Is it possible to put the car in neutral so I can roll out of the garage without actually starting the car? Sometimes I just want to move it out of the way but have nowhere to go, and I hate to start and stop within 10 seconds. I thought I could switch it to neutral if I press the "start" button without putting my foot on the brake, but haven't been able to make that work. Is there a shift-lock override that I haven't found? This car is new to me - used to have a 2007 V70 and there have been many changes.
Any advice would be great, including someone saying there's nothing wrong with start/stop in a short time - something my mechanic always told me not to do.

Thanks!

What engine do you have?

Lawn mower syndrome was an issue with 850s - you started the car and moved it a bit to get your mower out - then it would not start the next time you tried to start it.

This happened to me with our '95 855 when I moved it to stay in the shade while I was waxing it.

I could not start the car although it tried to start - the AAA guy tried with the same results.

I had it towed to a dealer - they started it - installed new plugs and changed the oil (possible oil dilution)

After that, we never started any of our 3 850s without warming them up.

We now have 2 XC70s - an '08 and a '12, both with 3.2 engines - I have tried the short run a couple of times without any issues.

About 10 years or so ago there were several posts about lawn mower syndrome.

The cure was to put the pedal on the floor and crank and crank untill the car started.

Maybe Klaus will chime in on this.

It has a 6-cylinder engine, but that's all I could find in the paperwork. We used to have an Infinity and it could be put into neutral without starting. Maybe it's not a Volvo option?

We also used to have an 850 and one time we had the same experience as you in that it wouldn't start after driving it out of the garage and stopping the engine. Never had to call a tow truck, but we never did that again. I guess eventually it started. :-)

Thanks!

The 6 cyl engines do not have Lawn Mower Syndrome. I rented a 2017 XC90 in Europe and wanted to roll the car slightly down hill after parking it. I turned the ignition to on (no brake and hit the start button) and shifted to N. The car would not move because the emergency brake would not disengage! Nothing I could do but start the engine to let it roll a couple of feet.

My wife's BMW is the same. The engine stop/start feature engages the E brake, so taking it through the carwash requires reading the manual!

So, go ahead, start the engine and move the car. But, try not to do it often with out running the engine for a while, no need to spray the cylinder walls with excess gasoline and wash off the oil from the rings.

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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Thank you so much! My husband seemed insistent about this and I looked through all the manuals that came with the car as well as trying Google, all to no avail. I should have posted this question here first. Everyone on this site has always been extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I should have realized that being able to put the car in neutral without turning it on is a safety issues, especially with children, but it didn't occur to me. Thank you, Volvo! And, again, thank you Brickboard!