My 98 V70 GLE lost power today while my wife was on the road. Once she got the car under control and got it to a side street, she was able to start the car again and the check engine light came on. Previously, I've lost power maybe twice as I started the car, but before I took off. Any ideas on what this could be other than dangerous as hell. I'm a Volvo fan, and heard all the dire warnings about the '98 V70's but so far, other than a minor squeaking noise in the dash which was fixed by the shop I got the car from, I've been problem free. But I think this is a BIG problem for a car with 59K. I purchased last year about this time and the car had 49.5K miles. Any thoughts before I get back in the car/take to dealer?

1. If the "Check Engine" light is on you should find out what the error code is. Dealer or indy shop or Autozone can download ECU codes.

2. It's a shot in the dark, but how about the fuel pump relay? They're notorious in all Volvos. The company uses environmentaly-friendly solder that's owner-unfriendly.

3. The '98s were notorious in general when they were new. By now they've simmered down to a failure rate that's about the same as the rest of the 850-SV70s built from 1994-2000. (The '93 is unique in many ways.) The '98 was on the Consumer Reports "used cars to avoid" list at one time, now it's "neutral" just like the rest of 'em.

4. It's still no Toyota or Honda and never will be.

-Punx

'98 V70T5M, 126,000 mi.