okay, this could get long & complicated, but i'm hoping someone has a simple solution. i just took my 93 240 wagon into the shop (a good mechanic that only works on volvo, porsche and audi's but they do get a little rushed and look over things sometimes)

anyway, i took it in because the other morning i went out to start the car and it would turn but never start. finally after adding some gas because it was low and flooring the gas pedal it started. i kept pressing the gas for a little while until it steadied. as i drove it to the shop i noticed the gas gauge going from 1/2 tank to empty and everywhere in between. also, i've been getting poor gas mileage. anyway, they said it was also running rich and replaced the fuel pressure regulator.

today when i picked up my car, the gas was low so i drove to the gas station to fill it up. on the way there, the engine/idle would surge up and down several times when i would start to slow down and stop and continued until i pressed the gas pedal again (i could press the gas and have my foot on the brake and it was fine). at first it stalled and all the warning lights came on. i finally got to the gas station and filled up the car, thinking this would fix the problem, but it did not. it was still doing it, but not when the car was facing downhill. after driving a few miles around town it got much better and never stalled again, but when i stop it does the surging very lightly for a few seconds and then stops surging. i thought maybe the idle needed to be adjusted, but when i took it back to the mechanic he said the only thing he noticed was the rotors were warped!!?

any ideas?

Sounds to me that the FPR was not the real problem and that the one of the pumps is the problem. Are you sure both the in-tank pump and the external pump are working? You can verify by looking under the car while it's running and listening/feeling the external pump. You should also hear it hum if you turn the key to Pos II and pause there before starting. Note you have to wait 5 minutes after the car has been previously running or the pump won't do this when you re-start the engine. You can also remove the gas cap and hear the in-tank pump run while the car is running. The fact that the engine ran better after you filled it up is a classic sign of a bad in-tank pump.

i was afraid you were going to say that. i did some research on brickboard yesterday, after telling them to replace the FPR, and noticed that the symptoms i was having when i took it in didn't really match those related to the FPR. i will check the pumps when i get home. thanks.

Your story does not give me much reason to have any faith in your shop. The last part makes me think they don't even listen to you. What do you think?

i agree for the most part. i am confident they know what they are doing or at least they did when i started going to them about 2 years ago. they were real busy today and did not want to deal with me when i came back, which regardless of how busy they were is not good customer service. also, i'm a female, so they probably think i don't know what i'm talking about. now that i think of it, they tried to get me to replace my computer about a year ago and i told them to hold off. i explained my problem on brickboard and decided it was the fuel pump relay. i had them replace it and the car has been fine ever since. hum. maybe you are right. know any good volvo mechanics in Nashville?

Warped rotors? I wonder what else they have needlessly replaced or botched on your car.