I just bought a used S60 T5. It's got 124,000 miles and has had all the maintenance done at the Volvo dealer. Now, two days in, the geartronic transmission has started slipping in normal "D" mode. When I slow down, coast and then try to accelerate again, the engine revs and it slams back into gear hard (probably between 2nd and 3rd). Other gear changes seem to work fairly smoothly--No noticeably hard shifting and no slipping. The transmission fluid is a dark brown but doesn't smell burnt.

I've read a lot of posts on here that say a software update and a transmission flush fix will a lot of the problems. However, I've also read about an equal number saying this indicates the tranny is shot. I'm wondering if the software update/flush are likely to work in my particular situation, or if they'd be in vain.

I don't have much money to spend, so I really need to get the most bang for the buck. I just graduated from college and I'm working a low-paying job, so I'm absolutely sick that I may well have bought a lemon.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

What year is the car. 01-02 s60 have notoriously bad tranys and will fail most times when this happens. But while you have an t5 and Im not sure of the year my suggestion and i also did this to my 03 and it fixed a bad skip i had in 2-3 .First Always have the dealer install the most up to date software.I will cost $100 or so . Its worth it if it fixes the issue. But first do a 12-14 qt trany flush yourself. No Jiffy Lube or other Bs place unless you can watch them do it and you can provide them with the right fluid.Volvo JWS 3309/Mobil 3309 or Toyota t-iv(this is the most cost effective and can be bought at most Toyota dealers)Take a look at this from IPD Automatic Transmission Flush Hose Kit Take a look at the download. This will give you an idea on whats involved in doing the flush. When you take it to dealer to have software update done. Tell tham that you replaced the trany fluid and that you would like to have them reset.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention the year. It's a 2002. What are the chances of the procedure you mentioned working on that year model?

 

Also, how long can I expect that fix to last? I'd like to get another 2-3 years out of it until I can get the tranny rebuilt or get another car altogether.

 

First there is something you need to check. Next time you get home from a drive 15mins or so then check the Trany fluid with the car running. Make sure the Level of course is full and with in the hot/cold marks. Then most important for you Fluid Color use a white rag (Red,brown,dark brown,Black) then the Smell does it have a burnt oder to it...If the fluid is at the right level. The darker the color the worse off you are and if the fluid smell burnt then its hard to say if anything will help. But with a rebuild costing $2500+ and finding a low mileage trany to fit you car will be very difficult..The fluid flush and update may get you the 2+ years you are looking for. Just be aware of pushing it hard threw 2-3 gear. Good Luck and post back what you find when giving the fluid a look and smell. The dip stick just in case you do not know is below and to the left of the airbox. Yellow dip stick down low..

 

I'm not liking what I'm hearing from you. I checked the transmission fluid. It is a dark brown. A friend of mine who's experienced with cars said he didn't think the fluid smelled burnt, but I thought it smelled a little burnt. Is there damage that is causing the fluid to burn? Or has the fluid not been changed in a long time and done damage? I know those are sort of chicken and egg questions.

I'm trying a few last ditch efforts before I seriously consider selling the car and cutting my losses. I'm going to flush the transmission, replace the B4 servo cover with an updated one from IPD, and then get the software update if the transmission shows any signs of improving after steps 1 and 2. The IPD instructions for the servo cover said it can take a few days for the transmission to adapt. According to IPD, the B4 servo cover update can "solve these symptoms in many cases" if the transmission is not too physically damaged already (which is what I'm worried about).

Until the parts and kit arrive via UPS, I'm driving the car very easy and using the manual mode to avoid any hard shifts into 3rd.

It's disappointing Volvo would put such unreliable transmissions in their vehicles.

 

The color and smell makes me think yes that fluid is original. Now Volvo says Trany fluid is for the life of the car. Now S60 started to show up with bad tranys the community started to flush fluid before at or before 80k. I do mine every 30k but didn't start that until 80k.That is when i started to have an issue and fluid/ software did solve my problem. The fluid,B4 servo,Software, tranys adaptation reset(Cars ECU tracks fluid temp,mileage and driving habits doing a reset lets the car know that new fluid is present) All of this is to me is well worth the $$ its going to cost and i think that you will see a improvement in the car but how much damage if any was done during the last 100k is really just anyone's guess. GL and keep us posted on how things go.

