2007 S60, ~100k mi, bought in 2010 (it's second owner) - Houston, Tx

Background - 2010 I purchased this vehicle as a CPO at local Volvo dealer for my daughter's 1st car in HS. Other than routinely changing the oil, filters, tires, brakes, battery X2, and struts, no work has been done to the car and since buying has not been to a dealer for service. Although very little was done over the years, up until 6 months ago when the transmission acted up (details below) the car was very dependable.

~ 6 months ago: during rush hour and a heavy rainstorm, she reluctantly drove down her residential street to get home through ~ 6" of water. Within an hour the rain water receded and drained form the streets. No water got in the cam and the car never stalled. For the next week she continued to drive the car on a daily basis. The next day she noticed a strange noise coming from the engine area but felt it was minor as no other issues were apparent. However over the next few days, during the August hot stop and go traffic she felt the car jerking once a while when in shifted gears. She drove it throughout the week until i could look at it over the weekend (detail below).

The weekend: let me start by saying my daughter bought another car and left the Volvo w/me. After looking over the car and checking the oil level, I started the car, let it idle, and listened a few minutes for noises. Other than a metalic whirling noise, synched with engine speed, thought likely to be the bearing in the AC clutch pulley or idler pulley, and the Blower motor with a harmonic vibration, all seemed in order. Time for a test drive.

Test drive: I drove the car at a normal clip for ~20 miles, residential areas and highways without any problems (no jerking, smooth...thought it's acceleration was a little slower but didn't think much of it). Not wanting to give her car back without being sure, I decided to run it hard and this is when all the fun started. For the next 10 miles or so on a winding clear road, I floored it going through 3-4 gears, easing into 5th gear and level out to 70 MPH, and then quickly decelerate to a stop. Repeated this exercise several times using pure automatic transmission and with sequential shifts using the shift ****. All looked good. I thought all was well and headed back driving the car as a normal driver would. Going 45MPH, a light ahead turned Red, I slowed down and where the car would normally downshift, it acted like it slipped into neutral (engine running, would rev, but no change in speed), I coasted to the stoplight and stopped. The car would not go into gear and move forward on its own. I turned on the hazard lights and got out of the car to look around and noticed transmission fluid leaking out from beneath car past the front bumper and the driver’s side. I had the car towed home.


Since being towed, I checked the transmission fluid level and first noticed the dipstick was not securely seated in its normal position (loosely resting in its fill tube, not locked by its clip), and second noticed water moisture in the fluid. I removed one of the cooler hoses and found moisture too. What surprised me at first was there was no external signs blown seals, hoses, coolers, etc. Given it was the heat of summer and no immediate need for the vehicle, it has been sitting since.

Now, in light of CV, I am fortunately healthy and have some spare time to look into this car issue further. My question is where should I start. I don’t have VIDA nor immediate access to DICE. Should I begin with at least trying to flush the transmission, drop the pan, remove valve body/clean/inspect? I'm interested in others opinions.

Apologize for the long post.

 

What are you calling moisture? If your transmission fluid looks like a strawberry milkshake then the transmission is done.
If the fluid looks more normal than not check the fluid level.

 

are you getting coolant into the transmission? this is possible for some models due to the integration of the transmission cooler into the radiator. You may need to have the radiator/oil cooler checked out or replaced, then do a few drain fills hoping you didn't sustain any permanent tranny damage.

 

Appreciate your response. From what I remember the fluid at the top of the dipstick appeared to be emulsified with water very similar to a strawberry milkshake and some portion of the fluid in the coolant line. However there was also normal looking fluid present. Appreciate your response.

 

Cooler leaking? I'll look into this. Thanks.

 

Do any think it's possible that a servo/s stuck, causing an over pressure event and then forces the dipstick out dumping the fluid? Why caused the fluid to escape the transmission?

 

Solved! After Extended Flush (8gal). I was doubtful at first as the fluid looked like a chocolate milkshake. After flushing the car drives as it did before.

 

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You maybe not out of the woods yet? This is a known issue for the 2006 and perhaps 2007 also.
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https://www.carcomplaints.com/Volvo/S60/
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https://www.carcomplaints.com/Volvo/..._failure.shtml
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Most people probably thought it was just a lack of maintenance and will junk the car never taking the time to discover the real cause. You didn't mention whether the coolant reservoir has transmission fluid in it. Transmission fluid when worn will be dark brown not strawberry milky. The 8 qt. flush and working transmission only indicates you potentially saved the transmission but you still have to deal with the radiator.
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You'll need to do a thorough flush rather than several drain and fills.
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Appreciate your response and input. I did fail to mention that the radiator reservoir has adequate coolant (between min and max levels) and no traces of transmission fluid in it. This was checked prior to carrying out the flush (not drain and fill). In addition, the coolant system maintained pressure at 15 psi overnight.

 

For anyone interested in the outcome of having water in the transmission. Since throughly flushing the transmission in 2020, the car and transmission are still going strong without any issues.