I have an '01 V70 with 189,000 miles. It has code 903F for throttle body position. I had my mechanic take out the part, clean and reposition it in Oct of 2021. Now it's back again and running really rough and sometimes stalls at a stop sign/light. The transmission also shifts really hard and after reading about other owners problems with their transmission, I had the fluid drained as much as possible and new put in as much as came out. That lasted about a week before the hard shifts and clunking began again. Just the other day, it hesitated when I was doing a slow left turn onto an on ramp and it actually chirped the tires when it finally kicked in. NOW, I have a code P1238 with Urgent service needed on the message readout. The car would only do 4mph to get home 5 blocks away. Any advice? I'm really done at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Let's see -

You have a 01 with a bad throttle module and a bad transmission (or at least an expensive trans problem)

What to do? Xemodex throttle module for $600 plus shipping and labor, Trans vave body (levelten.com) (that MIGHT/hopefully should make things better ) for ~$700 plus labor and fluids.

What else realistically does the car need?

 

I'm pretty sure it has electrical problems. The blinkers won't stay on, there's a notification that the alarm system needs service, also one for bulb position that went away when the mechanic changed the bulb in the headlight, but is now back and I can find no non working lights. The rear driver's side door won't unlock with the fob, but will lock with the fob. This hasn't happened lately, but sometimes the AC unit will quit working and the battery needs to be discharged before it will reset (this is what another mechanic did) and I did it 5 or 6 times afterwards when it quit, but as I said, hasn't happened lately, but sometimes I will come back to the car after shopping and the AC fan is on. It makes a buzzing sound when I first open the car and get in, before putting the key in the ignition. I've been told that it is a bad relay, but can't find it. It's a nice looking car and the body is in great shape, comfortable to drive, but I just think it may be a lost cause mechanically.

 

Sure and you need a turn signal switch, an alarm module (battery went bad after x years), correct bulbs in the correct places, ac may have a worn clutch that stops working when hot, or a problem with a temp sensor or control unit, (or even need a compressor or worse) and the buzzing might be from the climate fan that senses the air on the back of the CCM - they get clogged with dust after xx years and make noise.


Sounds like a very typical 2001. The kind of car you can easily spend more money on than the car is worth. Now some of this stuff has been happening for years, and the owner simply ignored it - that's common and unfortunately at some point the total needs of the car are more expensive that a replacement.

In the end it's a personal choice. If you can do some/most of this work yourself and get the parts wholesale it might be worth it -

 

Thank you for all the clues. I will pass them on to anyone that I can find to look at the car. Unfortunately, I can't do any of the work other than maybe chasing fuses or correct bulbs. I neglected to mention that I am a partially disabled senior woman and this car was given to me 2 years ago. I've already replaced an axle/wheel assembly, an injector, an interior door panel and miscellaneous interior cosmetic parts. It came with pierced headlight cover and I bought another that is ready for installation, but that's waaaaay down the line now with all the other repairs that need to be done to get it running. I don't think you mentioned the turbo problem. Any idea what I might be looking at there? You have been very helpful with your diagnosis ideas. Thank you.

 

The car is programmed to do that. That's called the afterblow function. ~50 minutes after the car is parked the fan will come on for ~7 minutes to blow away moisture in the evaporator and hopefully prevent the stinky sock smell in ac units.

If the bulb out function is saying "position light" the 4 parking lights on the rear of the car have a problem. No other bulbs will cause that message. The left and right pair of parking light bulbs need to use the same current. A mixture of brand or sometimes ages of bulbs will cause that, as long as there is a good connection and a good ground on each bulb/assembly.

You did not mention a "turbo problem" in any of your text