My 2002 S40 (88,000 miles) has been sputtering at different times, usually when putting it into gear. Occasionally, it will act as if it wants to die and the rpm goes down - but it has yet to completely stall or cut out. This does not happen all the time. When you gently push the gas pedal, at times it does not want to go. I have replaced the gas filter, but no change. I have noticed that when I am sitting at a red light, and it starts to sputter, if I put it into neutral, it's fine.

Any suggestions??? I live in Fayetteville, NC and the local Volvo dealership still wants to charge me a minimum of $100 just to look at it, even though it is still under the extended Volvo warranty. If it turns out to be a simple problem, I would hate to spend $100 just to have them tell me to replace a $20 part.

 

Are the spark plugs in good shape? Air filter? Is the CEL on (I'm guess not)? My friend had a similar problem but his car kept stalling. Tech can help you but probably needs more details.

https://volvoforums.com/m_104215/tm.htm

 

I apologize, yes, the CEL is on. I was told the first thing to check would be the Fuel Filter - so I replaced that, but the problem remained. It has yet to completely stall - the RPM's get just low enough to feelas if it will, but after letting off the gas and trying again, it will eventually gain speed.

Thanks for the referral!

 

those are some symptoms of bad engine coils

 

I have replaced the coolant sensor because it causes the fan to run when the car is turned off. It has never done that before. I can turn the key but not turn the car on, and the fan comes on and runs for 5 minutes. Too long.
The other problem is the idling. I cleaned the IAC and MAF, cleaning the IAC did nothing whatsoever to change the way the car was running. The MAF cleaning however, did. The car now idles but really low. At first it is too (300-500)low and feels like it is going to stall. Especially when I put it in gear, then the idle gets very low(200-300). After driving for a couple of minutes it evens out but not quite where it needs to be(500-800). Then after driving for a bit, the idle in park and neutral is over 1000. That's too high? Anyway this is all very annoying and I do not have any more money right now to put on this so any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

The fan thing is completely unnecessary as the car does not even have to running. All I have got to do is turn the key to the on position, engine ice cold and the stupid fan goes on anyway. I got a brand new coolant sensor and still no change to the cars behavior. Before this I had 0 problems, now it has become a headache.

 

Isn't the constant running fan a sign the MAF has gone bad?

Did you get the trouble code read? Places like Autozone and Advance will pull the codes for free if you do not have a code reader.

 

What if I unplugged the MAF and NO change occurred? Does this eliminate the MAF from being the culprit here? Idling issue. I cleaned the IAC idle control valve and throttle body, still no changes. However cleaning the MAF helped a little, the car now runs but the idle drops to 200-300 when I put it into gear. After a few minutes it idles where it should be 800 and then after my daily trip I pull into the driveway and move the shifter into park and it running at 1000. Also when I turn my a/c on it drops ack down to 300. this cannot be right.

 

Step #1 is and always should be, have the car scanned and retrieve any error codes.

The fan problem is likely linked to the AC system.

 

Besides that, I would not link my issues of today to a 5 year old thread. Reading the thread I actually thought you were the OP still having the same issue.

 

Sorry I was paying more attention to what was contained in the thread rather than when the thread was originally posted. I did not even notice in my desperation to get this issue concluded. I will start a new thread so as not to confuse. please accept my apology, and thank you for your prompt replies.