2002 Volvo XC70: jerking or lurching

8 of the 35 complaints about the 2002 Volvo XC70 describe jerking or lurching.

owner complaints: 8
of this car's complaints: 23%
typical mileage: 85,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 4 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Jerking or lurching by model year

2011
1
2008
1
2007
1
2005
3
2004
4
2003
1
2002
8
2001
6

What owners say

Filed Jan 2, 2012 · Transmission · 85,000 miles · WA

I own a 2002 volvo xc70 cross country. While driving, and especially during down shifts, the vehicle would lose its connection to the drive shaft, causing the engine to rev up and the vehicle to jerk as it grabbed back into gear. The jerking has consequently caused me to break my motor mounts. A local mechanic diagnosed that the vehicle needed a new transmission. The dealer agreed that this was the only solution. All software updates have been done. The manufacturer has not been contacted, as they are a chinese company. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was around 85,000. The current mileage is 125,000. The VIN was not available. Catastrophic failure. Not fair to the owner. Manufacturer should correct this common, expensive problem.

Filed Dec 26, 2011 · Acceleration, Transmission · 149,000 miles · CA

My wife drove our car a 2002 volvo xc70 station wagon from our second home approximately ten miles to san luis obispo calif. For shopping. She parked the car in the parking lot and went into a store. She came back out, started the car and backed out of the parking space. When she put the transmission lever in drive the engine went to full RPM and lurched forward, she applied the brakes which could not hold the high engine speed pulling the car forward. She quickly shut the engine off with the key avoiding a potential accident. The cruise control was not on and there were no objects I.e., floor mats or other items, near the accelerator pedal. Thank god my wife or no one else was injured or killed. I am a retired fire captain and private fire investigator with 30+ experience. This scared the hell out of us and we do not trust the car. I previously took the car to the dealership and reported the transmission 'clunking' they recommended that I drive it till it failed because of the high costs involved. Now, I am reading reports of coil spring failures and bearing problems. I bought this car specifically for the safety features; now I am very disappointed and extremely concerned.

Filed Jul 29, 2011 · Transmission · 77,950 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 volvo xc70 cross country. While driving, the contact stated that the vehicle would down shift, causing the vehicle to jerk. A local mechanic diagnosed that the vehicle needed a new transmission. The dealer nor manufacturer were contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 77,950. The current mileage was 78,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Aug 29, 2010 · Engine · 93,000 miles · OK

I noticed one day that there was suddenly a "pause" when the lower automatic gears were shifting, perhaps from first to second gear during acceleration. If my foot was on the accelerator, the car "lurched" forward with a startling, loud thud when the gear seemed to engage. If I recognized this was happening and lifted my foot off the accelerator, the car hovered in between gears for a second or two then changed gears. Scary!

Filed Aug 16, 2010 · Transmission · 143,000 miles · NC

2002 volvo cross country transmission problem. The vehicle has 143,000 and transmission is going bad. According to the mechanic this is a common problem. The transmission slips and jerks when gearing down. I was going through an intersection and the transmission slipped and almost caused me to get hit. The mechanic said that I will have to replace the valve body in the amount of $2300.

Filed Jan 13, 2009 · Seat belts, Transmission · 80,000 miles · GA

Our 2002 volvo xc70 has a tendency to jerk ?violently? Forward ?shift flare? And harsh shifting problems at low and high speeds without warning and has done so on several occasions while riding with our family; frightening everyone in the vehicle and potentially causing a serious accident. The frequency has increased over the past year to the point we are unable to operate the vehicle without serious risk of injury or accident. We were denied warranty service by a south atlanta volvo dealer (that has since gone out of business) and by volvo north america during the warranty period. There are literally thousands of internet postings with the same complaints. Namely, there are several primary issues including but not limited to the ecu brain of the car malfunctioning, software malfunctions and TCM malfunctioning. The jerking is very freighting and could send one to the hospital with severe neck and nerve injury. We have contacted volvo north america, volvo worldwide and parent company ford motors. The vehicle had an extended warranty contract that was breached by an authorized dealer and by volvo north america.

Filed Aug 29, 2007 · Engine, Lights · 54,900 miles · IA

2002 volvo xc70 with transmission problems. Customer states that the transmission is slipping, bucking, and jerking when shifting into lower gears. *kb the vehicle had a significant oil leak from the engine turbo oil return. The headlight and rear marker light would flicker when the consumer drove over bumpy roads

Filed Dec 13, 2004 · Acceleration, Steering · 28,000 miles · NJ

There were transmission, acceleration, deceleration and drastic lurching problems that had been occurring for the past 14 months. *bf the lurching problem was not duplicated. The problem would occur in parking lots when the consumer foot was removed from the brake and prior to touching the accelerator. The stick shift would lock as well. *sc there was a re-occurring squeak in the steering.