Upon accelerating up the hill of my street, today, August 16th, 2011, my car, a 1998 Volvo S70, sped up, unnaturally, close to the top. I had just driven out of my driveway, as I back into it always, and proceeded up the hill. As usual, the automatic transmission shifted down as the car approached a steeper portion of the hill. When braking for the stop sign at the top, I noticed that the engine was racing. I was unable to stop fully at the stop sign, and after going around the corner to the right, I pulled the floor mat away from the accelerator pedal. My left foot was now firmly planted on the brake pedal, as well as my right foot quickly pumping the accelerator pedal, all in an attempt to have the gas pedal unstuck, which it didn't. it just made the car engine continuously race even more. The RPM's increased also the more that the engine raced. Unable to fully stop at the next subsequent 2 stop signs, on a straight away, and my left foot to the floor with the brake pedal, I finally decided to place the car in neutral, the engine racing at what seemed a very high rate of speed by evidence of those RPM's. I continued to pump the gas pedal, with the car in neutral, my left foot on the brake, when suddenly the racing ceased, and the RPM's came down to an idle, just below 1000, I believe. I then proceeded to the side of the road, and stopped. After a bit, I placed the car from neutral into park, and then again shifted the automatic transmission into drive. I began moving down a hill by mere idling speed. I was careful, just coasting now, not to initially place any pressure on the accelerator as I proceeded in drive. I came to a stop at an intersection, for a red signal light, and when it was green, I drove back around a large city block to my driveway. I backed into my driveway with no further issues of sudden acceleration during the final distance driven. This has happened 2 other times recently when setting cruise control going up a hill.

- Milton, MA, USA

Replaced timing belt at 76,000 mi. Per Volvo maintenance schedule. At 107,000 mi. Timing belt tensioner and pulley failure resulting in timing belt slipping off and causing massive valve damage. Thankfully, Volvo of na service stepped up as did darell waltrip Volvo and helped to cover over half of the $4,600 in damage that was caused. Still I was stuck with a $2,000 unexpected repair bill. Attention - 1998 Volvo S70 owners and all interference engine owners with timing belts note replace your tensioners and pulleys when you replace the belt.

- Nashville, TN, USA

I have a 1998 Volvo S70 with about 88K miles on it. I had a lot of work done on it Dec 20, 2006 including replacing the timing belt. On 2/15, we were driving and the engine suddenly stopped - we lost power steering and braking, etc. We managed to slow the car and get into a parking lot and had the car towed to the dealer, jordan Volvo in mishawaka, in. We found that the tensioner had failed causing the timing belt to slip off and cause what appears to be very material (retail around $4K) worth of damage to the engine. Volvo recommends replacing the tensioner at 105K miles I believe, but I have found numerous cases on message boards of people having their timing belt but not tensioner replaced and then having catastrophic engine damage. We are fortunate that we were not on a highway when this happened, or along side the road (it was probably 5 degrees out). The dealership has offered to repair the car at 1/2 price, but maintain that they followed Volvo's procedures. I called my old mechanic in Chicago and he said that 90% of the time he replaces the tensioner to avoid just what happened to me. We were not even warned of the possibility of this happening nor given the option to decline the service.

- South Bend, IN, USA

Engine stalled leaving me stranded in an intersection in rush hour traffic. Engine would not restart. Police officer had to push me off the street because car would not restart. Dealer still has not identified the problem.

- Belleville, MI, USA

1998 Volvo S70 lost power then stalled multiple times (9) while driving approximately July 27, 2005. I am concerned about danger of stalling in traffic and getting rear ended or if stalls in intersection. Or being stranded. Was able to get it to the dealer. They found "failing mass air flow sensor". they replaced it and it runs fine now. Old part is not available. But service and repair cost $369.20. I noticed that there are other S70 owners with this problem on mycarstats.com and an article in caranddriver.com.

- Lake Stevens, WA, USA

Dt anti-lock brake system contact states each time the brakes are applied the vehicle is more difficult to stop and the wheels have also locked up. Transmission contact states the vehicle make a squeaking nose when parking, the vehicle pulls to the right side when driving at low speed. Engine and engine cooling contact states oil moves up through the ignition control. The vehicle has been taken to a service dealer and the mechanic stated the vehicle needed a new engine.

- Gross Pointe, MI, USA

Failure of cam belt adjuster, at speed with no warning and total loss of engine power and ancillary equipment.

- Rocky Mount, NC, USA

I purchased the car Jan.26 2001. Two days later I had it in for repeated oil leaks. Dealer stated they were unable to locate any leaks. Also the headlight was out, the foglight was out, the car had mismatched tires, the fuel cap was not attached properly and was tied on with a wire. A month later the O2 sensor went out in the car and was also making a winding noise. Dealer came out and told me that the hub was bad and needed to be replaced. The car continued to have oil leaks. Dealer stated they could not find anythihg. Approx. 1 month later the rear passenger window switch went out. The air guide was also replaced on the car. Oil continued to leak. I took it to an outside source an dthey were able to find three oil leaks in a matter of two hours. They reccomended the turbo unit be replaced that it was bad. On vacation this summer the check engine light once more cam on and dealer stated a fuel gasket needed replacing. August this year the fan began to make a noise. I took it to the dealer and was told they could not get it to duplicate the noise so they could not tell me what was wrong. Sept. 24 2001, I went to get into the car and it woul dnot turn over. The ignition system had gone out. Meanwhile the leather has detached from the intereior of the door as well.

- Ashland, AL, USA