Hi to you all from sunny South Africa!

I have recently purchased a XC90 2.5T and it's an automatic car. Unbeknown to me, when I am in DRIVE and stop on a hill I have to either push the handbrake on or keep my foot on the accelerator - if I don't the car rolls backwards as if in NEUTRAL. I complained to the Volvo dealer in Cape Town who said it is a design feature so that the car does not give off too much gas emissions which sounds like rubbish to me.

All Automatic cars I have ever driven stop and do not roll backwards when in DRIVE mode.

Can anyone help me - does anybody else experience this problem?

Kris J from Cape Town

:cat: Hi there krisj. :00000732: to Volvo forums.

:liebe011: for joining us.

Hopefully, we have an expert somewhere in the forum who will answer your question.

Cheers :right:

:00000732: :57:

Mover to xc90 forum

Got a brand new XC90 that does exactly the same. Got to play whit both feet in steep hills. :blush:

I was also surprised when this happened with my 2003 XC 90 - my new one seems to do the same thing. I used to drive a stick, so I'm okay with it. You just have to explain it to people who borrow the car.
Regards,
CUGZ

The XC90 is not the only vehicle to do this. My 850, a completely different platform, does exactly the same thing.

:cat: Hi there krisj.

From memory, I think I saw Tech write an article once about the automatic transmission shifting into neutral when the vehicle is not being used to save petrol with the lower revs. It slipped back into gear when the accelerator was depressed.

I may have misunderstood his remarks. So read mine with caution.

Cheers :right:

I have complained repeatedly to our Volvo dealer about this exact problem. They always claim that it is "normal operation," when clearly this is not normal for an automatic transmission. The story I got most recently from the Volvo dealer is that the vehicle shifts into neutral when you are in this situation, just like you would do if you were driving a manual transmission. I also have a problem when I park where the vehicle often lurches back several inches when I remove the foot from the brake after putting the vehicle in park (even when the vehicle is parked on level ground). This "lurching" has nearly resulted in several accidents while unloading our child from the vehicle. Volvo claims this also is normal operation. My brother had a similar problem with his Ford minivan, which nearly resulted in his wife being decapitated when the vehicle trapped her against the garage door. I would love to know if anyone else has been successful in getting Volvo to admit that there is a problem with the vehicle. The dealer refuses to even note my concerns when I have raised the issue.