Overall she runs well. However there are numerous issues which I believe could well turn out to become a massive headache if I don't nip them in the bud quickly. As such, I thought I would send in a post with the problems, and hopefully someone here will be able to lend me a hand to identify the issues! I have done a look to see if I can find something similar, but either my search terms really stink, or it's something that doesn't come up that often. Firstly, at around 53mph (I've had to convert, so that's a rough estimate) the fuel economy goes south. Way south. In fact, she chews gas like it's going out of style. Open road driving she goes through around three times the gas as city/town driving. She whines. Someone who has driven a manual will know the sound... the sound of the revs going too high - when you should have gone up a gear, but haven't done so. Not a nice sound. The rev counter does show that the revs are high also. Because Volvo's are not known for their loud annoying whines, and I don't know of anyone who would put up with those revs while driving on the motorway, I figure there has to be a problem.
I've had a few thoughts... possibly dangerous considering I'm in new territory, but I'm sure if I'm way off the mark I'll be led in the right direction
I've located a user manual to help me identify exactly what some of the lights on the dash mean
From what I can tell, the upward arrow is meant to be state when 4th gear is engaged in automatic transmissions. I'm not used to automatics, so please bear with me When I first took the car home the upward arrow was lit the entire time, including when sitting at traffic lights. I presumed the light meant "Drive"!! When I realised it was going on or off at random times, I figured it was a good time to look up the meaning of the lights themselves. So, I'm thinking that this is a symptom of a problem. Perhaps with the gearing system itself?
Also, could there be a problem with the lock-up? That is meant to kick in at around 50mph, and that's approximately the speed that things go bad. So, that's a thought as well. It could potentially be tied into why the revs are high, and the upward arrow light keeps turning on.
Probably unrelated, but because I don't know, I'll add it here...
The car stalls... however, not when it's first started, or even while initially running. If I run it (for a long time or short time), then stop the car - for instance, to go into a store... when she first starts, she stalls. A lot. Very easy to get running again, but continues to stall until I've had a chance to actually get moving. The problem disappears if the car can go *forward* for around 150 feet. At least, until the car is stopped (as in turned off) again. The only way to get around the issue is if it's revved lightly when first started (I know this is not good for the engine), and parking brake applied while reversing (I also know this is not good for the parking brake). I would like to know what causes this problem so that I don't damage the poor car.
Also, there is a wrap-around light around the A/C Off button. This light flashes (orange) consistently. As soon as the car is turned on, the flashing starts. It doesn't matter if the button is in or out, and the airconditioning itself isn't really working... thus I'm working under the assumption that it's attempting to tell me about some kind of problem that I'm too dense to be able to figure out
Now, I really don't want to seem like a total moron... but because I am familiar only with manual transmissions, and not automatics, I have taken the advice of the people I bought the car from when doing basic things such as changing "gear" (for want of a better term). I have a sneaky suspicion (after having read over the user manual yet again) that I may well have just been given the wrong information. Rather than stop, it might be a good idea to know for sure first
I was told to depress both the button on the top of the gear stick, and the button on the side, when changing from Drive to Neutral, 1, 2, or R... actually... any time I changed it at all, I was told I should depress both buttons. Is the guy who told me this someone who just wants me to kill my gearbox, or is this actually what I'm meant to do? Am I causing myself problems by following his instructions? Exactly what are the buttons for, and when are they best used? I believe that there's a button *somewhere* in the car that disengages the fourth gear. If that's the case, am I pressing the darned thing when I first leave, and thus cause the whole grief with the gas consumption myself? Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate any and all thoughts
