The car just dies while driving. No warning. Interior lights stay on but headlights and taillights go out. Starts back up without problems. I have had it at the Volvo service dept. The first time it ran a code for the throttle, so $300. I'm thinking it is fixed. 2 days later dies on the highway. Took it back, no code. They don't have a clue!!! Has anyone had this same experience. I thought first fuel pump, sensor... But with the head and tail lights going out... I just don't know. I am thinking electrical maybe

 

It seems to me that there should be some sort of warranty on these service events. Car goes in with a problem - shop says "Here's the problem, $XXX to fix it" They "fix", you pay and 2 days later the problem is back. It should be on them, not you and they should either complete the fix for your original $$ or refund it. This "read the code" approach has led to a generation of mechanics who don't know the cars, cannot connect cause and effect and simply throw parts at a problem until it, hopefully, goes away.

 

I'd be checking out the battery, charging system, relays etc. should the electrical system drop voltage below a threshold, the car may go into limp mode or the computer will fault and the car stalls. Sometimes the ECU may even set an erroneous fault code. Did the car stall and then start right back up after the stall or did it start back up after a few minutes of cool down? On my short list of things to check are 1) battery/cables/terminals 2) alternator 3) fuel pump relay 4) fuel pump (note if you replace the relay and the problem goes away - you can bet on replacing the fuel pump pretty soon as the relays burn out when a weak pump draws too much current). After that I'd be looking into what circuits run through the CEM as they do fail from time to time (you can google for symptoms of a "Central electronics module" failures or check out write up on sites like Midwest ABS or XeModex.. Good luck and post up how this gets resolved.