1998 V70 engine strains and car hessitate on take off

shilla · Post by **shilla** » 11 Sep 2006, 12:20

Car Details: 1998 V70 Wagon, 140k miles, Automatic
Weird problem that started recently and has me and my mechanic perplexed. The car sometimes won't accelerate as normal when starting from a stop. It almost feels like the brake is on or I'm pulling a heavy trailer. The engine makes a straining sound and the car will barely move. I also thought it might be trying to start off in the wrong gear but it sounds and feels like a different problem. The check engine light came on one time and the mechanic said it only indicated the fuel burn mixture was off and I possibly needed some new plugs. I know for sure the plugs aren't the root cause of this problem.

Other things I've notice: it only happens when the car is warmed up (+15minues of driving). The hessitation and straining noise during take off can last for a 1 -5 seconds at times. It doesn't do this very often but I've noticed it every couple of days. On one occassion, the car made a strange noise like gears grinding... hard to describe. It only did this once.
This problem has me thinking the worst..... TRANSMISSION Problems.

Could this be something to do the the control module that shifts the transmission? Can the tran. solenoid problem creat symptoms like this?

Many thanks in advance to the dedicated mechanics out there who help guys like me sort through these problems! Steve

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 11 Sep 2006, 18:52

It alllmost sounds like a problem with the trans mode switch. Is the up arrow on the dash lit up?

shilla · Post by **shilla** » 12 Sep 2006, 07:49

I've not seen the up arror on the dash although I did see the
winter mode light on the W button flash once while shifting
from reverse to drive.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 12 Sep 2006, 19:47

Make sure you're not in "W" mode. It's not good for your car...same can be said for our country.

MO-T5 · Post by **MO-T5** » 13 Sep 2006, 10:18

HA, HA. I actually got that one.

rwun · Post by **rwun** » 08 Oct 2006, 22:54

Have dealer or mech shop do compression check. Might need to replace head gasket. Hesitate might be due to compression leaks.

Post by **JRL** » 09 Oct 2006, 05:58

Definitely sounds like a transmission problem.
Change he fluid and have the PNP switch looked at