1998 V70 Revs High on Highway

Spreader · Post by **Spreader** » 24 Nov 2013, 06:41

Hello. I've gotten alot of great help from this site, most problems I found a solution too easily. Now I have something that I cant easily see a thread about and need some help.

1998 V70 Automatic, 186k miles

The car was revving high on the highway yesterday so I took some photos of the cluster to document. Today I took my other car to work (1999 Cavalier) and it runs much lower. I don't drive the Volvo too often and I'm not sure how long it has been like this. The car was at operating temperature and had been driving for some time.

60mph (100kph) @ 2500rpm
65mph (107kph) @ 2650rpm
73mph (117kph) @ 2950rpm
75mph (120kph) @ 3100rpm

Is my trans not kicking into 4th gear? I'm driving in E (economy) mode. What else can I test or look for on this and what other common problems are there? I was told these transmissions were bullet proof. Thanks for all replies.

Post by **rspi** » 24 Nov 2013, 08:31

Did you shift into 3 and back to D to see if there was any difference?

You can drive that car all day at 3500 RPM so don't worry about it running a little high on the RPM's.

Spreader · Post by **Spreader** » 24 Nov 2013, 18:58

So I got into the Volvo after work today. Pulled around the corner and put the car into "2". As soon as I tried pulling away the "Arrow" transmission indicator started flashing, and the "w" and "e" lights on the shifter console started flashing back and forth. The car was stuck in 4th it seemed. Reverse worked as normal.

Do these cars have electronic lockup? 4 gear plus lockup?

I got the car home and read about the rowing method to clean up the PNP. I tried it and the car seems to have gotten back into 1st gear, but all the lights are still flashing. Does this sound like anything in particular? All I can think of is this pnp thing, the lockup solenoid or maybe a clogged filter and bad fluid? I only got the car 5k miles ago and haven't had a chance to do an ATF flush.

EDIT: The reverse lights are working.

Post by **rspi** » 24 Nov 2013, 21:07

Reverse lights usually work when the switch goes bad. It's when you install the switch that you have to watch the reverse lights.

The car will drop into LIMP HOME MODE if it thinks something is wrong with the tranny. That makes the car start in 3rd gear. Turning the car off and back on sometimes resets the situation but not the codes. Check your fluid level and codes ASAP.

Post by **cartagena** » 01 Dec 2013, 00:47