Faulty throttles in 1999-2001 Volvos have been failing at unusually high rates, causing cars to stall, raising air emissions and landing owners with costly repairs, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
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The paper said California state and federal air quality officials are pressing Volvo to commit to spend millions of dollars to replace the devices as they fail, and to reimburse owners who have paid for the work themselves.
The LA Times said the faulty components are electronic throttle modules, or ETMs, which Volvo began substituting for traditional mechanical throttles in its ’99 models. Although designed for a useful life of 100,000 miles, an estimated 21% to 94% will fail within that time, depending on vehicle model, according to reports by Volvo to the California Air Resources Board and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The LA Times said the state air board, backed by the EPA, wants Volvo to extend the warranty on the throttles to 10 years and unlimited miles and reimburse owners who have already paid as much as $IS1,000 to replace them. The basic warranty on the cars is four years or 50,000 miles, though in California emissions-related components by law are covered for seven years or 70,000 miles.
The paper noted that the faulty throttles also are the subject of a class-action suit charging that Volvo violated California law by issuing a so-called secret warranty to assist some but not all owners with defective throttles.
Volvo executives refused to be interviewed or to answer written questions from the LA Times but said in a prepared statement that [the car maker] “is working with the California Air Resources Board relative to the ETM, and we are fully cooperating with them.”
