I have just inherited a 2002 S60 from my parents. I knew that it was rough shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear but now it is getting really bad, almost non drivable. It supposedly got some new transmission fluid about a month ago, but I think I am going to flush it out again. If this doesn't work, does it mean I am going to need a new transmission?

 

Help!! I just bought a 2003 S60 2.4t fwd with 118,880 miles on it. Brought it home today. on the way home I got a check engine light on and service transmission. It feels like it is slipping out of gear and then had a jerk like I put the brake on even though I had my foot on the accelerator. It has gotten progressively worse within the last hour. I stop at a light and then try to accelerate and the rpm are all the way to the top and hardly any acceleration happening it's like I don't have it in gear at all. At stop I change gears from d to p and back to drive again but that doesn't help. I have a 50/50 warranty with the used car place, but this is happening the day I brought it home. I have been reading through the different threads but I'm confused if I am going to have to spring for a new transmission when I have just financed the price of the car. The used car lot said they topped off all the fluids in the car. I guess I need to get back in touch with them and find out what kind of fluid they put in the transmission. I let them know I was having problems with the transmission I have an appointment with my mechanic tomorrow and would let them know. I really don't think it's fair if I have to pay even 1/2 for transmission the day after I bought this car. Do you think that doing the fluid change instead of flush that would help? I only have 60 miles left on warranty (they gave me 150 miles or 15 days) so I need whatever is going to happen to happen very soon or I will be stuck with full price of problem. Do you recommend flush rather than the switch if it's going to mess up the transmission I would rather it do it now than later. What would you suggest in my particular situation? Thanks for any help you can provide me!

 

If you only have 60 miles left on their warranty then STOP. Have your vehicle towed back to them and allow them to fix the issue. DO NOT take it to your mechanic. STOP what you are doing, have it towed, and *make* them address the issue.

t

 

Thanks for your input. I called the car co. from which I purchased it, they asked me to bring it to them. I explained I didn't think I would make it down there w/o getting stranded. The owner of the lot drove to my house and picked up the car. He said he would take care of the problem with no charge to me. After dealing with all these unscrupulous car lots it is so refreshing to do business with a honest one. I will update you on the outcome.

 

you can use mobil 1 trans fluid. and its easy enuff to do yourself if you have about 30 mins to spare

 

Hi guys,I have question, I checked transmission fluid and it looks for me a little to dark, should I do flush or change( what would be better??)

2003 S60 2.5T AWD ( seems that fluid was last flushed at about 50k, now car has 108k)

One more thing, should I do this at volvo service or I can do that at brakesplus ??( I also want to do timing belt- the same question, better to do this at volvo or i can do that at cheaper brakesplus ??)

 

Go to a place that specializes in Volvos. Definitely not a place called BrakesPlus.

 

there is a ten page debate on what fluid to use, how to change the fluid without screwing things up, etc. and you want to take the car to a place that specializes in cheap brake jobs?

take the car to a mechanic who is trained to work on cars, not to a place that trains their staff to move people in and out fast.

 

I'll just do what chilton's says to do...

 

hey i have a 2006 v50 t5 with about 108k miles on it. i checked my transmission fluid today and it did seem a little brown. but to be honest im not sure how dark is too dark. i was hoping to get some guidance on the issue. i dont want to flush my transmission if i dont have to. why fix something that doesnt need fixing? but if someone could post a picture of what okay fluid looks like in comparison to bad or burnt fluid i would appriciate it. also if anyone could give me an estimate on what milage i should get it flushed if it is okay. i really dont know too much about transmission fluid

 

A tire store or mechanic or lube/oil service place will tell you for free.

 

It is called preventative maintenance. Pay a little now or a lot later. The cost of preventative maintenace is usually less than the cost of the tow.

RTFM as in read the owners manual, read the thread to see what others have been doing to prevent catastrophie, then act accordingly.

your car probably stops great, but how old is your brake fluid? the car stops, why bother changing it - right? your brake rotors are getting thin, why bother changing them now, wait a few thousand more miles.

If you have over 100k on it and it has never been done you have to decide which school you want to belong to. read up and decide.

 

If you have 100k on any transmission and have never changed the fluid it should be done. Never...Never flush a transmission. You should drain the fluid and replace it. It will only drain 3 quarts or so...do that ever oil change for the next 30,000 miles and you'll have replaced most of the fluid. Remember...only use Mobil 3309.

