2004 Volvo S80

Both of the key fobs I have are broken in that the key won't lock straight out or stay folded into the fob. The weight of the plastic fob alone frequently causes the key to twist backwards if the road is bumpy or uneven, which kills the engine and makes it extremely difficult to steer to safety without power steering. The first time this happened to me I was traveling at 55 mph on a crowded highway but fortunately I was in the rightmost lane, not in a curve, and was approaching an area where I could pull over to safety. I have had to duct tape both keys in the open position to prevent this. The situation is much worse if additional keys or other weight is added to the ring. It is possible to insert a broken key in a way that causes the weight of the fob to hang away from the driver but large road bumps or accidental interference from the driver or passengers can cause it to flip backwards anyway. These incidents are alarming and confusing for the driver, particularly the first time, and could easily cause an accident depending on the conditions. I am not the only person who has experienced this issue, and it will become even more common as these vehicles age.

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, MY 2004 VOLVO S80 2.5T WILL SUDDENLY LOSE POWER, SURGE FORWARD OR ENTER 'LIMP MODE" WITH A MESSAGE OF "REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE" FOLLOWED BY "ENGINE SERVICE REQUIRED." USING AN OBDII CODE READER I DISCOVERED THAT THESE MESSAGES AND MY ISSUE WERE CAUSED BY A PROBLEM WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE (ETM). I TOOK IT INTO A LOCAL VOLVO REPAIR SHOP AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS A THROTTLE BODY ISSUE. IF THIS PROBLEM OCCURS WHILE I AM DRIVING WITHIN THE CITY, IT IS FAIRLY EASY TO PULL OVER TO SAFETY, BUT ON THE FREEWAY, LOSING POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC CAN BE DANGEROUS, AND THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME, CAUSING A NEAR ACCIDENT. THE ISSUE IS RECURRING AND WHILE IT DOES SEEM TO "CLEAR ITSELF" IT HAS RETURNED MULTIPLE TIMES. THERE WAS A DEFECT INVESTIGATION, OPENED JULY 26TH 2005 UNDER NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE05041 FOR THE EXACT SAME ISSUE, AND EXACT SAME GROUP OF PROBLEMS. THE REPORT FOUND THAT THE ISSUE WAS LIMITED TO S80S MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 1999 AND 2001. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THIS ISSUE IS NOT LIMITED TO ONLY THOSE MODEL YEARS BUT HAS AFFECTED OTHER YEARS AS WELL. I BASE MY SUGGESTION ON INFORMATION FOUND BY SEARCHING VARIOUS VOLVO OWNER DISCUSSION BOARDS AND FINDING OTHERS THAT HAVE IN FACT BEEN AFFECTED. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE... AS IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SERIOUS ACCIDENTS AS FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION. *TR