Hello everyone,

I've been driving a relative's 99 S70 lately. I have noticed that it shifts rather firm going up (almost like it has a shift kit) and also shifts firm on the way down...possibly downshifting early as it will carry l little more rmp's than you would expect with your foot off gas and decelerating. I know these things have "adaptive driving" technology...but neither I nor the owner drive the car aggressively.

I have been scouring this forum and learned a lot about these cars over the last month. When I read about the Transmission module software upgrade and then the throttle body (155) software upgrade, I felt sure this would be the answer to my problem. I've read several posts here and elsewhere where owners reportedsmoother shifting after the "155" software upgrade. However, after digging into all of the service records, I found that "155" was done shorftly after it was released...spring of 2006.

I haven't found anything definitive, but I got the impression that the transmission software upgrade was incorporated into the Throttle Body "155" upgrade. Does anyone know if that is true? Or is there likely a separate tranny software upgrade that would benifit this car?

Other background info....

Car has 97K miles...all dealer service/scheduled maintanence...but never any transmission service or flush. That is at the top of my list of things to do. I have not inspected the main motor mounts. The Torque mount appears to be decent (it's about 3 years old) but I was a little surprised to see almost full deflection just putting in drive and reverse. Just for kicks, I took a look at a friends Camry and saw that it also has a moderate amount of deflection just putting in gear at idle. The next time I drive the car again, I'm going to check the Transmission Torque mount and check that the fluid has not been overfilled... I read somewhere that that will also cause some problems.

Has anyone experienced significantly smoother shifting after flushing high milage fluid? Any other thoughts on this issue?

Thanks,

Scotcha

 

I believe if I remember correctly alot of people have benifited from fluid change.

Also there might be a Tranny sofwtare upgrade that might help as well.

 

I have a similar problem in my '99 S70 AWD that I just got (160k). I notice a hard shift when driving up a slight grade when it downshifts into 3rd. I notice it more when in cruise (every other shift) than when i try to recreate it (every 5th shift). Other than that, the tranny is smooth.

Tech, how can I tell if the software upgrade has been performed? Before I took possession, I checked Carfax and all recommended services were done and all recalls performed.

And would you recommend a transmission service? I know on other brands that can be a mixed bag if the transmission is a bit worn. Hasten the end sort of thing.

thanks in advance.