Why my Volvo XC70 rear wheels not spining at all in off road?

Question

I noticed there is no movement at all from the rear wheels when it comes to off road road such as slippery uphill. The only wheels moved were the front one???? The front tyres get worn out much more quicker than the rear. Also, today I got stuck reversing on a slope, and got help from a someone's car with a rope. Overall, do you think my AWD system is not working?

Please explain. Thanks

Answer 1

AWD can work in the strangest ways....theres a ratio between the 2,somthing like 30% rear and 70% front wheel drive...its all down to how the differential is set up....

Answer 2

volvo and mercedes have crappy awd.

it was never meant for off roading or heavy snow.

Answer 3

sounds like your back brakes are locked on

Answer 4

Well Volvo isn't supposed to be an off road car.

AWD for off road should be hummers, land rovers, and trucks. those are off road cars :]

Maybe you should get new front tires with a different tire ridge shape for different types of traction :]

Answer 5

I can't imagine how you are judging this. How would you know if the wheels are getting power in the mud and such? They don't spin, they have traction control. A little triangle on the dashboard lights up when the traction control is working. Also, the car transfers power from front to back and combinations of the two as it senses slipping. If you think it's not working, take it to a shop and they can check it. You would get a computer warning light if the sensors were failing. You should stop worrying about it.  

Answer 6

In normal driving, your car is biased to front wheel drive, so front tyres will wear out more quickly than rears.

The problem with the part time 4x4 system is that you need to rotate the tyres regularly, as greatly differing amounts of grip front & rear confuse the transmission.

The other responses are somewhat missing the point, your car should easily cope with mud & snow, it will do anything a full size 4x4 can until it runs out of ground clearance - the transmission system is far more complex & capable than many other vehicles.

If your tyres are not seriously low on tread, try it out on grass going uphill - the rear wheels should pick up drive as soon as the fronts lose grip.

If this doesn't happen, I'd bite the bullet & take it to a Volvo dealer or specialist to have it checked.

Answer 7

awd is for under 20 m.p.h  You're tires have uneven wear, check the tie rods.  matthew's volvo website.

Answer 8

There is a metal sleeve between the transmission and angle gear that gets stripped out if the car is used hard. pretty easy to check. get all 4 wheels off the ground or jack stands or something secure. start and let idle and put in drive. If the drive shaft to the rear is not spinning then the sleeve is probably stripped.  the angle gear has to come out and it usually takes a special tool to get the sleeve out. if the drive shaft is spinning then it depends on the year because before 2004 there is a viscous coupling at the rear that goes bad. after 2004 there is a fuse that rarely fails in the rem causeing the rear gear pump to not turn on.