46 replies to this topic

[mkc70]

Oredigger, on 06 October 2011 - 02:30 PM, said:

hmmm, well why didn't they send me three? I would have taken a third. Maybe.

Was yours an 01?

From what I've read Volvo owners seem stop at 2 etms and switch to the oem Volvo one on the 3rd attempt with success. Did you request a 3rd unit? Ultimately they have more success than failure, just chalk it up to bad luck. Them offering a refund is an easy way to get rid of you and a problem.

BTW: Good luck with the refund.

[Oredigger]

yup, if I dont get the refund, I will be ranting and raving quite a bit. Its supposed to come when they receive the returned ETM, which should be soon.

I did not ask for a third ETM. I was going through a troubleshooting checklist with them, everything on the checklist pointed to a needing a new ETM, but they were beginging to be evasive. They wanted me to replace other things (like battery cables and relays). I dont have the time nor the pocketbook to replace every little thing peice of electrics on the car that might lead to ETM fault codes. And now that I have the Volvo unit and it is working great, I can see that further time and expense verifying the second flawed Xemodex unit would have been a wild goose chase.

I guess what I was saying, was if they had outright offered to send another unit, I would have taken it. But they wanted me to put a lot of money and effort in verifying the ETM was the problem, which I was not willing to do.

You know, every mechanic I spoke with thought the idea that you can buy an ETM with preloaded software was a joke. This, again, seems to be the problem. Why is it that Xemodex thinks they can preload software? If they would just rebuild original customer ETMs, it would seem like a lot of hassle could be avoided.

[mkc70]

Oredigger, on 10 October 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

yup, if I dont get the refund, I will be ranting and raving quite a bit. Its supposed to come when they receive the returned ETM, which should be soon.

I did not ask for a third ETM. I was going through a troubleshooting checklist with them, everything on the checklist pointed to a needing a new ETM, but they were beginging to be evasive. They wanted me to replace other things (like battery cables and relays). I dont have the time nor the pocketbook to replace every little thing peice of electrics on the car that might lead to ETM fault codes. And now that I have the Volvo unit and it is working great, I can see that further time and expense verifying the second flawed Xemodex unit would have been a wild goose chase.

I guess what I was saying, was if they had outright offered to send another unit, I would have taken it. But they wanted me to put a lot of money and effort in verifying the ETM was the problem, which I was not willing to do.

You know, every mechanic I spoke with thought the idea that you can buy an ETM with preloaded software was a joke. This, again, seems to be the problem. Why is it that Xemodex thinks they can preload software? If they would just rebuild original customer ETMs, it would seem like a lot of hassle could be avoided.

I know what you went through and it can be frustrating, but understand ordering an ETM with preloaded software is convenient, provided it is correct for the vehicle. The mechanic can reassemble the vehicle immediately and only need to work on it one time. I was also offered a refund after the second unit did not work, but told Chris that was not an option. In a heated discussion he said he would send 50 if need be, I told him to keep them coming till one finally worked. Luckily the 3rd one worked. However I have yet to receive a refund that was promised plus my core charge. This occurred last summer, highly doubtful, lol. So now I have 2 virtually new ETM's that are chilling in my garage. Just get the refund and move on, your car is running well now.

[Oredigger]

Ah, you are a better negotiator than I am. If I were more familiar with how the software worked on this car, I might have been more confident in my "software problem" theory, and pushed harder for another unit. But yes, like you said, I am done with it (for now). I may try again at 230k when this yellow label Volvo unit fails on me. I suppose that will depend on how the transmission is holding up.

[Oredigger]

Update: the Xemodex refund posted to my account this morning. They are a company that keeps their word.

[bfg]

Hi Oredigger....I have an ETM problem with my Volvo V70 1999. Now and then it goes into limp mode and engine revs start fluctuating and the ETS light come on. I turn the engine off, wait for a few minutes and then start the car again and everything seems ok again! Anyway, the two ETM's you have in your garage, are they both Xemodex? Do you want to sell one of your Xemodex ETM's? According to Volvo my part number is 36001822 and according to internet it's 8644347 (probably the same thing). I need to check with Volvo that they can put my car's software on the Xemodex ETM!

[Oredigger]

Hi bfg. Does that stand for Big Friendly Giant? I only ask because that was my nickname through junior high. I am pretty tall. I never liked it though, I was not especially trying to be friendly.

I do not have the Xemodex ETMs. That is mkc70 who has them in the garage.

You may want to buy a xemodex unit from xemodex, they are not all that pricey. I would guess the company has worked out the bugs for the '99 models. They seem to still have some bugs to work out on the '01s. (my model year) Just a guess.

However, if you can find a local mechanic to put in a volvo unit for about $700, that is the most fool proof solution. The mechanic will be able to reprogram the new unit to work, no question.

update to my situation: I have now had the volvo unit on the car for 1k miles or so. No issues.