02 volvo question

Maintenance/Repairs
21

You might want to check this out.

https://xemodex.com/us/product/electronic-throttle-body-etb-for-volvo/

Tester

2 Likes
22

throttle body unit consists from mechanical parts and some kind of electronics/motors

body iself can not be locked to VIN, it is piece of metal, no more

if electronics is still usable, it could be moved from one part to another

I did that on DVD drive in Wii game console, where DVD drive is SUPPOSEDLY locked to the serial number of the particular unit, but since it was a mechanics/laser what degraded, I was able to remove the electronics board from old drive, transition it to new drive and then reassemble: game console would not know the difference

3 Likes
23

There may be a liability explanation why they won’t reprogram a used TB. They may believe there’s a chance of a used TB could cause unintended acceleration . Car companies and their legal advisers are really averse to their name being associated w/that problem. If so, you are just another victim of modern car designs. They provide a lot of function when they are working, lots of bells and whistles, but when they stop working 
 oh my 


I had a problem w/the TB on my Corolla a few years back where it was causing the idle rpm to be too high and inconsistent. I narrowed it down to a part on the TB, this part controls the idle rpm vs coolant temperature, but that part is not sold independent of the TB. My solution was to just disable the rpm vs coolant function and step on the gas pedal a little on cold mornings until the engine has warmed up enough to not stall at the first stop sign. Hasn’t been much of a burden. So maybe among Volvo enthusiasts there’s a known work-a-round that you can keep using your original TB.

1 Like
24

Thank you for your reply, why do your truly appreciate your time. It’s just a shame do junk a perfectly running car for the sake of $100 part that you can buy used. One of the mechanics at the local Volvo dealer told me if it was his car he could do it no problem using the dealership software. However he would lose his job if he did it for me. Just another Volvo scam. And I won’t buy another one if someone wanted to give it to me

25

I hope you are not calling the fact that a mechanic can’t do extra work using his employers shop and equipment a Scam . That is standard practice by employers and insurance carriers .

26

Bottom line, it is now a financial decision. “A perfectly running car”, if you otherwise like the car and it is still in good shape, think of it this way $1500 to repair versus $20,000 plus for a replacement vehicle.

27

If Mazda is behaving as Volvo, in USA, as here in Europe then, don’t buy a Mazda. They won’t have anything to do with used electronic parts.
At least there are shops, that are specialized to re-code such things.

28

Can you please elaborate, as I do consider Mazda as a next vehicle to buy and to keep for quite some time?

29

that’s what I thought about Volvo I’d have it for a long time hahaha

30

A friend of mine has a workmate who (well, HAD) a Mazda pick-up something where the ECM went haywire and after umpteen attemps Mazda couldn’t fix it and said, new ecm needed. We’ll sell it to you at a special discount because of your trouble over the last 8 months so the prize is only (roughly) 1200 US money - plus installation, of course. In total around 1600 US money.
He asked if a used ecm could work. OH no, used electronic parts cannot be reconfigured to work in a different car.
He got in contact with a company who told him to get a ecm from a vehicle identical to his, come by with car and ecm and he would be laughing all the way home.
Bought an ecm at junkyard for +/- 100 bucks, went to the shop, waired for around an hour, paid them around 100 bucks and went home - laughing.

1 Like
31

@anon86613489, your story made next impressions on me:

#1: car was not under warranty, so why the guy even approached the dealer for repair, I’m not sure, but the bottom line is that dealer did not make him happy, while independent shop did

#2: the car itself did not prevent the independent shop from pairing new/used part to the vehicle

all to all, it makes me not to run away from Mazda, but rather adds to the bucket of arguments why I would actually buy one - it is totally in opposite of what original poster is complaining about in this thread about his Volvo

32

1/
That’s what he was advised to do as regular mechanics was not able to fix the car (no wonder as Mazda couldn’t either), then after Mazda’s failed attemps and after a long search, he find this specialized company - lets call it ABC, which only deals with this type of problems.
2/
Absolutely not, the thing was more than happy with the new old part. Mazda just didn’t want to do the job, even though they were capable to do it.
But if such a company - like ABC does not exist in USA, then what? Hence the comparison to the OP’s situation.
If You’d like a Mazda, by all means buy one, they make some nice looking cars. The chance of such a malfunction as this must be pretty slim.

33

@anon86613489, in this sense, Mazda is no different from any other make, this situation can be easily applied to Honda / Toyota / Jeep or any other.

it mostly depends on the mechanic who’s gonna work on diagnostics and if he is the “throw parts on the problem, eventually you gonna get it” type or “I’m not gonna make changes until I have a proven theory on that the root cause can be” type.

You remember old thing about “the sum of intelligence on the Earth is constant
 but population grows” ? :slight_smile:

Cars become more and more complex to diagnose, number of competent mechanics capable of “root cause diagnostics” declines, not in the last extent due to this increased complexity

once again, it is not about me loving or not loving Mazda, the example was not relevant really

34

That could very easily be true.

That indicates that there is not a clear cut diagnose. That was not the situation here. They (Mazda) diagnosed the ecm as faulty on day one, then tried to get it to work again during umpteen attemps and then told him HE HAD to buy a new one through THEM at an exorbitant price. Which turned out to be not correct.

That other manufacturers do the same does not improve on the situation.

35

ok, the bottom line:

  1. dealer wanted to do what all dealers always do: sell new part for the old car, even if cheaper alternative exists (dealer will never offer that route, this is where you go do independents)

  2. dealer made multiple mistakes until hitting the root cause, but due to the suggested costs they were denied the business: we hear these stories all around, Mazda, Ford, Volve, etc


  3. unfortunately the situation will never get improved, it is rooted in human nature to make mistakes and shortcuts
 not gonna happen
 or solution will cost more than “trial and error” path

so, my question was “what you know bad about Mazda in particular?” and the answer tipped the scale into favorable side on the make: they do allow for non-vin-matched parts or at least some easy reprogramming

what I learned from this thread about Volve tipped the scales into unfovorable side


36

I agree will never buy a new or used Volvo again, and will not recommend them to anyone,

37

Vehicle manufactures do not provide dealer technicians with a method of clearing security data from modules, the system “hack” is developed on the outside by those in the aftermarket.

38

That seems to not be correct as per the OP.

Now they lost the opportunity of a happy Volvo customer.

39

Well, I do not claim to be the expecrt, but I know for sure Mercedes/BMW indeed make multiple parts to be “mated” to their VIN code.
Volvo is apparently on this list too, probably list can be extended.
Let’s call it “group A”.

A lot of mass-market-makes do not do that at all. let’s call it “group B”.

Then it is a “hackery” zone where people develop methods to do something about cars in group A. Sure enough, authorized dealers would have nothing to help here, their only option is to make expensive “swap to new” or they understandably risk their licenses.

For group B, it is no need to do a thing, the problem simply is not present there.

Somehow, for myself, I specifically do not like dealing with “group A” since it takes away most of DIY options on that level.

1 Like
40

I was commenting on your story of the used PCM for the Mazda.