I have heard bad things about the transmission on the '03 s60. Mine has 56,000 miles and has not presented any major issues to date. I have noticed that when driving up a hill, the transmission will run high and not shift back down as quickly as normal. Is this a sign of an upcoming issue? Also, at what point should I do a flush and tranny service? I don't think it was done yet. Where can I find the transmission under the hood in order to do a smell and visual test. Thanks.

 

Facing the engine compartment, look straight down near the left driver's side of the radiator.........the dip stick for the auto transmission is a short yellow pull stick. The auto transmissions and engines are the same in both the S60 and V70 models starting in 2001 I recall. Check out the stickeys entitled Transmissions or Transmission Fluid in both the S60 and V70 sections of this forum and you'll find lots of information about the care of these transmissions. I bought our 2001 V70 used in 2004 with 60k miles on it and wish I had changed the trans fluid then. But now that I'm more knowledgable, I plan on doing trans fluid drains (not flushes) every 30k miles.........I did my first one this year with 115k miles on the vehicle. It seems to shift smoother after the drain. Since your vehicle has close to 60k miles on it, the drain approach would probably be better than a flush if it was never flushed before, but read the posts I mentioned to decide yourself.