I have a 1998 GLT S70. I am new to Volvo's and am used to driving a stick shift american car so this is a big change for me. I have had the car for just a month or so and it is giving me a few problems that I haven't been able to figure out.

Issue #1:
The car won't start if it's below 30 degrees. It will crank, but won't start. Usually it will start on the first attempt for about a half second then die. Then I can't run it again until it's over 35ish degrees. I have replaced the engine coolant temp sensor as well as the mass air flow sensor to no avail. I don't get it.

Issue #2:
This one is more difficult to describe, the best way to describe it is a slight stumble. When I put the car in drive, or reverse, it has a slight stumble, you can feel it in the steering wheel and throughout the front end. It has a vibration for a split second when it happens. It does not happen in park, only in drive and reverse. When it happens the RPMs move down every so slightly, it's hardly noticeable. I can get a video clip if needed.

Any ideas or suggestions? The Volvo dealer sucked and misdiagnosed it like 5 times. It has also had a tune up, plugs, wires, distributor about 1200 miles ago.

 

I'd suspect a fuel delivery issue or air leak. Cold weather has a habit of making small stuff fail because of the difficulty of burning fuel when the engine is cold. On a cold start your car wants to delivery more fuel and less air so it will ignite. When cold the electronic circuits run in a standard configuration, meaning given the rpm and temperature, etc. the engine runs a fixed set of settings.


If you are short on fuel pressure, you will see this issue. The fact it tries to start and dies leads me to suspect that. However, do not discount damaged vacuum hoses. Look around in the engine compartment at vacuum hoses. if they are hard, brittle, flaking - replace them. Cold is tough on old rubber. Regarding fuel pressure, the fuel pump relay is a common issue. It appears they can act flakey and you could be having that issue as well.


Regarding issue #2.... have you pulled codes? You may have a code set in there that could help you know what is wrong. You also did not mention if the engine is cold, warm or hot when this issues happens. If it's cold, then fix issue #1 and you will likely see issue #2 go away.

 

you didn't mention if you have checked the thermostat, that could be causing problems with cold starts as well.