NHTSA Complaint #10409415 — 2000 VOLVO V40

2000 VOLVO V40 - VERY WELL MAINTAINED, 2ND OWNER, APPROXIMATELY 83,000 MILES. I STARTED NOTICING THAT THE CAR WOULD SURGE ON THE HIGHWAY WITH THE A/C ON AND WHEN I HAD STEADY PRESSURE ON THE ACCELERATOR (I.E. ICRUISING AT A STEADY SPEED). THE SURGE IN RPM'S WOULD BE RHYTHMIC, VERY SUBTLE (100-200 RPMS) AND CONTINUE INDEFINITELY UNTIL I TURN THE A/C OFF - AT WHICH TIME THEY WOULD CEASE. THEY WOULD SOMETIMES RESUME WHEN I TURNED THE A/C COMPRESSOR BACK ON. THIS HAPPENED INFREQUENTLY OVER THE PAST MONTH (IT'S JUNE IN CT, MY STATE OF RESIDENCE) AND WOULD NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME I RAN THE A/C - BUT ONLY OCCURRED WHEN THE A/C COMPRESSOR WAS RUNNING. THEN A REMARKABLE THING HAPPENED TODAY - WHILE CRUISING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITH THE A/C COMPRESSOR ON - THE CARE SUDDENLY AND VIOLENTLY SURGED IN A WAY THAT IT HAD NEVER DONE PREVIOUSLY. THE INCREASE IN RPM'S WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TO DOWNSHIFT INTO THE NEXT LOWEST GEAR. FORTUNATELY, I HAD ENOUGH SPACE BETWEEN MY CAR AND THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME TO ALLOW ME TIME TO RESPOND WITHOUT HAVING AND ACCIDENT. I IMMEDIATELY PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND THE RPM'S STARTED SPIKING TO ALMOST 4,000 THEN QUICKLY BACK DOWN TO 1,000. THE RPM'S CONTINUED TO THIS RAPID BACK AND FORTH SPIKING AND DIPPING FOR ALMOST 30 SECONDS. I TURNED OFF THE A/C/ BUT THAT DIDN'T HAVE AN IMMEDIATE AFFECT (AS WAS THE CASE IN THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED EPISODES WHEN THE SPIKES AND DIPS WERE MUCH MORE SUBTLE). WHEN TURNING OFF THE A/C DIDN'T DO THE TRICK ((AS IT HAD IN THE PAST) I THEN IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE CRUISE CONTROL - IT WAS OFF. I THEN STABBED AT THE ACCELERATOR WITH MY FOOT SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE IT FINALLY SETTLED DOWN. AND I HAVE THE FACTORY VOLVO RUBBER MATS THAT ARE SECURED TO THE FLOOR BY A POSITIONING PIN (I'M METICULOUS ABOUT MY CAR THE MAT WAS NO WHERE NEAR THE ACCELERATOR). I AM NATURALLY VERY WARY OF THIS CAR NOW, ESPECIALLY AFTER READING THE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT UNINTENDED ACCELERATION FOR THIS MODEL. WHY NO RECALL? *TR