First, I like to thank all of you who shared your technical expertise in this matter and gave me good advice in dealing with the predicament I'm experiencing.

BTW, I am not from the States but from Malaysia. As many of you have pointed out to me, I know that through my lack of knowledge I've been ripped off in the last 2 episodes. In this country, the laws that protect consumers are not tough enough against unscupulous traders (in this case mechanics). Everything is on caveat emptor basis.

Worst still, there aren't really many volvo specialists here, and those that operate as such are usually graduates from Volvo Dealers Workshop. Many do not even equipped themselves with proper tools, and very often they used their customers' vehciles for experiments.

I recall sending my car in for a overheating issue. The mechanic changed the thermostat but continued to overheat. He then took out a micro chip and replaced it with a new one but had that chip blown as well. For some reasons, he managed to solve the problem on the third chip (same one) replacement. He did me a favor by charging me only 2 of the same blown chips instead of 3.

But I am learning from this Board, and many times I tried and had solved a number of issues from advices of this Board members. Thank you guys for teaching me, but even with the knowledge that I've developed here I still can't fight the system but merely to fend for myself.

I speak from my own experience and hopefully I have not offended anyone else who may have other opinions and experiences of the Volvo techs in my location. I'll be glad if someone can give me a good reference.

Thanks and Regards

Laozong