940 Turbo- Not shifting from 2 to 3 under hard acceleration
 

93 940 Turbo Sedan. Not sure which transmission it is. Problem is, it has trouble up shifting under hard acceleration between second and third gear.

If I go to pass someone on the highway, it stays in the passing gear (or 3rd) for WAY too long and then gives me a very hard shift back up to the next gear.

If I want to play at a stoplight, it stays in too low of a gear for way too long, and instead of getting to 45 really fast, I end up going about 80mph to get it to shift up. Cops aren't fond of that excuse. Especially given the surge in such excuses thanks to Toyota. ;)

So, how does this transmission decide when to up shift? is this likely an inexpensive control issue? or do I need a rebuild or new trans? Please say vacuum leak. Is the trans on this car vacuum controlled?

No one has ANYTHING to say about this?

Did this just start all of a sudden? Or is the car new to you?
Generally, you can try to adjust the kick down cable, but in this case it seems like a pretty radical LATE shift... At what RPM does it shift? A tranny fluid change is something you may want to try as well... How many miles, and how good a record of fluid changes?

I will start at the beginning. the car has 235,000 miles. I am the second owner. I have a full service history. It had fluid changes at the Volvo recommended intervals. This is a new issue, within the last 4 weeks. It had a trans fluid change lest than 10k miles ago, with a new filter as well.

Its up shifting at a minimum of 4k when the problem occurs, but its not so much the RPM at which it shifts, as it is how long it takes it to shift. The problem is intermittent, the more often I drive the car, the more often it happens. If it sits for 3 or 4 days, it doesn't show symptoms for a while (maybe 100 miles).

And its not so much that it doesn't up shift at the correct time if I'm going easy on it. It is more like it forgets to up shift after I have given it lots of throttle, gotten to the speed I want, backed off of the throttle, THEN it doesn't up shift. And it may take it getting to a certain RPM before it shifts, or sometimes it just takes time, maybe 5 - 10 seconds.

Well, unfortunately I can't think of anything outside of going to a transmission shop for a diagnosis-it may be just time for another trans...

I'm going to join in here just to get subscribed to this thread.

I have a 1991 Turbo sedan that just turned 230,000 miles and I, too, am the second owner with all the service records (I even have the original window sticker from the dealership!). My transmission seems to shift hard at times, too hard in my opinion. Shockingly hard at times.

Does yours have that button on the side of the transmission selector (PRN321)? I accidentally had that button pushed one way or the other and the car went into a haunch stance at speed that made me think I could've won the Indy 500.

good question. i have similar problem with a 240 from first to second.

Hey there, you can try looking under the car on the driver's side of the transmission (the silver/gray box right after the bell housing I believe). There should be a label with what type you have so you can do a little more research. I myself have a 93' 940t wagon and I have the AW71. Not sure if your's is the same. That's all I got for now.