Hello all,

Back at it with the volvos again. 2 RWD V8 projects never finished, a few other RWD turbo stragglers in between, an older 98 V70 AWD, and now I'm back with this 01 V70 XC.

I was driving it home (137,xxx miles - carfax shows dealer service records throughout and a replaced transmission at around 73k) and it stalled on the highway.

Scenario:

Driving about 30 minutes in the rain ~55 degrees F outside, cruise control set on a flat straight highway around 60mph. Had passed someone with the accelerator pedal about 10 minutes prior but left it in cruise. Settled back in, 10 minutes went by (approx) and the cruise light went out, RPM dropped slowly to 0 (not a sudden drop) and I steered the car to the side of the road. Tried to start it 2 or 3 times, it started but stalled again. 4th time started and ran rough but when I gave it throttle, it died. Seemed very much like my old 745t when the intercooler hose got a hole in it. Anyway, waited a few minutes, glared at the parts under the hood to see if they'd be intimidated, and then got back in and started it up. This time it ran smoothly and I drove it another 30 minutes home. The issues hasn't recurred in about 100 miles since then. Any ideas? No CEL or messages when this happened, by the way.

I do notice that the temp gauge is never centered while cruising on the highway. Around town it will stay dead center but once I'm out on the freeway, it drops down about 2 notches. On an older car, I'd suspect a thermostat. Any chance it gets 'cold' and runs too rich after a while?

On a related note, is there a best-practice on obtaining service history from a Volvo dealer? I'd love to know if/when the timing belt was done and maybe get the details on the transmission replacement as well as any other software updates. I haven't had great luck in the past with other brands in getting the service dept to provide this info. Does anyone have an inside track on this? I can send the VIN, if so, and share a case of amber colored beverages while we laugh about Volvo gremlins.

Thanks for any info!!!

Best,
Mike

Replace the thermostat with OEM. It fails in the open position and causes the engine to run overrich when the antifreeze cools off. You flooded out and stalled.

As to service records... My dealer knows me and will print records for my car. Just remember, those records are not shared between dealers or NJ. You will have to contact the proper dealer and encourage him to send you a copy of the work history. The printout has no names, just dates and service done.

There should be a sticker for the Tbelt change on top of the computer box, passenger side. Check the electronic throttle module for a yellow tape, white is a bad ETM and will cause problems.

Look into flushing the ATF pretty soon. And the bevel gear/transfer case.

Klaus

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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

ETM sticker is yellow. Yay!?!

No timing belt sticker anywhere. I pulled the top cover and it doesn't look "new" and is starting to show glazing/very small cracking on the flat side..guess I'll just get the parts gathered up and change it for peace of mind, along with drivetrain flushes and the thermostat. It's funny...the car is very clean and seems to have seen quite a bit of dealer maintenance. Perhaps the threat of these repairs is what drove the owner to part ways with it. I'm going to take it to the dealer for the transmission and bevel gear flush so I'll see if it has the latest software and see if they'll print me out some history.

Haven't had it stall again, so that's a plus! Thanks again for the tips, Klaus!

Mike

Most 2001s had the timing belt and tensioner changed at 60-70K miles, the OEM tensioner had a tendency to fail early. The scheduled interval was supposed to be 105K miles.

Get a new belt, tensioner, and tensioner roller and you should be good for a while.

Klaus
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Did you do your Random Act of Kindness today?

Thanks for the reply, Klaus! I'll do all of these things and post back if it ever (or never) happens again after the thermostat repair.