I'm hoping somebody will be able to explain the reason for the strange behavior of my '97 Volvo 850 GLT wagon yesterday morning (3 gallons of gas in the tank, with outside temperature: about 0F / -17C). After starting the car and allowing it to idle for about 3 or 4 minutes, I drove away and noticed that the car seemed to accelerate 'normally' up to about 25mph - 30mph but above that speed no matter how far down I pushed on the accelerator, the car would not accelerate. The engine rpms would not go over about 2krpm. After about 5 minutes of driving I pulled over at a gas station and put the car in neutral and pressed on the accelerator and watched the engine rpms increase to about 3.5krpm. Then I allowed the car to idle for about 2 minutes and shut it off and filled the gas tank with gas. When I started the car again and drove off to the highway, the car accelerated normally and I accelerated up to about 65mph with no problem.
What caused the poor acceleration for the first 10 to 15 minutes of driving?
Thank you!