No First Gear? [1998 S70 T5]

[ddpphx]

Hi Folks,

My car is driving like it has no first gear. I'm not saying that is (or is not) what's happening, but it drives like that. From a stop, if I floor the pedal I get a very, very gradual (read: slow) acceleration and once I hit a speed that would be appropriate for 2nd gear the car accelerates as expected. All higher gears the car excels. Is it possible I'm not getting back into first gear? If so, what might I look for?

I just successfully changed my water pump, timing & serp belts, paying close attention to the TDC/crank alignment and haven't had any misfire codes or anything that would indicate I'm out of alignment. My only code at the moment is a P0107 which I had before the job. I didn't have the acceleration issue before I did the work.

Thanks in advance.

[jblackburn]

If you put the transmission in 3 or L, does the arrow on the dash light up? Is the arrow lit up in normal driving?

Sounds like it's in limp home mode, which starts the car in 3rd gear or so.

[ChiNorm]

Actually, it sounds like the WINTER mode.

My wife accidently triggered Winter on her V70 about 1/2 mile from our home. Came home really worried, the car needs to go into the shop, isn't running right at all. Nope, car works fine, you just pushed the W button.

[rmmagow]

On my car, a 98 V70, pushing W turns on a dash light. It appears to do what W is supposed to do at any rate.

[ddpphx]

Thanks, folks.

The "W" button is not pressed. Regardless if the "S" (sport), "E" (economy) or "W" (weather) transmission buttons are pressed, the issue persists.

The arrow does is not lit up in normal driving. When the shifter is in "3" or "L", the arrow positively is lit.

Questions:
1. Should the arrow be lit in "3"?
2. Should the arrow be lit in "L"?
3. Is "limp home mode" a designed mode by Volvo?
4. If it is a designed mode, what triggers it?
5. If it is a designed mode, is there simply a "reset" method? Or is it more complex than that?

Thanks again.