Car starts but will not move.

wascopete · Post by **wascopete** » 22 Dec 2017, 22:19

Hello,

I am new to this forum and to Volvo. I have some mechanical skills but I have always worked on American made cars and trucks.

I purchased a 2004 XC90 with 140,000 miles from an auction site. My wife loves to drive small wagons and loved it when she saw it. We live in the mountains and drive in a lot of snow so having the AWD appeals to us.

When I got it home I checked all the fluids under the hood and charged the battery as it only had enough power to dimly light the dome lights. After 24 hours on a trickle charger the car started right up. When I put it into gear it feels like the transmission is turning something but the car will not move. I feel motion changing in the car when I shift from drive to reverse. When trying to put it back into park the transmission was still turning and had a grinding noise. I just turned it off rather that force it into park.

I am making the assumption that the problem is after the transmission. In my other vehicles I would be looking at a transfer case. I'm not even sure this car has a transfer case or if it is an all in one case.

Any help I can get will be appreciated.

Post by **jimmy57** » 22 Dec 2017, 22:32

Which engine? 5 or 6 cylinder?
Regardless, it is possible for one of the front CV jointed drive axles from trans to wheel to pop out. Left side is likely but RH side can do it if the support bearing on 5 cylinder model's RH shaft slips or fails. Usually because it has been out and wasn't put back until it latched via its circlip. An unsecured CV axle can stay in place for a long time before this happens.

wascopete · Post by **wascopete** » 22 Dec 2017, 22:40

Its a 6 cylider.

If the problem is a CV Joint wouldn't the rear wheels at least try to move the car?

Thanks for your quick reply.

2004 XC90 T6 AWD

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 23 Dec 2017, 23:01

Did you drive it home or trailer it home?
Is it a XC90 T6?

Post by **oragex** » 24 Dec 2017, 08:16

The transmission may be damaged. The ones for the T6 engines don't last more than 60-70000 miles, the replaced ones much less so. You can verify the transmission fluid and color at the dipstick

The AWD is also commonly faulty in these early models, expensive to repair. Can be both mechanical and electronic faults. To check if the mechanical part works, have the engine off and try to turn the driveshaft by hand: if it turns the car has no more AWD working

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 24 Dec 2017, 09:32

2003-2005 Volvo XC90 T6 have the General Motors AWD 4T65E transaxle, which Volvo got sued over. The 4T65E transaxle is prone to catastrophic failure in the Volvo XC90. The same transaxle was used in the S80 without problems. I think it was the 1000 lbs weight difference between the XC90 and the S80 or it may of been incorrect gearing for the weight of the XC90.

Post by **FLXC90** » 26 Dec 2017, 14:19

wascopete wrote: ↑22 Dec 2017, 22:40 Its a 6 cylider.

If the problem is a CV Joint wouldn't the rear wheels at least try to move the car?

Thanks for your quick reply.

2004 XC90 T6 AWD

The problem implied here isn't really a cv joint-what happens is the spline section of the halfshaft comes unseated from the drive splines in the transmission. All it takes sometimes is just shoving it back in till it locks. It doesn't happen everyday, but is not so uncommon as to be dismissed. When the shaft pops out, the car just spins the diff. Don't get stuck on the T6 trans issues yet, what you have isn't THAT typical mode of failure.

Post by **SuperHerman** » 01 Jan 2018, 01:36

Do you have any warning lights on? Did you do a computer scan? Have you tried running the onboard diagnostic test?

Report back

wascopete · Post by **wascopete** » 15 Mar 2018, 15:29

Its taken awhile but I figured it out. I had to replace the transmission and the transfer case. After changing these items with used parts the car drives well. It does have some noise from the back end that might be a bearing. After driving about 5 miles the triangle warning light came on in the red color. Because the instrument cluster is unreadable I don't know what it is indicating. Is there any way to find out why this indicator light is on without changing out the instrument cluster? There is no check engine light on and a scan of the computer showed no codes.

Post by **oragex** » 15 Mar 2018, 16:22

Try just to point a flash light near the instrument cluster to read the message, it may simply need two new bulbs for the backlight