Hi I'm new to this forum! New owner of a 2003 Volvo V70 2.4T.

Today after starting the car and driving for about 20 seconds of it running normally, it suddenly went to idle speed (900 rpm) and no matter how much I revved it, the tach still stayed at that engine speed.

After restarting the car again, it ran normally for another 5 minutes and then it lost power again. This time the power steering went and locked up, and brake pedal could not be pressed down and the car shut off as well. Thankfully I coasted into a side road.

Trying to start the car again, the engine shuddered badly and the entire car was shaking violently as well.

The warning lights that came on were the oil pressure lamp and the check engine lamp.

The car did not have any prior warning lights relating to the transmission or anything.

After waiting for the tow truck and getting it towed home (1.5 hours), the car started up fine again.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

 

Could be something simple like the fuel pump relay - when you say no matter how you revved it do you mean that no matter how far you pressed the pedal the engine speed stayed the same? Also, when you noted warning lights - they only came on when you were cranking the engine or it barely caught and not when it was running at a normal idle speed? (if the idle is so rough its only turning at say 500 RPMs the alternator light would probably come on). Sounds like a fuel delivery problem - start with the relay, then fuel pressure and finally the pump. If it fails to start, turn the key on to II (ie running) see if you can hear the pump kick on. If not, then pull the relay and try jumpering the two large spades in the relay box. After that you may need to measure fuel pressure at the injector rail. If all seems normal with fuel delivery then you'd want to check into the various fuel metering components, ie read up on the symptoms of a faulty electronic throttle module, MAF sensor for starters - easy enough to google "Volvo S70 ETM" etc for Youtube vids, other posts. Good luck - hopefully its just a $40 fuel pump relay.

 

First off, thank you for your reply! Every little bit of information helps so much.

Yes I meant the engine speed would not rise no matter how far I pressed the pedal, sorry for the confusion ! And as for the warning lights, they came on after the wheel locked up and brake could not be pressed, as well as after attempting to start the vehicle (the times when it shuddered violently). When I turned the key to the "On" position, the Oil Pressure and Check Engine light did not come on , and no error messages showed up in the trip computer as well.

If the engine wasn't getting fuel from the damaged fuel system , how would the engine have been able to turn on after it got towed home ? The tow truck driver said something about the car overheating from driving too much , but I do not think this is likely as I had it parked for about two hours prior and only drove it for less than a kilometre before the problems started.

Finally , would the fuel pump have failed so soon? The previous owner had the fuel pump replaced sometime in the last three years at an independent Volvo garage, and I still have the receipt regarding the part with the car when I bought it.

Thanks again for the reply!

 

Zondaf100, I'm new to this forum and wanted to know if you ever resolved your problem. What were the results as I will be posting my issue soon.