Transmission Hesitation From 2nd to 3rd Gear
 

My '02 Volvo S60 T5 has about 75K miles on it. Recently the transmission has been hesitating when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. In fact, what happens if I'm not careful is that as the transmission hesitates the rpm shoots up cause I have my foot on the accelerator, when the transmission catches there is a hard jolt because of the high rpm's. I've learned to back off on the accelerator during the shift from 2nd to 3rd gear.

I found the transmission dipstick (the yellow one) and checked that this afternoon. The car was running and up to operating temperature when I checked the fluid. There seems to be enough transmission fluid in there, although the dipstick doesn't say "min" or "max", it says "cold" and "hot". However, the transmission fluid is a dark rust color, almost brown. I believe transmission fluid is supposed to be bright red.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if old transmission fluid could be the culprit for the hesitation and hard shifting I am experiencing as of late. I did have the car down to Volvo several months back when we were having some shifting issues. They reprogrammed the computer and that seemed to take care of it until now.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

That is possible.(Fluid)
Also there might be a software upgrade to help.

I've scheduled an appointment for the transmission to be flushed. Actually, the guy said they don't flush this type of transmission, but just drop the pan and let gravity due the work. I hope that takes care of the problem.
The last software upgrade was done last Fall. Would there be another one out so soon?

It is possible there is new software but there might not be I would ask.

I just called the nearest dealership about getting the software update for my '01 S60 2.4T and it's going to be $115 for labor and $30 for the software. Wow. I have to drive 200 miles to get screwed in my butt.

You just made me Chuckle...,lol.

I'm sure it's funny to you because you're not the one getting screwed in the BUTT!

The really sad part is the labor charge should only be a half hour and they charge 1 hour.

But in a way we all get screwed in the butt with something on our Volvo's.

Mine has a similar problem that new transmission fluid didn't really fix. Does anyone know when the newest software update came out? I know mine had a software update in '07, but I'm curious if there was another since then.

It is that much worse since Scottsdale AZ is the closest dealership to me. It's about 2.5 hrs from here. A day off from work to pay no less than $145 bucks on my car! Oh well. Such is being a Volvo owner. Maybe I can get a Sat appt.