Approaching 150k miles the engine of my V70 2.4 SE automatic began to cut out occasionally, typically when in very slow traffic. At the same mileage the information display (miles to empty tank, average speed etc.etc.) went blank except occasionally on starting. After a few miles the car would settle down to miles of long distance trouble free motoring. The problem has however now become chronic - in the first half mile or so the engine cuts out five or six times, although sometimes it just does so momentarily and restarts. After that it just occasionally cuts out although a sudden jolt, e.g. a bad pothole, can cause it to cut out, and it often does so when making a sharp uphill left turn. Volvo specialists offer no possible explanations; they just say the diagnostics show no fault and don't seem to be interested. The body and interior are fine and I am reluctant simply to scrap the car, but at the same time I don't want to spend a small fortune racking up hours of mechanics' time for no result. Has anyone else shared this experience? It is my fourth big Volvo (and I have to say that Volvo franchised dealers are useless and I am generally the one who has to provide a diagnosis when there is a fault), but I am losing faith in the marque.

 

sounds like an issue with wiring or its possible for it to be the MAF or throttle body, particularly if it stalls when lifting off the gas. Has it stalled when you have constant gas pedal pressure? I'd start by cleaning the MAF (since a can of CRC MAF cleaner is $6) and the throttle body. Then you can read up ETM failure symptoms to see if that matches what you're experiencing and see if you can gain some additional clues.

 

Will give it a go. Wife says I can't spend any money on it and must scrap the car. A pity as the body and interior are sound, but I canfess it's becoming a bit of a money pit and maybe she's right. Wife is more important than the car!