2001 S60 104k

About a week ago I noticed an odd squeeling noice coming from my engine. I stopped the car and placed it in park and then noticed that the check engine light had illuminated. I left the car on and opened the hood. The noise appeared to be coming from the belt on the left side of the engine compartment. I then turned the car off and back on and the noise continued and the check engine light was still on. I took the car into a firestone just to make sure that I would be able to make it back up to New York. I told them about the noise and the check engine light and they said that they would run an engine diagnostic. I left my car for about an hour and then received a phone call from them saying that my car was ready and that they did not need to run a diagnostic. They said that when they pulled the car in that the light was not illuminated and there was no noise present. When I asked what could be making the noise they said that it could be from a leaky oil pan hitting the belt. After I left Firestone the noise came back when I was driving down the road. I just crossed my fingers and hoped I would make it up to NY. While driving down the road I noticed that the noise would only surface when the car was idling and when I was decelerating/braking. The noise is not always present, it sometimes surfaces after driving for about an hour or as little as a few mintues. One of my friends said that my car sends like a space ship, which I guess is a simplistic way of describing the odd sound.

About 2 days ago I was sitting in heavy traffic in New Jersey and noticed the RPM dipping down to around 400 RPM. The car ended up stalling about 2-3 times in a matter of about 30 minutes. The squeeling noise was also present during these instances.

Also, the check engine light has not illuminated since it happened the initial time.

Any suggestions? I'm an obvious amateur when it comes to vehicles, so any insight would be very much appreciated. I have not gone to the dealer yet because I want to get a grasp of what the potential problem could be before I go in.

At around 104k both the cam belt and auxiliary belt should have been changed - have yours been replaced ? Perhaps one of the tensioners are worn or the water pump is squealing.

The rough idling and stalling sounds like an ETM problem - if you just search for ETM there are loads of threads on the subject.

There are known issues with the ETM and Volvo have extended the warranty on it.

When my S60's idle was rough and stalled occaisionaly I got away with taking mine out and cleaning it and many people have had the dealers clean or replace the ETM free of charge.