAR WAS BROUGHT IN FOLLOWING WEEK, THEY HAD NO TIME TO INSPECT IT. IT WENT ON FOR THREE WEEKS. THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE WOULD RISE VERY QUICKLY, I PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE CAR. THIS HAPPENED FIVE TIMES. IT WAS BROUGHT TO A SEPARATE CAR REPAIR SHOP AND THEY CONCLUDED THAT THE CARS ECM (ELECTRONIC COMPUTER MODULE) ISN'T WORKING CORRECTLY. NONE OF THE GAUGES ARE CORRECT, INCLUDING THE GAS AND ENGINE TEMPERATURE GAUGE. THEY SAID THAT THE ENGINE COULD BE OVERHEATING AND IT WOULDN'T SHOW UP ON THE COMPUTER, OR IT MIGHT NOT BE OVERHEATING AND IT MIGHT SHOW UP AS OVERHEATING. THEN THE DEALER DID THEIR INSPECTION AND SAID THAT THE CAR WAS "FINE." I ASKED FOR DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS AND THEY SAID THAT THEY HAVE NO WAY OF PRINTING THEIR DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS. LATER, THE CAR STARTED SAYING "HIGH ENGINE TEMP" AGAIN. I ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP AND TOLD THEM THE PROBLEM. ONE OF THE SALES MEN TOOK THE CAR ON A TEST DRIVE. ON THE FREEWAY, THE CAR WAS DOING JUST FINE. ONCE THE CAR WAS GOING ABOUT 35MPH IT STARTED SIGNALING OVERHEATING. BACK AT THE DEALERSHIP THE SALESMAN LEFT THE CAR RUNNING WHILE THE CAR WAS STATING IN THE DASH "HIGH ENGINE TEMP." THEY PROCEEDED TO LET THE CAR RUN. THE SALESMAN SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE, OPENED THE HOOD AND SMOKE WAS RISING OUT OF EVERYWHERE AND ALL THE COOLANT PIPES BLEW AND COOLANT WAS LEAKING EVERYWHERE. I WAS IN SHOCK. THEY BASICALLY BLEW UP MY CAR. I WALKED INSIDE AND THE SALESMAN COMMENTED TO ME, "I DID THAT SO HE [THE DEALER] WOULD GIVE YOU ANOTHER CAR."THE DEALER REFUSED TO TAKE THE CAR BACK. THEY STATED THAT THE ONLY THING THAT NEEDED TO BE FIXED WAS A "FAN CONTROL" BECAUSE THE FAN WASN'T WORKING PROPERLY. *TR