I have a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo with approximately 147,000 miles. I have flushed the transmission as suggested in the maintenance schedule. The last flush was over a year ago. Fluid level is perfect and fluid is super clean.
I have never had any transmission issues until today.
On a hot 93ºF day while cruising on the highway the transmission would not shift into 4th gear even at 60mph. It would stay in 3rd – making my RPM’s way too high.
There were no warning lights (i.e., no amber arrow light or check engine light).
I tried moving the gear shift level from “D” to “3” then back to “D” with no effect.
I tried “sport”, “econo”, and “winter” with no effect.
I exited the Interstate and on the exit ramp as I slowed to around 35mph the transmission downshifted (I think from 3rd to 2nd – causing the RMP’s to jump again.) I tried accelerating to see if it would go to 3rd then 4th. It would only shift into 3rd, but not 4th.
Then I brought the car to a complete stop, and shifted into Park then back to Drive and accelerated up to 60mph. This time the transmission behaved properly and went into 4th gear.
I can’t just let the car remain in this state, hoping that the problem has fixed itself.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should begin troubleshooting this problem? Are there any sensors that might be going bad that could cause this behavior? I really hope this is not a sign that my transition is going to fail soon!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

 

I would wait to see if it happens again.
I could be many things. It would have been nice if it had set a code in the computer.

 

Thanks for the advice Tech. On my way home the car drove perfectly, shifting into 4th gear normally.

I will see if there are any codes set over the weekend with my OBD-II reader and / or through the LED diagnostic unit in the engine compartment. Since it's a '95 model it has both an OBD-II port and the diagnostic unit with the redLED blinking light under the hood. I'm not sure how reliable the OBD-II interface is on the 1995 model. My state emissions inspection doesn't trust it. It has to be 1996 or newer to use the OBD-II here in Georgia.

Do you know if it's possible for the computer to have a code if the check engine light and transmission arrow light are not on?

Thanks for you help and time!

 

On the 95's the OBDII should only work with the engine side.
It is usually not tied into any other system.

 

I just wanted to let you know that my transmission has not acted up again. I have driven stop-and-go and highway repeatedly since the transmission problem and I have not had any issues with that part of the car. So I guess it was a one time glitch. Thanks for the advice!

 

Well done!

Come back anytime when you need another assistance.


JPN

 

I think I may have 'closed' this issue a bit too early.... I just posted an issue regarding an engine code 2-3-2 "long term fuel mixture too lean or rich". It's possible this code has something to do with my transmission issue. It seems odd to me that I didn't get a check engine light a month ago when the tranny acted up... then I get the check engine light today when the car is running normally. Anyway, I posted the 2-3-2 as a new question because I thought it was a completely separate issue and I wanted to keep the posts focused and not mix issues. After a little google searching, I found that these could be related. (My source for this hypothesis is from a Ford Scorpio website so I don't know if it really applies to my Volvo.... but it might.) Here's a link to my new post:
https://volvoforums.com/m_70814/tm.htm

Should I somehow merge these two posts together?

Thanks!

 

thread necromancer bump...I just experienced this same issue today. Transmission wouldn't shift into OD while crusing and was at 3k rpms at 50mph. I punched it, it downshifted, made it to 70, the OD worked. A few seconds later, it downshifted into 3rd again.

I stopped at a light, ratcheted the PRND3L twice, and when I took off I started in low, took it to 5k, 3rd took it to 5k, then dropped it into Drive. OD worked as it always has. No other occurences of downshifting out of OD since.

Recent work to the car included a fluid exchange with Toyota type 4 ATF and the transmission shifts butter smooth. Changing from Sport/Normal caused no change in how OD acted.

I will say this about my transmission though, it seems that it's a little difficult to fully downshift when I mash the skinny pedal. Sometimes it stays in 3rd and scoots along, but there are times when I need it to pop into 2nd/L and it doesn't unless I double-step the gas pedal. Is this normal behavior?

Thanks, and apologies for the thread necromance.

 

So I went out of town for a few days. I was supposed to take the 850 on a road trip to Reno (from Seattle), but decided on taking it. When I returned from the trip and left for work this morning, she drove perfectly. Downshifting was perfect, she had extra pep, etc. Only that has changed is that we've had a break of the 90+ degree weather the last couple weeks.