Car slipped to N from D while stopped

Hi,



I just bought my daughter a '98 Volvo s70. I had it thoroughly checked out by the volvo mechanic and a AAA mechanic before I bought it. It does have a 30 day warranty from the dealer. Anyway, my daughter was driving it this evening. As she turned right (up a small incline) out of our road the car seemed to stop moving and the engine revved when she pushed on the gas, but the car didn’t go. She is a newly licensed driver and was alone. She pulled over, went into park and called us. She tried the car again in D and everything was fine. I am worried about this as a safety issue, especially for a new driver. Any ideas? Suggestions?

First stab at the cat check the motor mounts then transmission linkage. Hopefully you can replicate the problem and get it fixed for free!

Do you know if the shifter really went to neural, or did the car just act like it was in neutral while it was in drive? If so, check the transmission fluid level.

Wish you had written here before buying a 98 Volvo. You would have had some no’s. This is a big worry for the transmission but not for safety. It should happen again.

I would bet that the shift lever was not completely in the drive notch, but if it was, you might have a problem with the transmission or engine mounts. I’ll also bet it doesn’t do it next trip.