TO anyone out there that might be able to help... I just returned home after a long trip (one week). I left my 1999 S70 (with aprox 24000 miles on the odo) in the garage for 6 days. When I returned, the car fired up briefly, ran for about 30 seconds, and then stopped running. After that, the car can't be started. It will crank, although I don't know if the engine is turning over or not. Sonetimes it will almost "catch" and start, but ultimately will not. This is the THIRD time this has happened to me (about 5-6 months apart), and on the previous two times the dealership said they couldn't find a problem, but replaced the plugs for "hotter" plugs per a service bulletin.

This car is babied, driven nicely, mostly around town, and serviced only at the dealership on a regular basis (by the book); including oil changes and routine maintenance. Oil and filter changes are every three thousand miles.

This time, the car died on Christmas Eve 2000, and (a) there are no dealerships open (b) Volvo OnCall will only tow to a dealership, but can't to my dealer because there is a gate blocking the entrance. Needless to say, it was ALMOST impossible to find a rental car at 2:00PM on 12/24/2000, but I got the last clunker on the lot (for which I plan to make Volvo pay for).

Unless someone can tell me exactly what the problem is, this car will be gone in a week. I will take a bath on the trade in, but will trade on one of the Japanese makes, completely dependable, won't leave you stranded, although albeit less impressive to drive.

I threatened my S70 with this fate, but to no avail.