hi again, i was just wondering about gear shifters in automatic volvo transmissions.
does the gear shifter normally slide back and forth from park all the way through to the lower gear without the key in it? Either that the car i'm going to buy has a broken/no transmission, or that this is some funky cool volvo safety feature i'm not familiar with. the car has no battery, and without the key i was able to move the shifter from park (with no key, and without depressing the brake) and move the shifter around freely. is this normal???

thanks and cheers

I dont know if this is normal but I do know that my shifter on my 760 does the exact same thing and it works fine!!

so yours too just slides back and forth like that?? so, if my doors aren't locked ALL the time, someone could just pop it in neutral and take off with it? or does it disengage the shifter until you put your key it in?

Mine is the same way. I'm primarily a manual transmission driver, so I think that causes me to forget to put in park when I shut off the engine. I notice after and just move it to P later -- without a key. So it doesn't sound like the one you're talking about is broken. Good luck on your other topic about "manualizing" -- let us know if that's possible.
Good luck on the (potential) new car!
Cheers,
Ed

thanks guys, turns out i AM buying that car, i managed to get the hood open to reveal an engine in mint condition. i'll keep you posted