Hi Volvo fans. New to the sight and new to Volvo maintenance, and am impressed with the input.Volvo dealer prices are killing us and not sure they really now what they are doing. Tried aVolvo "Specialist" that did not even know what I was talking about when I asked him to pressure test the coolant system for an obvious leak. Bought the volvo adapter for my Snap On tester and fixed it myself.That has started me looking deeper into this car. My wife's 2002 S60 has started shifting badly. Dealership installed some software mod and did not seem to help. Seems sometimes it's low on fluid, but it is not. Coming out of a slow corner turnthenaccellerating, it will slip or miss downshifting, engine revs then jumps into gear. Seems like downshifting from 3rd to 2nd is the problem.Dealer says they could flush or service the transmission but transmision could fail on our "high mileage" transmission. The car only has 120K miles. How is that high mileage? Checked fluid; looks cleanand it is not burnt smelling and level is good. Is there a filter I can change? Can I also drain the torque converter totally or does this even have a T.C.? What is the best shop manual to have for doing repairs to this car? Don't know much at all about Volvos, but have been mechanic all my years. Can I really ruin my wifes transmission by changing the fluid? Thanks for any input. Steve

 

Well, you can try to flush it and have any downloads available enteredbut it is usually the sign that's it shot, big $$$$$!
The only thng you can do is either flush it or do a drain and fill, download all software available and reset the tranny adaptors.
If that doesn't help it, it's doneand by what you sayit sounds worse than most, (sorry).
These trannies are tough to keeptogether that long unless the trans fluid was changed every 40-50K or so FROM NEW.
Of course Volvo says no tranny service, they like to sell $4500 transmissions!

 

I'd have the fluid replaced. It doesn't have to look black like engine oil doesto be bad. It breaks down and can cause shifting problems at about that mileage. A temporary solution would be to add a can of Lucas TransmissionFix which will restore the viscosity temporarily and or the worn seals that may also be your problem. It's workedfor me on 3 different cars now which all had the samesymptoms. I still wound up eventually flushing the fluid on all of them though.

 

Thanks for the replies. Do anyof you know if there is a filter to replace or is it just a metal screen? And can I drain the TC also?

 

No servicable filter on the tranny.
You cannot access the TC without pulling the tranny.
You could flush it or drain and refill it but I have a feeling that will not help very much.

 

Old wives tale that changing the fluid in the trans will cause failure.

The immediate cheap fix is to drain and fill a couple of times with the CORRECT OEM required fluid which is available from three sources.

The fluid is JWS 3309 compliant. Do not use universal fluids ever. The Aisin Warner trans takes only that fluid. 1) find a mobil distributor in your area and ask for Mobil 3309 ($50 12 quart case). Or if you are a big shooter get the same fluid from a Volvo Dealer which is four times the cost. Or if a Toyota dealer is nearby, get the TV-1 fluid which is about $5 per quart.

Drain and fill is like an oil change. Plug is underneath the trans, easy to find and has a hex bolt on it. About 3.6 quarts will come out.
Refill through the trans dipstick which is short and yellow between the radiator and the engine on the drivers side. You will need a long funnel. Maybe this will help you. It can't hurt.

 

Or have a shop that has a transmission fluid flushing machine do it for you. Most automatic transmissions hold 12-14 quarts. Only 3-4 usually come out from removing the drain plug or pan. The flushing will replace the entire system and will backflow your filter cleaning it out a bit. Yes, it's extra for the labor, and like stated above, you'll want to bring your own fluid so they don't fill with with dextron III.