ETM replacement, VOLVO contribution
 

What is the most Volvo have offered anybody as a good will contribution towards ETM replacement?

VolvoUK has just offered me 5% assuming the dealership matches it.
(The car has a Full Volvo service history with 86K miles)

Poor offer I reckon seeing as with VOC membership I can get 10% anyway.

Full dealership price for replacement is £614.

Patrick

OK,

VolvoUK is only going to offer me 5% as a good will gesture.

As I see it, I have the following case against VolvoUK.

1. Previously Volvo has offered up to 50% Good will gesture, thus setting a president. To offer any less than 50% is prejudiced.

2. Volvo advertise their cars as "some of the safest cars in the world" however this component fails without warning, hardly very safe after all, hence the product (car) has been mis-advertised. As a safety issue alone Volvo ought to recall these dangerous ETM's and offer the customer a replacement that is both reliable and offers the consumer peace of mind that they are in fact driving a safe car.

3. After I spend £617 on a replacement ETM, I have no gaurantee that this component is any safer than the previous defective one. So as a consumer I am forced to purchase a product that I know has an inherent and dangerous problem. Volvo has yet to design a replacement in keeping with Volvo's safety record.

4. The recent public awareness with regard to the defective ETM's has undoubtedly had a negative effect on residual values, reinforcing the fact that Volvo should offer a reliable replacement or offer the consumer compensation to match the fall in values of their cars.

I am collecting the car on Wednesday, I have decided not to accept Volvo's 5%, as it equates to a measly £30.

The dealership has kindly offered my 10% as per the VOC discount. Hence the same discount anyway.

I don't really have the time, but I am very annoyed at Volvo and I am keen to persue a case in a small claim court. I believe Volvo has mishandled this ETS issue and are hoping the problem will go away in time.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
This is your opportunity as well!
Your thoughts and comments please.

Patrick

Stating the obvious....
 

This might be stating the obvious, but has anyone got one of these defunct ETMs and taken it to an electronics expert / TV repair shop / local geek and seen if it can be repaired and/or refurbished? Surely it is just based around a pretty simple Potentiometer?

Just a though.

Philip

Check out the following thread:
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...t=8536&page=18
item 173

Patrick

Ah
 

Ah, I see:- been there tried that!

Oh well, keep up the pressure on Volvo.

Philip

ETM Contribution
 

Volvo UK have offered me 20% of the £626 cost. I told them that I found that insulting and left it at that.

So far I've sent letters to CAR Magazine, TOP GEAR, AutoExpress, What Car, VOSA, and a few others..... I was in a bad mood.

Got to wonder whether anyone will respond

I am not sure if you saw my posts on the other ETM thread (we seem to have two threads on the same topic). I also wrote to Top Gear (probably a waste of time as, in my opinion, the program now is more about celebrity than cars). Although, if there is a chance they may act we should certainly give it a go. The Head of Vehicle Safety (VOSA) is Mr Jeffrey Sweeting, tel. 0117 9543245. There is a Motoring Department at Which? Magazine (e-mail editor@which.co.uk). Both VOSA and Which have previously shown some interest. As Watchdog has already run a feature maybe we should ensure they know that Volvo are not solving the problem.

As I said on the other thread, unless we keep up the pressure, Volvo UK / Ford will simply laugh off the whole faulty ETM issue. And as it does not affect new cars, they may well get away with this.

Melvyn

Just spoke with Andrew Taviner at the The Head of Vehicle Safety Department (VOSA), very helpful. He explained that they had received numerious reports of this defect. He is going to send me out a reporting form which I am only to eager to complete and return to the VOSA. This matter can then be taken up with VolvoUK.

Patrick

VolvoUK, unreasonable
 

Finally got my car back today, my wallet is £553.36 the lighter for it.

The Dealer followed through and gave me a 10% discount on the component and work.

Car seems fine now.

I also received a letter from VolvoUK Customer relations.
The letter explains that they are prepared to offer me 10%, this statement conflicts with what they said over the phone only two days ago, which was 5%.

I explained the nature of the failure, i.e. the component failed without warning with potential fatal consequences, and they still believe this is not a safety issue!

I asked for Volvo's company policy regarding the issuing of Good Will Gestures and they are not prepared to provide me with this document assuming they have one.

Patrick

OK, I have contacted both VOSA and Which, anybody else you can think of while I am at it?

Patrick

Those are the ones I have gone for (i.e. Watchdog, VOSA and Which Magazine).

I guess none of us have time to organise a pressure group, although maybe that is what it would take to get a result. I am sure Volvo UK are simply relying on this all blowing over, leaving those affected lumbered with a defective part / car.

M.

Thumbs down to Volvo
 

Volvo is no longer a manufacturer that can boast about producing safe cars, they simply don't!

Thumbs down to Volvo

Patrick

Like I said
 

hugh waugh
 

Hi all,
Just got off the phone with volvo,my car has been with the dealers since last week,the service manager quoted me £700 to fit a new ETM,he said it had 7 faults after the test and all were related to the ETM,he told me to contact volvo uk to see if any discount would be allowed but they have just told me they will not offer any goodwill gesture as my car has not been serviced every year since I bought it,I bought the car with 43000 on the clock and it is now getting near to 54000 when the next service is due,now the point is I live in Jersey and I have only been doing just over 3000 a year since I bought it not the average of 10000 on the mainland but volvo uk still expect me to shell out for a service every year or every 3000 which is a joke,
the car is in great nick apart from the ETM issue according to the service manager,so there you have it I will have to pay up to have a faulty part fitted which is going to cost £380 plus labour,they did offer me the upgrade when its available but she coudld,nt answer me when I told her no upgrade will fix a damaged ETM,i have been driving volvo,s for 35 years but will not be for 36 thats for sure.Volvo should be ashamed of themselves grasping at every little straw to avoid there responsabilities.Hugh.

To be fair, all manufacturers stipulate a mileage & time for the servicing works to be carried out (ie 12k / 12 months, 18k / 12 mohts). Wouldn't matter if it was Renault, Volvo or Porsche.

There is nothing "fare" about VolvoUK, nothing.

They've been very fair with me and my family whenever we've had dealings with them in the past! :cyclops: Given us loads of freebies that they could have charged us for. Maybe we're just lucky.

The dealer network is a bit hit and miss though, some are excellent and some are jaw droppingly awful.

hugh waugh
 

Well that means I would have been taking in for a service about 1500 miles after the previous one,I made a point of not using the car to much because when I bought it I thought this will be my last volvo which I intended to take to South Africa where I intend to retire to in a few years time,not much chance of that happening now,just another example of how this ETM issue has affected loyal volvo owners.at the end of the day its not about money its about volvo uk trying to evade there responsibility and not seeming to care about the safety issue.Hugh

Well, yes.. thats what Volvo wants you to do!! Sounds silly but even if you don't cover much mileage its a good idea to have a service on a yearly interval, such as an oil change etc.

Volvo are just doing everything "by the book".

hugh waugh
 

the local dealer the one we have no option but to use charges £100 per hour
don,t you think it would be an expensive oil change

By the book! lol

Of course - my local dealer charges £105 per hour and I would have done exactly what you have done and not taken it for its 12 month service after only 1500 miles, but the consequences of that unfortunately mean you've not followed Volvos official reccomendation and they can use that to refuse any goodwill payments as you have found to your detriment.

My point being, though, that its not just Volvo that would do this. It wouldn't matter if you had a Ford Fiesta or a Porsche 911, if you had not followed the official service schedule they won't play nice and give you any money off.

What haven't they done by the book?