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Hello good people, a new Volvo enthusiast here,
long story short i've bought a Volvo S60, manufactured in 2004, with 5 speed automatic gearbox(AISIN AF33) and 2.4 petrol engine about almost a year ago.The previous owner last serviced the automatic transmission by flushing with 12 liters of ATF in 2019, more than 3 years ago, but only 20,000 kilometers have been covered since then, so I'm still well below the interval recommended by the service is estimated at 60,000. However, I have found information in many places that it is advisable, if the recommended 60,000 kilometers in question are not covered within 3 years, to change the oil anyway.
Therefore, I decided to change the oil according to the method shown in this video -
, so I asked the previous owner what oil was used in the last service and he replied that the product ATF Multivehichle from the manufacturer Valvoline was used. The oil in question complies with the JWS-3309 specification recommended for this gearbox.
The condition of the oil that is currently in the car is as follows:
However, before I take action, I want to ask a few questions to reassure myself:
1. When refreshing the oil (draining the contents of the crankcase and pouring the same contents through the rod), can I choose another oil that meets the same specification - JWS-3309 or is it not good to mix oils from different manufacturers?
2. Do you think, given the photo above and the fact that this oil has traveled only 20,000 kilometers, that I need to change it? Is the information true that after 3 years of pouring it is good to refresh or since I have no problems, I do not need to create such?
I will be extremely grateful to everyone who got involved in the topic.
There's a lot of opinions on how often to replace the transmision fluid. Volvo typically does not include a fluid change interval on the scheduled maintenance so many cars go their full life on the original fluid. Full disclaimer is that I'm in the change it every 100K miles camp, while others say 50K miles. 20km miles is about the most agressive schedule I've read. So to your question - do you need to change it? Nope. Your fluid color looks almost new. Should you change it? Do you have harsh driving conditions (mountains, pulling trailers etc?)? That's where I'd consider changing more frequently but even then I'd be thinking a lot longer than 20Kms
As to mixing fluids, you can read up on sites like bobistheoilguy.com to see if there's been any research but again I wouldn't over think this. If you are adding fluid that meets the correct spec (say via a drain fill process) you should be fine. The only tip I'd pass along is Aisins are also used in Toyotas, who sells the OEM fluid for a whole lot less than Volvo. Google "Toyota Type T IV ATF" to learn more.
There's a lot of opinions on how often to replace the transmision fluid. Volvo typically does not include a fluid change interval on the scheduled maintenance so many cars go their full life on the original fluid. Full disclaimer is that I'm in the change it every 100K miles camp, while others say 50K miles. 20km miles is about the most agressive schedule I've read. So to your question - do you need to change it? Nope. Your fluid color looks almost new. Should you change it? Do you have harsh driving conditions (mountains, pulling trailers etc?)? That's where I'd consider changing more frequently but even then I'd be thinking a lot longer than 20Kms
As to mixing fluids, you can read up on sites like bobistheoilguy.com to see if there's been any research but again I wouldn't over think this. If you are adding fluid that meets the correct spec (say via a drain fill process) you should be fine. The only tip I'd pass along is Aisins are also used in Toyotas, who sells the OEM fluid for a whole lot less than Volvo. Google "Toyota Type T IV ATF" to learn more.
First of all, thanks for the detailed comment.
The whole idea of refreshing my oil came from various pieces of information I came across in several forums that generally said that whether the required mileage (say 60,000 miles) was reached, if a certain period of time had passed (3 years), the oil ages and needs to be changed / refreshed. Apparently the information in question is exaggerated. It is the time period that worries me, not the kilometers.
Regarding driving, the car has not towed and will not tow anything, does not drive in extreme conditions (off-road, mountains, heavy snow or mud), drives only in urban conditions, often over short distances, so I change the engine oil to more-low period of recommendations (8-10000 km). To date, I have absolutely no complaints regarding the operation of the automatic transmission, and in general, I just have service (oil, filters, antifreeze) and I wanted to know if it makes sense to service the box.
There's a lot of opinions on how often to replace the transmision fluid. Volvo typically does not include a fluid change interval on the scheduled maintenance so many cars go their full life on the original fluid. Full disclaimer is that I'm in the change it every 100K miles camp, while others say 50K miles. 20km miles is about the most agressive schedule I've read. So to your question - do you need to change it? Nope. Your fluid color looks almost new. Should you change it? Do you have harsh driving conditions (mountains, pulling trailers etc?)? That's where I'd consider changing more frequently but even then I'd be thinking a lot longer than 20Kms
As to mixing fluids, you can read up on sites like bobistheoilguy.com to see if there's been any research but again I wouldn't over think this. If you are adding fluid that meets the correct spec (say via a drain fill process) you should be fine. The only tip I'd pass along is Aisins are also used in Toyotas, who sells the OEM fluid for a whole lot less than Volvo. Google "Toyota Type T IV ATF" to learn more.
First of all, thanks for the detailed comment.
The whole idea of refreshing my oil came from various pieces of information I came across in several forums that generally said that whether the required mileage (say 60,000 miles) was reached, if a certain period of time had passed (3 years), the oil ages and needs to be changed / refreshed. Apparently the information in question is exaggerated. It is the time period that worries me, not the kilometers.
Regarding driving, the car has not towed and will not tow anything, does not drive in extreme conditions (off-road, mountains, heavy snow or mud), drives only in urban conditions, often over short distances, so I change the engine oil to more-low period of recommendations (8-10000 km). To date, I have absolutely no complaints regarding the operation of the automatic transmission, and in general, I just have service (oil, filters, antifreeze) and I wanted to know if it makes sense to service the box.
S60 automatic transmission fluid renewal
