I had the ETM replaced under warranty on my 99 V70 in 2007, via the warranty that was extended when all the problems were exposed. I still have the V70 and I'm starting to notice the old irritating "won't deaccellerate" problem. I can be driving at 40 mph, take my foot off the gas and it just hangs at 40 or whatever speed like the cruise control is on. Any thoughts?

I'm also wondering if anyone else is having the continuing and incessant check engine light problems that I have had through the life of this car. I can't keep the light off. Every sensor known to the vehicle gets replaced. The light always comes back on within months. In TN, you can't even present your car for inspection if the light is on. It is becoming very expensive to replace O2 sensors, pressure boost sensors, etc.

Do I just have terrible luck or is this a known problem?

Thanks,

Steve in Memphis

I would take the car to the dealer and have them perform a "sweep test" on the ETM and read the codes (you can only read generic OBDII codes with a basic scanner-- at a minimum you need VIDA-DICE to read the proprietary Volvo codes). Check out the Volvo Service for Life program-- I got a software update for free last month for my V70-- they also offered up to an hour of diagnostics for free as well.

There's a very good chance that the replacement ETM is failing the same way as your original. That said, do the repair based on hard data-- consistent codes and ruling out other cheaper things. There are some great threads on this over at Matthew's Volvo site.

The contactless ETMs seem to be the way to go. FCP-Groton now has ETM modules for a better price than Xemodex (although they need to be initialized at the dealer). There is a company called ModuleMasters that has ETM service advertised on e-bay for the best prices I have seen anywhere.

My suspicion is that mechanics have been throwing parts at an improperly diagnosed problem, or more likely problems. There are very few reasons why sensors that don't interact directly would be failing one after another. Spend your money or time on measurement first, not replacement. In the long run, it will be cheaper! When you have the work done, ask them to write down the codes and post them here.

Good luck!


Good luck!