Good evening people, I own a 1996 850 auto and have had transmission issues from the start. Its my first car, and my partner rushed me to buy it (she loaned me the money for the purchase) before test driving it.
Upon paying the seller sometime last year (was only registered last month, so I haven't really driven it until now) and driving home, economy mode wasn't taking 3rd gear around 50/60kmh.
My father who is a Volvo freak advised me it was fine to drive in sports mode, alas, driving home today after refuelling I had experienced SPORTS mode doing the same thing, at the same speeds.
I obviously pulled over once i noticed i was having zero power delivered to the wheels and just revving out with application of the accelerator. I swapped modes to sport, same outcome, I didn't bother in winter mode as I didn't think it was gonna help much anyway.
I am not sure what to do as I'm financially in a bad position, any advice would be appreciated, I'm happy to give further details etc etc, I just need this car working to be able to work myself.

Thanks a million for reading and 2 million for replying with suggestions.

(I've never serviced the car, it was only registered for the first time in around 2 years recently, my father turned it over every now and then to keep fluids moving, sometimes I feel I'm being left in the dark when it comes to vehicular knowledge.(and all I wanna do is work on cars.))

 

Talk to him.

These cars are old, but the transmissions survive pretty well. pretty well being a very weak term. You could certainly check the fluid level. I'd do that. I am not aware whether a 3rd gear "flare" is possible because of the control system. I don't know. Normally, if it slips, you gamble that the clutches are just worn out and the control systm is actually okay. Here in the USA, 850's are crusher material, so it wouldn't cost anything for a working man to get another one, not just a transmission, but an entire other car. But of course I hear all the time people with wildly different situations in other countries.

Transmission overhauls are not really all that expensive. People often do avoid doing one and just crush the car, but they're really not that bad.

 

The 850s use an Aisin transmission - same supplier to Toyota and Lexus and the four speed auto is about as reliable as they come. That said, it is a computer controlled transmission so it has a TCU (transmission control unit ) which can get corrosion on the contacts - cleaning the connectors and terminals may help. The transmission also needs the correct fluid level and more importantly the correct fluid viscosity to shift properly. You can check the level via the dipstick (drivers side of the engine down near the bottom of the radiator) - there's two fill lines, one for cold, one for hot. Pop out the dipstick and wipe on a white paper towel. If its dark brown or black - its probably worth doing a drain/fill or two. (drain two quarts out of the bottom, add two quarts at the top, run the car, stop, repeat.). Make sure the transmission is at the correct level when warm (ie after driving for 10-15 minutes).

Next possible probrem area is internal to the transmission. The the shifting is managed by solenoids which open/close to route the fluid and change the gears. To note, the S and W modes simply tell the TCU when to shift per that program so if you are having flairing, its likely to be in all modes. W mode tells the car to start in 2nd gear (winter traction trick), S tells the car to shift at a higher engine RPM for sporty driving. If a solenoid is bad or overheats, it will likely throw a fault code (ever see a blinking TRACS or upshift light?) so you may want to see if you can have the car scanned for diagnostic codes. Solenoids and the valve body can be repaired/replaced without pulling the transmission out of the car. If you find the diagnosis is a new or replacment transmission swap, the cost will be way more than the value of the car.

 

Thank you both for a reply, @firebirdparts my father is knowledgeable but he also never experienced a problem like this in his 850R. I bought it for $2000 AUD and another $1500 on registration, dont see many of them here to my memory, I love the thing and really would like to drive it into the ground if it will let me haha. I've seen a transmission with more kilometres on it than mine but its $600 without shipping to Australia. I've only got 170xxx Km's on mine

@mt6127 Thats some good information mate. Dad came over and we took if for a spin and he didnt get to experience my issue of loss of power, we had a look at the transmission fluid and its closer to maroon than red, so we are going to change it within a week. (lucky I dont have much driving to do) There was no TRACS or upshift lights, havent seen any of those on the dash. We, mainly he, is still unsure of what the cause is and when we change the transmission fluid I'll show him your reply and insist we at least try. If I need a new transmission, I'll be selling the poor thing before I can give it a name.

 

Welcome to VF.
There are youtube videos showing how it's done.
Where these instructions show a 1 gallon milk jug I usually have a 2.5 gallon oil jug I use.
I can't remember how many miles I was at when I serviced mine but my fluid was very dark burnt smelling and I was worried the flush might cause more slippage. Decided to do it anyway and it firmed up the shifts and worked well all the way until parked at 300K miles.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fo...pic.php?t=8767