1999 V70 Base non-turbo. Just moved from Boston to Denver, and I have noticed a huge loss in performance. It takes anywhere from 15-20 seconds to get to 60 mph from a dead stop on flat ground with the pedal all the way to the floor. It used to me much faster than that, usually getting there in about half the time.

When I first got here, the engine idles quite roughly, but the instant i gave it some gas, it was smooth again. I'm thinking it might be the throttle body or the MAF, but I'm not exactly sure. The MIL is off and there are no codes being thrown. Any ideas as to why it's driving so slowly?

 

considering the big difference it altitude, I'd check the MAP sensor and I believe your model also has a barometric altitude sensor (on the 850s its over by the washer reservoir... near the passenger side headlight). Not sure about the v70s - search Volvo PN 1275342....

 

So I did a little more reading on the MAF, and went ahead and disconnected it while the car was running, and nothing noticeable happened to the engine which got me thinking that the MAF either needs to be cleaned or replaced. I'm going to go ahead and clean it out and see if that makes a difference.

 

to clean the MAF, use the correct cleaner product such as CRC MAF Cleaner (most auto parts stores carry it). normal carb cleaner is more harsh and may damage the wire elements in the MAF. Also clean the other intake parts if you can while you are in there...

 

I Ok, so I cleaned the MAF, and that didn't really do anything so I just went ahead and replaced it, and that didn't really have an effect either. I was looking around the windshield washer fluid reservoir for the MAP sensor you were talking about but I didn't see anything. It looks like there should be one there based off pictures I saw of other people's MAP sensors, but there isn't anything there.

Could it possibly be the throttle? I heard that the electronic throttle bodies on these cars were troublesome since the '99 was the first gen with the ETM. The engine does hunt when the transmission downshifts, especially at low RPM.

Or maybe it could be a clogged cat? So many possibilities...

 

I would think with only modest exaggeration, you could be describing its normal performance at that altitude! Ha ha. I realize 0 to 60 in 15 seconds is pretty extreme. Is it really 15 seconds? If you'd have said 12 I would have bet it was running perfectly.