SO I have been trying to save gas as much as possible doing a coupole different thing,and I drive down a lot of hills on the way home from work. I have been clicking it up to Neutral and it has really noticeably helped a whole hell of a lot. On the first day I started doing it not being used to doing this I thought I was in drive and clicked it up but I was in neutral already and actually put it in reverse going about 55mph. I even tried to accelerate and wondering what was wrong looked down and I was in Reverse. I quickly clicked it down to drive and my car never even acted any different. I am wondering why I didn't tear out my transmission. Anyone know why?

Maybe you tore it out a long time ago. You seem like the type the really doesn't like to go in reverse much anyways...lol, just kidding :)

Possibly it's a Volvo safety thing. When the comp knows you are moving forward it wont actually engage reverse. No clue, but if nothing happened, I expect the comp saved you from destroying your tranny and axle. Otherwise I expect you would have noticed real fast.

Thats what I was thinking, some kind of fail-safe. I know you were kidding, but who likes to drive in reverse anyway? Do you know someone? :bwekk:

Hmm, good point :P

Well, come to think of it, back in my Demolition Derby days, reverse was your best friend. Of course so was a Chrysler Imperial, but most derbies don't allow them.

What i personally experienced was an engine shutdown. But that was not while doing that speed. I was just reversing out of the parking-lot, when my daughter being the crying toddler that she was then, kicked the gearknob somehow engaging the gear into reverse. Suddenly, the wheels all jammed screeching and the engine shut down.

All i remembered was i turned off the ignition, put the lever back into N, and switched the engine on again. It started like nothing happened.

(But DEEP in my mind, I know something must have given in...)
:)

So, it is possible that at that speed of 55mph of yours, the ECU and the TCU decided that engaging the Reverse at that speed, would really throw the rear of the car forward and put you into a big mess, and thus, the 2 must have decided to 'ignore' your order.

WooHooo...
Volvo For Life, man...

i've done that too. on my volvo, the shift lock is completely gone so i can shift when the cars is on or off without even pressing the button. anyways, i knocked it into reverse before and it just kept on rolling. when i do it in the parking lot at a slow speed it does start to reverse. i think the computer saves it.

damn, at least i'll know next time the mrs tries to kill me by throwing it in reverse. :grin:

Although probably not related (I dont know cause the guy who did this will never tell us what happened prior to it). Actually the guy in question is my step-brother who at the time just recently started driving and was on his first car.

He called from work, stating that his car would run but it wouldn't move. So, it was taken to a friend at a local mechanic' shop. Two days later the mechanic calls and tells us the car had a broken axle and he had fixed it and they could come pick it up. They went to pick it up and upon getting ready to leave, the car still wouldnt move (he hadnt had time to pull it out of the garage yet). As it turns out, somehow, and I can't quite figure it out (nor could the mechanic), my step-brother had somehow manage to break both front axles (FWD car) at the same time.

Maybe he was jumping speed bumps, maybe he threw it in reverse while driving. To this day he refuses to tell anyone what he was doing when it happened. He sais he drove it to work and it was fine and when he got off work, it wouldn't move. Haha.

I just want to know how you can break both front axles at the same time...it should be nearly impossible as once one breaks the the car shouldnt move anymore to break the other. This wasnt in a Volvo, it was an old Ford Taurus.

Yes.

Most Volvo 850 drivers know their vehicles come with ABS & TRACS and a number of safety features.

Very few 850 drivers know (actually probably none) realise all 850s with automatic transmission come fitted with another ingenious life-saving feature listed cryptically (as all these devices usually are to confound us lesser mortals) as RISO-35. I believe the reason Volvo didn't advertise this nifty little feature was due to the fact Volvo design people just couldn't imagine responsible, intelligent Volvo drivers ever needing it.

Non-Volvo drivers yes, Volvo drivers no.

Basically RISO-35 stands for 'Reverse Idiotically Selected Over 35' and it is designed to work like this.

If a Volvo is being driven in excess of 35 (mph) and the driver (for whatever reason) chooses reverse gear - nothing really dramatic happens.

Lesser cars than Volvo would immediately reverse and, the law of physics being what it is, would catapult the stupid driver straight through the windscreen, causing more brain damage.

RISO-35 actually prevents the Volvo from going into reverse and catapulting the stupid driver straight through the front windscreen thereby preventing more brain damage.

Another magnificent Volvo safety feature!
:clap: :clap:

:haha: :haha: :haha:



:grouphug:

Do you have a web page to back this up with? I am in complete amazement that I didnt kill my car. I really just wasnt paying ANY attention to what I was doing. Do all volvos have this feature or atleast 1993 on up? I just decided to push in the button and stick it in reverse haha. Volvo for life! Oh bear and greek I know you guys were interested in Optima batteries, heres a link. http://www.slickcar.com/optima-battery.asp

Nope!

It was only my pathetic attempt at satire (or taking the Mickey) however it obviously backfired because some seem to have taken it as gospel.

Sorry about that and I will try and restrain myself from ever doing it again.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

S h i t head, I thought you were being serious. :clap:

mind your language young man.


...perhaps our volvo 850 commonly almost universally wearing out PNP switch saved your tranny?... maybe when you over threw the shifter, and even though your gear indicator showed "R" the PNP said "N"... or the linkage is gummed up?...

in either case i would guess that you just used up your karma and need to do something nice this week. :57: :P

Haha, maybe it was karma. I am always doing a lot to help others. I think my pnp switch is broke because I do not have tp push that small button to move the selector upon start up, only when I want it to move when the car isnt started only "ON". Whats wrong with "S" word my friend?

hey volgrrr, continue on. i thought it was really clever, except i would have named it RIWL-35 as in "really, i wasn't looking-35"