 

To be fair I bought the car at about 103k last year from a drug rep company. They had everything done for it at the dealership. This is my first car.

 

I recently purchased an ’05 S60 2.5T from a reputable Volvo dealer that sells new and used Volvo’s. It’s got about 71,500 miles on it. I’ve also got about 19,000 miles left on an extended warranty on it, but still want to maintain properly. I’m not sure if the transmission has been flushed before but the fluid is more of an orangy pink. Basically looks somewhat used, but not horrible. It’s got the 5 speed Aisin Warner Transmission in it. I'm a do it yourselfer, but I’m more familiar with Japanese and American made vehicles, and I’m more familiar and comfortable with Manual transmissions, so this my first experience with Volvo or any other European Car. I called that same dealer and they said the flush should have been done at 60k, but they have no record of it, and they only have maintenance records for the vehicle back to 50k so they don’t know what was done beforehand, but I’m betting it’s never been touched. With that said, I’m a little annoyed because I bought the car from them with about 66,000 miles on it, and had it in the shop and had some other work done on it, and they never said anything about servicing the transmission. They quoted me $250 for a flush and fill, with the Volvo Fluid (Service Rep didn’t know the specs, but the parts counter told me that it’s the Volvo JWS 3309). The service rep did say that it needs to be done soon, and if you wait till after 100K, don’t service it, because it will cause more problems than help, but that I should be oK by doing it now at the current mileage. I also called a service center that specializes in servicing European vehicles to see about getting a better price, and they asked about the service history, and I told them I didn’t know, but told them the color of the fluid was orangy pink. They warned me that doing a flush for the first time with a vehicle of that mileage might cause more problems than help so it would be a risk, and that a lot of shops won’t even touch a transmission of that age without knowing the service history. I asked them about fluids and they said they would put in whatever I wanted, but typically use Valvoline unless there is a specialty fluid that Valvoline doesn’t make, so they didn’t give me a straight answer about what they typically put in it, but did suggest I use a softer approach and just drain and fill the oil pan, and replace that amount. They also did say they would get the Mobil 3309 if that’s what I wanted. They are putting together a price for me to do the drain and fill of the pan with Mobil 3309. I asked the frequency I should do the drain and fill of the pan, and the Euro vehicle shop said every 10K would be a good interval. What are other thoughts about this with a transmission with this kind of mileage? I’ve spent the last 2 days reading these threads, which has got me more confused than anything. With the mileage I have, should I be doing a drain and fill of the pan, or should I be doing a full flush? From what I’ve read, there should be a drain plug on the pan, but I haven’t looked, and I’m not sure where the pan would be located, but hopefully, I can find it once I get under the car. Also, as I understand it, you fill from the spot where you check the fluid, so obviously you’d need a really long skinny funnel.

 

If you are a DIYer, where is your Chilton's manual?

 

Although this is a great comment for n00bs, the statement is incorrect. What you meant to say was only use a JWS 3309 certified lubricant. For example, Toyota T-IV fluid is a JWS 3309 certified lubricant AND it has been proven over on BITOG through oil analysis to be identical to Mobil 3309. I have been running the T-IV in my S60 for quite some time now.

t

 

If you're a do-it-yourselfer then you can do this. I was in the same situation as you a long time ago and I remember also being somewhat confused when I first read the post. However, it all makes sense once you balance out those individuals who clearly don't know what they are talking about. Here is my recommendation:

1) Pick up a Haynes Manual for the S60. Yes, it is a European only manual but, honestly, I don't understand why this manual isn't in a US edition because the Euro manual is awesome. Hardback too.

2) Drain 3-4 quarts and refill with a JWS 3309 lubricant (Mobil 3309 or Toyota T-IV are popular choices - both are JWS3309 certified). The easiest way (for me) is to use the IPD kit and allow the transmission's internal pump to pump the fluid out of one of the cooler lines into a premarked container (marked at 1 and 2 quarts). Yes, you'll need a funnel with a long flexible line.

3) Repeat step 1 around 6K-7.5K miles and do this for a total of 3 drain/fills. I did it every oil change (I use extended drain intervals of 6K miles due to oil analysis of running 0W40 M1 on this vehicle).

4) Move to a drain/fill cycle of 6 quarts every 10K-15K miles for the life of the vehicle.

t

 

Got to love the smart remarks. Very non productive. Had the car since March of this year. Just getting my feet wet with this one.

 

A Chilton's manual is pretty much needed for DIY. My comment wasn't useless, don't be a twerp about it.