Also post as you do each step and if there were any positive/negative affects on the way the car shifts . That may help someone down the road with similar issues and where to start....

 

That must be why it's never been changed--since it got the maintenance at the dealer.

How do you perform the tranny adaptation reset? Is that part of the software update? The IPD instructions stated the tranny adapts on its own over the course of a few days. Is that what you're referring to? If so, any suggestions on how to drive in order to facilitate the process?

Thanks so much for the help! I'll make a detailed posting of the procedure and results.

 

I had the same problems on my 2002 s60 t5. After reading these forums I had the dealer replace the servo cover flush and update software. Its like night and day. Also as a side note, I had a bad engine leak to which I believe was caused by the pcv valve/trap going bad. This cost me a lot of money from the oil damage and seals blowing out from pressure. I think that the trap may need to be moved into the hot topic section.

 

vad7000, thanks for the info. Very useful (and provides some hope!). A few more questions: How many miles did you have on the car when you got the work done? Also, how aggressively was the car driven up until that point?

I'll look into the pcv valve/trap issue. This is the first I've heard of it.

 

I have 114,000 miles, and at times a very spirited driver

 

Hi David; I have a 2002 S60 T5; want through two transmissions with in a year.
Also bought the car with 114.000 Km on it dealer serviced since new; after two weeks of driving I noticed a slight flair-up between 2-3 gear at about 3000 rpm.
After a few days flairing got progressively worse after 20 min of driving.
Then started getting trans codes. After a week lost all gears.
Had a "factory re-man" put in; with in 8 months started banging into gear on coasting and decelerating. Felt like I was being rear-ended.
Knock on wood the third transmission has been good so far. (2 yrs now)

 

Nothing helped mine. Rebuilt after much head butting with the dealer. 2002 trannys in the S60 are terrible. I tried all the fixes listed in this post. Much time and $ spent. Good luck!

 

For the guys that had Trany rebuilt or replaced what did it cost?? Rebuild cost and how did it and how much did they charge you for labor ?? Guys that just Replaced same question Trany $$ and Labor $$?? Only asking because if someone comes up on this at a later date they have an idea what they are looking at as far as $$ goes...

 

Hi, I'm also having the same situation on my 2002 S60 T5.
Just trying to figure out my next step. Anyone who had the software updates, if you can let me know if they made a noticeable difference.

Thanks

 

For me on my 03 S60 AWD it did help but i did a Trany fluid flush as well so i cant say for sure the software only did the job. But fluid should be changed if you are having any issues or are at or near 80k

 

people, there is a special procedure in volvo of replacement of trans. first u need to diagnosic is it just the trans?? softwore?? coolant contamination test?? then after the new trans. is replace, u need to have the latest sw download, reset adaptator & make sure it is the OEM trans. fluid. if any of the above not fullfil, the life of the trans. will dramatically decrease.

 

I know I haven't posted in a while. Last weekend, I did a drain and fill using IPD kit and installed the updated B4 servo cover. It shifted almost flawlessly after that (a little rough sometimes but nothing major at all), but after the second or third day I started getting shift flares again. However, they are a lot less frequent, shorter and much less intense. In terms of shfiting quality and the frequency of hard shifts and shift flares, I'd say it's about a 70% improvement. The S60 is spending the night at the dealer and getting the software checked out tomorrow. I'm working on a detailed (and lengthy) report that I'll post a week or so after I get the car back, once I can verify the results. Stay tuned.

 

Have the dealer reset the fluid counter and tranny adaptives and leave the car in adaptive mode.

The engine needs to be left running when put in adaptive mode.

In adaptive mode you drive the car gently between shifts until the red triangle flashes on the message center. You repeat these several times at different rpms. Do a search on adaptive mode for the tranny.

 

Well if not for extended warranty... I would have paid close to $7000 CDN parts and labour.

Sorry for the bad news
I believe the non turbo charged Volvos use the same transmissions.
"Aisin-Warner"