I have a 1999 S80 T6 and in the past few months it has developed a cold starting problem. The car almost starts on the the first turn of the key but then stalls. Upon the second try the car always starts. This problem only happens when the car sits for a long period of time (4 or more hours). I have had the car at the Volvo shop 10 times in the last 30 days. They seem to be baffled at what could be causing this problem. It's not that they lack experience or the willingness to fix the issue I think that they are honestly stumped. They claim that they have seen this problem before but it was solved by replacing the parts they have already replaced on mine. So far they have replaced the throttle module, fuel pump, and most injectors. Can anyone offer any suggestions or possible fixes?

Does the tachomoter jump at the same time? The battery cable runs over the speed sensor. As the car ages the electrical field gets wider & can interfere with the speed sensor. On my 99 S80 T6 The battery cable was lengthened & passed around the motor & that fixed the cold start. My problem was much worse than yours. It started out like yours & quickly got progressively worse.
Good Luck Sandy

Thanks Sandy. I will have the dealership check out the cable length. For now it seems that we have learned to deal with the problem. As stated in a couple of other "cold start" post on this website we simply let the key stay in the 2nd position for 20 to 30 seconds. After doing that the car seems to start right up on the first turn of the key. It hasn't fixed the problem but for now it's working. I will let you know what happens in our next shop visit.