Volvo V40 ..wont go into reverse

[yvefinn]

Hi, we just bought a volvo v40 SE 2.0i 1998 (101,00 miles) yesterday.private sale. We cannot get it into reverse, the previous owner says this is a common problem with volvos, however Ive had a quick look through the forums here & cant see any topics re-this problem.
The car only passed its MOT last week & the guy we bought it frrom swears there isnt a problem with the gearbox.
We drove the car a couple of hundred miles home last night & apart from the reverse the only other problem is the tracking needs adjusting..new track rod end were fitted last week for its mot

Any ideas/advice on how i can resolve this problem would be greatly appreciated.
thank you in advance

Yvonne, Scotland

[billofdurham]

Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

This is not "a common problem on Volvos" but has been encountered occasionally on the S/V40 with the manual gearbox. The first check is the bushes at the bottom of the gear lever. These often wear and aren't too hard to replace. After that check all the linkage from the bottom of the lever to the gearbox for play in the joints.

Bill.