Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Volvo V70XC owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My daughter was killed while driving my Volvo when it malfunctioned and she lost control. Per the accident report, she was changing lanes from the far right to middle lane when she accelerated into the left lane, hit and bounded off the left guardrail, collided with a car in the center lane, proceeded over the right guardrail of a bridge, through a treetop, dropped 30 feet, landed upside down, and rolled repeatedly, eventually stopping in a concrete creek bank. She was wearing her seat belt but killed instantly upon impact. It appears she was not speeding significantly prior to the accident but unexpectedly began accelerating as she was changing lanes and lost control of the vehicle. I have had similar problems with the car previously but believed they had been corrected by Volvo when they replaced the electronic throttle module. …
My wife was driving our Volvo xc (2001) back from the grocery store. In exiting the store parking lot she had make a left turn onto rt. 24w in mendham, nj from a stop sign. As she got on to the single lane highway the car stalled leaving her without power in the middle of a single lane highway with our 2 year old son in the back seat. Incoming traffic suddenly had to come to a stop in order not to hit her car. She was able to move the car to the side of the road and restart it and make the 5 minute trip back home. The car was not able to make the slight incline up the driveway. The next morning I was able to start the car and take it to the Volvo dealer. All along the trip the felt like it was going to stall any minute. I kept a constant speed and did not take any chances with sudden acceleration or passing. …
I was driving at approx 50 MPH on a major thoroughfare up a hill when my vehicle suddenly lost power. The computer displayed a "reduced power" message. I pulled to the right, and continued to drive about 1/8 mile at significantly reduced power until I could pull completely off the road (my children were with me and I wanted to be off the road). I pulled into a parking lot, turned off my vehicle. After a two phone calls, I attempted to turn the vehicle on. It seemed to run fine. I continued on, dropped my children at school, and drove to the Volvo dealer. Their notes indicate: "...found that etm is defective and had internal faults in it. Also found that the codes were set for maf sensor reading out of range. Removed etm and found that it was cover with oil. …
We have experienced the "reduced power mode" on our 2001 Volvo xc70 numerous times between dec '05 and feb '06. The vehicle refused to go over 15 MPH until the engine was shut-off and restarted. This occurred twice pulling out of our neighborhood onto a major road, entering the highway while attempting to accelerate to highway speed and while attempting a passing maneuver on the highway around 60 MPH. In all situations, we were fortunate that someone was not right behind us (my wife and 2 small children) when this occurred, as the potential for an accident is very high. I took the vehicle to my local Volvo dealer, where they diagnosed a problem with the electronic throttle module (etm), but stated there was an extended warranty covering this component. However, instead of replacing it immediately, the "procedure" called for cleaning the etm and downloading new software. …
I have a 2001 Volvo v70 xc wagon. The car was revving high for a while when shifting gears, I took it to the dealership, and they told me there wasn't a problem. About a month or so later the etm failed. I was being left stranded at freeway off ramps, and green lights when the car would suddenly die. It's a miracle I wasn't rear-ended! After a terrible experience trying to get the dealership to honor the etm warranty, (they only cleaned the etm they did not replace it-saying it wasn't bad enough!), a month has passed and now my transmission has failed! The dealership gave me a $5300 estimate for replacement as it is unrepairable! …
I recently purchased a used 2001 Volvo xc v70. Since the second or third day of ownership I have had ongoing problems with the electronic throttle module. The car will often idle very low and then die, and when this happens, sometimes it won't restart for a while. Sometimes the car will start, idle up to about 2000 rpms then die. When this happens, the car usually won't start for hours. The car often lurches forward when it is downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st gears. The idle speed will jump as it is downshifting, often causing brief loss of control of the vehicle for a short distance. This is particularly frightening pulling into a parking space. When any of these issues are occuring with the vehicle, it makes driving a very tense and frightening experience. …
Only 2 days after purchasing our 2001 v70 xc with 64,000 miles with excellent dealer servicing and oil changes, it started idling very erratically, and would stall several times after trying to start it. Even when warmed up, the idle was all over the place, running very rough. When driving, especially at lower speeds, we have to maintain a foot on the brake due to the surging and erratic idle so that we do not unintentionally hit the vehicles that are in front of us or at times must keep a foot on the gas pedal to keep the RPM's up so that it won't stall. The check engine light has been on since the first idle symptoms and the problem has been diagnosed as an etm failure. Since the vehicle is no longer under warranty, we have not yet had the problem fixed. We feel this poses a safety risk and should not be an issue with just 64000 miles on the car.
Dt:the contact complained about the electronic throttle body modulator. While driving the vehicle slowed from 60 MPH to 15 MPH without warning. There were a lot of noises, vibration, and exhaust smells coming from the engine. The car was pulled off the road without incident. The vehicle was left running initially. The hood was opened to see what the problem was. She could not identify the problem; the vehicle was then turned off. About five minutes later the vehicle was restarted and drove home. The vehicle was taken to a dealership for repairs at her expense. The dealership stated he could not guarantee this would not happen again, even after repairs. The contact was not the original owner. However the vehicle has been regularly maintained by the dealership. Updated 1/25/2006 -
2001 Volvo v70 xc customer states that the car would not accelerate and was shaking** the consumer stated there was recall on this vehicle for vehicle speed control and the consumer was not able to get to the dealer to take corrective action. The consumer stated the car started to shake and would not accelerate while her 2 children were in the vehicle. The consumer did not want to enter the vehicle for fear of an accident. The consumer's vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed the repairs but the mechanic who assisted the consumer in getting the vehicle to the dealer for repairs requested $60 for his time in the matter. The consumer stated would like to be reimbursed for the outpocket $60 paid to the mechanic. The consumer provided a copy of repair invoice.
Hello, I have a 2001 Volvo V70XC w/ approx 67,000 miles. The engine stalled when pulling out into traffic and I was almost killed by a fully loaded dump truck that did not have the distance to stop. I have since had the failure repaired and it was the etm - "electronic throttle module". This is a known defective component by Volvo as they are replacing them in sweden - but have not announced anything here in north America. I was fortunate enough to make enough phone calls to Volvo to get them to replace the defective etm at no cost; however the new replacement will eventually fail due to the current / existing design. The etm needs to be re-engineered and replaced in every 1999- 2001 Volvo. If you have any questions, please call me. Thanks.
NHTSA investigations
Throttle control malfunction
Pe05-041 was opened on July, 26, 2005, based on 136 consumer complaints to odi alleging throttle control malfunctions in the subject vehicles.odi has now received 591 complaints of etm failures which allege symptoms with potential safety related consequences.these include allegations of engine stall, vehicle surging forward without accelerator input, vehicle hesitation upon acceleration and sudden and unexpected…
Throttle control malfunction
On November 14, 2006 Volvo submitted a defect information report to NHTSA concerning etm failures in model year (my) 1999 through 2001 Volvo models (not including the s40 and v40), my 2002 s60 and v70 with naturally aspirated engines and my 2002 v70s.according to Volvo, ?a combination of throttle positioning sensor irregularities, a dirty throttle housing and/or inefficient software calibration May cause a warning…
Acceleration complaints in other V70XC years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2001 Volvo V70XC?
NHTSA has 39 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2001 Volvo V70XC, 27% of the model year's 144 complaints. The component named most often is linkages (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Volvo V70XC acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2001 Volvo V70XC, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2001 Volvo V70XC acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury and 1 death to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.