My 2000 S70 GLT, 170K miles, finally and abruptly encountered the dreaded ETM problem, by going straight to "limp home mode" right before the Christmas holiday (naturally). I am the second owner, since 103K miles, and it turns out the ETM was a yellow label, meaning not original. Volvo managed to avoid the "safety issue" tag, because the car would either start in limp home, or start clear, and not really switch between the two, at least after a few seconds; certainly safer than having the car fail at freeway speed, and thus giving them an "out" so to speak. In limp home, the car will barely rev to 2000 in neutral, and speeds vary between 10 and 30 depending on where on the hill you are!

So my daughter is driving this car, and it's value cant be much more than $2000 at this point, making the swag estimate from Park Place Volvo Dallas of $1700 (not including the 20 mile tow) unendurable. They informed me the car went in service Nov99, and is out of the extended warranty. Thanx to this forum, I found Xemodex in Toronto, who shipped me a unit which was installed yesterday by a small shop in Dallas - Synergy Motors - and it started right up and is working fine. Price was $549 total outlay, after core return. If I have issues, I will post more. Btw - admire you guys who did this yourselves, it looked a little more challenging than I wanted to deal with!

 

Thanks for sharing your bad, and good, luck regarding your ETM....

You know, the ETM is the main reason I have stayed away from the '99 and later models, but if XeMODex has the fix, then maybe i can think about a later model after all...

Let us know how it goes...

Also this ETM fault issue comes up at least once a month; suggest we add a link to these guys in the resource sticky; what do you say Admins?

 

Wait till you order a defective or wrong ETM and see what your opinion is then.

 

Have you had this experience with this company? If so, please elaborate...

 

I'm desperately trying to distance myself from this issue but I just can't help trying to help people find the best solution.

I've dissected the crap out of the Magnetti Marrelli ETM https://volvoforums.com/forum/members/bobec-25604-albums-v70-etm-632/

IMHO the problem is not the TPS (two of them and if you look at my pics the strip is hardly worn) but instead the throttle servo not having enough torque to rotate the plate when the shaft and o-rings that seal the shaft (throat) from the TPS, bearings. This can be caused by low voltage to the ETM, dirty throat, plate and shaft, and/or dry shaft o-rings. Dry Nitrile has a high coefficient of friction.

It takes less than 1 Hr to remove the ETM, clean it AND """"MOST""""" IMPORTANTLY PUT SOME THIN PURE SYNTHETIC LUBRICATING OIL IN AROUND THE SHAFT TO LUBRICATE THE NITRILE O_RINGS. so why not save $600 and just try this first? Check the supply voltage and your battery too.


Hey, mkc70 check out this stitching. And the new arm rest.

 

So Bobec, did your ETM have a DTC set before you serviced it? In other words did it fix the ETM fault?

Assuming so, then I suggest we make a sticky resource somewhere so folks can easily find both solutions. Seems like this question keeps coming up over and over again...

Yeah i see where XeMODex apparently replaced the mechanical rheostat for the TPS (throttle position sensor) with an electronic one, probably a variable capacitor i'm guessing. With no mechanicals to wear, that's probably the better long term solution IMO... assuming they did a good job engineering it (that's why i wanted to hear any feedback about XeMODex..).

 

They are not the only company that rebuilds/reconditions ETM's. While I finally am somewhat satisfied with the end result, the company, process and all else related were almost enough to make me sell the car. If you are tired of answering the same questions over and over again, then maybe it's time to move on to something different.

wish it was a clearer picture, but looks nice. Like the use of gray piping on the internal lines.

 

First things first, the Xemodex install is still working fine, after two plus weeks and a few hundred miles. Rationale on chosing this path vs the cleaning? Note in my message the words "daughter..driving.." so I needed closure, no more Dad trial and errors. I'm sure you all have been there with wife/daughter cars, right? I'll say the packaging and appearance of the new unit were first rate. More to follow.....

 

So far so good, after four months and 3000 miles. Car running quite nicely. I respond here because I noticed we were missing alot of followup status's on this topic.

 

Glad to hear it works like it should, I just sent my ETM to them and I'm hoping it will fix the problem for good.

 

The only issue I've had with xeMODex and their ETMs is that they have to have the right software. They don't know if your car has had the update done or not, and it seems that they usually assume that it does. The best thing to do is find out if the ETM software update has been done or not, and then inform xeMODex which software the car has, so they can match that in the ETM they send you. If they send you one that has the updated software, and your car doesn't have it, they'll push for you to put the old ETM on, then go and get the software updated. Volvo will do that for free- it's a recall- but I recommend sticking with the old software. Here's why: the software update was an attempt at making the problem "go away" for a while. The update makes the computer ignore minor issues with the ETM to prevent it from going into limp- home mode unless something major happens. It also changes the idle speed slightly so that the starting position of the sensor is in a different place, so that if the starting position is totally worn through, it has a new spot to start wearing. Basically, makes the ETM hold out a little longer before it finally fails, and more likely to do so out of warranty.

Yes, the Magnetti Marelli ETMs can have other failures, as well, but the most common one is with the position sensor. In my opinion, xeMODex's solution is the best one to come along so far. It's not perfect- the ETM is a flawed design- but it's a lot better than what Volvo offers and cheaper. In 2002, Volvo did what they should have done all along: they switched to the Bosch ETM that most of the other European automakers have been using for ages. These are pretty trouble- free, and there's tons of them out there, which makes they cheap to get fixed if something does go wrong. Too bad there's no reasonable way to retrofit these to the 99-01 cars.

 

Some good info, thanks!

I have the yellow label which apparently means that yes, it has been addressed before but obviously not fixed. Car is at 310,000 km and the ETM finally decided to give up. It is quite a shame that I'm out of the "warranty period" of 10 years and it's a shame how volvo decided to address this issue. No limp home mode for me, just being stuck on the side of the road is what happened.

But anyways, I'm looking forward to getting this installed, I'll update here once I get it running again.

 

The bottom of my etm has a white parts number label. Does that mean that the software has not been updated?

How do you know if the software has been updated?

I'm planning to get a xemodex - send mine in for rebuild ($439) once I'm relatively sure this is my problem. I don't see on their site where it asks about updated or non-updated software.

Frequently asked questions about the ETM - Xemodex Inc. | Xemodex Inc.

 

I would like to add follow-up for those interested. 2001 S60 2.4T 125k miles. My car dropped into "limp mode" a week ago. I called four shops (including the local Volvo Dealer), and repair prices varied from 1200 to 800. After reading the ETM forum and watching many videos on YouTube, arranged to buy the part myself and have it installed. Total cost, out the door, $650. Just picked up the car and all is back to normal.

In the end I understand parts fail, but Volvo failed here and should have just done a full recall and replaced the poorly designed part.