Acceleration complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
Pulling into restaurant parking space. Pushed on brake and vehicle shot forward. Ended up in restaurant. Not sure what happened, but never accidentally hit throttle before. Concerned, insurance checked recalls and found a problem.
Tl*- the contact stated that while driving the 2002 Volvo v70 xc cross country at the speed of 30 MPH and trying to accelerate the vehicle stalled. The vehicle lost the ability to accelerate. The control panel lights turned on, and she pulled off to the side of the road. The contact turned the ignition off and called the Volvo mechanic. They advised her to restart the vehicle, and while trying to start the vehicle ,the instrument panel stayed on. The Volvo mechanic urged her to have the vehicle towed. The contact had the transmission replaced two weeks prior to this incident, and had the vehicle fully serviced. The contact drove the vehicle home. The contact stated that there was recall 06V441000 on the 2002 Volvo concerning the vehicle speed control; she stated that the dealership informed her that this vehicle was not included in the recall. …
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. …
Etm module failed on the freeway and I had to make an emergency stop on the freeway at night. After several minutes the car was able to startup again. When I took the car in for repair, they did not tell me that this was a common problem with this model of Volvo and I ended up paying $128 dollars for bogus troubleshooting and no problem found. Then less than 4 days later, the car died again, but this time I was lucky and it died on a side street. I looked up the problem on the internet and found quite a few articles of people who had a similar problem. Upon driving my car into the dealership, it died and I had to coast the car down 3 hillside blocks and into the dealership. Another $50 dollars was charged to me for doing the warranty work and the total cost to replace the throttle module was $723.67. …
Purchased car in dec 2006. Within few months, began to notice the car would lose speed on highway and drop to a speed anywhere between 60-80km/hr. Black smoke rolled out exhaust. Took car to dealership (where previous owners maintained car). Several filters, seals, replaced. Few months later the same problem continued. Returned to dealership and told car needed catalytic converter. After being told the cost, dealership called back to say under emissions warranty. $1200 part was covered but I paid labor/other parts. Dealer was asked on both occasions to complete service due. Failed to complete these as requested. Problems continued. This time the dealership told me that ets was gone causing the car to go into limp mode. Repairs done at a cost of all $2600.00. Less than a year, same problem occurred. The oil light came on (though there was oil in the car). …
I own a 1999 Volvo V70XC. While driving to work on 9/8/05, suddenly the electronic throttle system (ets) light lit up on my driver control panel, and I lost a considerable amount of acceleration as I was driving through an intersection. I quickly pulled over to the side of the road, and checked my owner's manual. As the manual instructed, I contacted my mechanic from the road and he suggested I bring it in right away. After several stops & driving on the shoulder I made it to my mechanic (15 miles) who was actually surprised I had been able to drive it there at all. He told me the ets would probably need to be replaced at approximately $950 to $1150. I was floored by the news, especially since it seemed to be a safety issue. …
The car went into a "limp home mode" as I was pulling into traffic, causing several cars to have to swerve to keep from hitting me. I called Volvo and they said the 99 & 00 ( which I own both ) models had a recall on the part. I carried the car to the Volvo dealership and they said the recall was only to install a software update, not to replace the part itself. Well, they did the software upgrade and about half way home, 5 miles or less, the etc light came on again and the car went into the limp home mode again, barely making it home. I called the dealership and they said that the module itself needed to be replaced and was not covered by the recall ????? They told me it would be between $1200-$1300 to replace. This is extremely wrong and dangerous. …
Related recalls (1)
Vehicle speed control
On certain passenger vehicles, a combination of throttle positioning sensor irregularities, a dirty throttle housing, and/or inefficient software calibration May cause a warning lamp to light and the subsequent onset of limp home modes.
Remedy: Dealers will install the current software upgrade onto the involved vehicles. The recall began on December 29, 2006. Owners May contact Volvo at 1-800-458-1552.
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…
Frequently asked questions
Which Volvo V70XC years have acceleration problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2000 (45), 2001 (39) and 1999 (29) model years. Acceleration complaints make up 44% of all complaints for the 2000.
Is there a recall for Volvo V70XC acceleration problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 06V-441 (vehicle speed control, Nov 15, 2006). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Volvo V70XC acceleration problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 73,000 miles; 14% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the linkages (2 mentions), followed by the accelerator pedal (2).
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.