Volvo s80 problem my mechanic can't seem to fix

It’s been in the shop twice now for the same problem. The transmission has been rebuilt. The axle has been replaced. I’m out $4500. The same problem still exists. Can someone help me figure out what this can be so I seem somewhat informed when I leave it, once again, at the mechanic shop?









1. WHen I step on the gas, something kind of revs up and when I stop accelerating, the noise continues, as if something keeps spinning even tho I’m not accelerating. Took it to the mechanic who said it was the transmission and $4,000 later we have a rebuilt transmission.



2. Pick up car and this ‘revving’ problem is still there. Louder and worse. The car is 9 years old so I know the sound it should make, quiet, powerful. Instead I feel vibration in the gas pedal and that same noise that seems to be coming from the front right side. I take it back. The mechanic drives the car with me, he hears it, thinks it’s related to the transmission rebuild. But the owner says it’s a problem in the axle – he shows me the part. It’s round, approx 5 inches in diameter, and has a ball bearing that spins round and round. But he can’t buy the round piece by itself, must purchase an entire axle and it takes 2 weeks for him to get the part. We keep driving the car and the noise gets louder and louder.



3. Axle is replaced and mechanic also performs a $400 tuneup. I pick up the car and it’s making the same noise, different tone, but the same.



What could this noise be? How can I check that the work he claims to have done was actually done? How can I ensure the car gets fixed and I don’t get treated as a silly woman who is hearing things?



Thnks,

Michele

  1. The shop you are taking the car to has no clue where this noise is coming from. They will replacing expensive parts until they finally get it, but they are poor at diagnosing the source of the noise and the problem.

  2. A 9 year old Volvo is a money pit. If you keep the car the expensive repairs will continue.

You need to better shop, take the car to a different mechanic for a fresh start on diagnosing the problem. Then you should really consider selling the Volvo before you sink more and more of your money into repairing it.

It is really impossible (for me at least) to determine the source of a noise I can’t hear. It maybe in the torque converter, which should be part of the transmssion rebuild. For an axle to make noise the car has to be moving and the axle noise should be related to the speed of the car, not the speed of the motor.