Greetings all! It's good to be back in a Volvo again

I inherited a 2001 S60 L5 non-turbo with 163K on the odometer from my in-laws a few weeks ago. The transmission was doing its normal agitating function of hard shifts up/down & some occasional "flaring." Knowing its already had a poor service history, I decided it's the first thing to tackle since I'd like to drive this thing for a while.

With lots of research here, I did 3 drain & fills with Mobil 3309 & replaced the B4 Servo cover. The fluid that came out was not only LOW, but looked like motor oil - OLD motor oil. It has been completely transformed into a smooth- shifting, near-perfectly-functioning unit since.

So here's my question, as a preventative measure, should I spend the $ and have the dealer perform a software update (as I'm SURE it hasn't had one) on my TCM? Or at 163K, & since it seems to be functioning fine, should I just drive it, not worry about it, & save my $?

 

Mr.borth, take it in to dealer for a service and tell them you want the service software installed. It should be installed anyway with the service. Its called the volvo for life program and that includes the latesr software downloaded with each service. The software part number is 8691414 in case they didnt know and it updates all modules.

 

It does not update all modules and is only for factory scheduled maintenance- not free for anyone who asks.

 

Thanks for the input. It sounds like I'll be paying for it regardless, which is fine, I just want to know if it's worth my time & money given the age & current circumstance of my transmission?

 

If you aren't having any problems, you could probably do without it. But if there are ever any problems, the software update is the first step.

The fluid counters should be reset because of the new fluid, so if you get the TCM update, they can reset them at the same time.

 

Very good - thanks ES6T. It's probably something I'll get done this winter just to be sure, then. Resetting fluid counters - good to know - thanks so much.

 

I did the same - 3 drain-and-fills with Mobil 3309 and still got hard shifts and the annoying neutral shift. After getting the postcard advertising the Volvo service advantage, including free software updates, I took it in to the dealer and asked for the free updates. The service writer argued with me that it would not include any "upgrades" but only "updates" and therefore it wouldn't fix any problems I was having. I told him I only wanted the free updates and would not pay for anything at this point.

They performed the updates, free of charge, and it took away the neutral shift feature. It runs great and has yet to set the "service transmission" warning.

It is worth a try.

 

The fluid counters should be reset because of the new fluid, so if you get the TCM update, they can reset them at the same time.[/QUOTE]

I have read a lot of messages here about changing the tranny oil but almost none of them address this "fluid counters reset" you speak of. What is this about? I changed my own tranny oil (Mobile 3309) do I need to go to the dealer now for this? What does this do for the car? Does it cost much? Thanks for any input you have on this topic.

Ken

 

The TCM is constantly adapting based on driving and age of fluid. So when the fluid is replaced, this should be reset. If you're just going in for that, I would expect them to charge at least a half hour. If it was done with a TCM update, it should be no extra charge.