hi all,
I have been having a problem that is very infrequent, but at a stop light sometimes when I start to go again it only goes forward in something like first gear and doesn't progress beyond that no matter how hard I press the accelerator. I have to flip the hazards and pull over to the side of the road. Turning off and on the engine seems to be the only fix for the problem. any ideas what might be wrong? I thought it was tranny at first but now i think it's the engine. It goes slow in both reverse and forward when it does happen.
thx all for reading

 

Are you saying that the tranny won't shift into second gear?
How fast are you going, and what does the tach read at that point?
Whatever it is, it is NOT the engine, it's the transmission!

 

ok thanks...i go about 5mph maybe and not beyond that...could it be solenoid?

 

Well, 5 mph, that's not enough to shift into second gear! Are you saying your 240 won't go faster than 5mph?

You'll need to provide more information about this if you'd like to get help.

 

the tach doesnt drop as far as I can tell, but will hookup tachometer and make sure next time it happens....any other diagnostic tests/info you need? i can also make a video of it

 

well the other night at a stop light i did notice a drop in RPM but didn't get a reading, the lights flickered a little and again I lost power and could only go 10mph. pressing down on the accelerator produced a gasoline smell. so i think it was the O2 sensor which i had been meaning to replace but hadnt got around to it. i did replace it yesterday and it seems to be running better, we'll see i guess. i guess the next step would be checking MAF.

 

someone who knows what they are doing should look at this car, IMMEDIATELY.

 

OK, it was the MAF sensor, it was still running weird with spotty/bad acceleration after the O2 sensor change...I had just replaced the MAF a year ago. Good thing I bought from FCP who replace those things for life...I got the bosch remanufactured tho...I see now that they have a genuine volvo MAF sensor...something I probably would've bought if they had it at the time.