I was on the freeway this morning running about 60mph and pulled up behind a transport who had just turned on his 4-ways. I pulled out to pass, but not knowing what was around him I did not kick-down, but really only tapped the accelerator during the lane change.

It was during that tap that the car clunked/jerked. It just felt (in my best NASCAR drawl) like somethin' broke. The transport had put on his 4-ways due to a major slow-down in the trafic about 1/2 mile ahead, which gave me time to look at the dash; 'Transmission Service - Urgent', and the engine light. Great.

My destination had an auto service centre near by, so I had them take a look. They could not read the codes, but did inform me that I had no 1st, 4th or reverse gears. They were able to let me know that 50-40LE and 50-42LE transmissions are known to exhibit a No Reverse, No 1st, No 4th condition before or after an overhaul, and the culprit may be the solenoid screens being installed upside down on reassembly after an overhaul blocking the solenoid feed to the shift solenoids and shift shift valves, or that the shift solenoids are not functioning mechanically.

I was able to limp it home to my dealer (I think the only thing that didn't pass me was people on bicycles - and even them only barely), where it sits now. They will not be able to look at it until tomorrow as I only managed to get it in shortly before they closed.

It will be interesting to see if they come back with a 'reasonable' repair estimate or if they tell me I need a new transmission.

I'll keep you posted...

 

How many miles are on the car and what year is it? Theses transmisisons have solenoid issues. If you heard a sound like something breaking, that could be a number of things, but nothing good. You really need to know the codes, but the dealer is probably going to tell you that you need a new transmission, unfortunately. In my experience, they will not replace solenoids, just the transmission. If you bring it to a transmission shop, they may be able to replace just the solenoid(s). If it was just a ad solenoid, then you may get lucky and just have that taken care-of. Usually, they need more than that -especially from what you described. Even if the solenoid was the only culprit, driving it more can burn up the gears pretty quickly. Another thought is that the dealer will probably want about $4800 for the trans and you could probably save at least a grand by having it done at a shop. The only good news is that if the tranny is fixed properly with upgraded parts, it might actually be better than it was when it was new.

 

The car is a 2001 with 56000 miles (90000 kms). It didn't literally feel as though something broke, but there was a decided clunk and a jerk. From that point onward, I had lost 1st, 4th and reverse.

The dealer had the car all day and at 3:30 finally told me....I need a new transmission at $4200 plus tax. The ensuing conversation went something like this:

Me: "What's wrong with the transmission that's currently in the car?"
Service Advisor: "Um, I'm not sure."
Me: "Yet I need a new one? Perhaps it would be a good idea to find out what's wrong with it before telling me I need to give you close to $5000 for a new one."
Service Advisor: "Um, I'll speak to the technician and call you back."

Realize I had mentioned the known solenoid issue when I brough the car in yesterday.

Two and a half hours later I called him again and was told that (curiously) they'll be looking at the solenoids on Monday, but to do so they'll need to drop the transmission. At the end of the day if it turns out that I do require a new transmission, so be it (though if that is the case I will be placing a call to Volvo to see if I can get any relief - the car's only over the waranteed limit by 6200 miles (10000 kms)), but don't just tell me a new transmission is required when you don't even know what's wrong with it........

 

Had you ever had it in for any transmission comlpaints before it went out of Warranty?

 

No. The transmission has never been a problem. I do realize that the Service Advisory the other shop told me about is related to these conditions which are typically related to post-overhaul, however they may also present when no transmission service has been done. I just want the dealer to not expect me to give the go-ahead on a new transmission before all of the possible causes (and more economical solutions) have been explored.

 

OK most of the time if you complain before it goes out of Warranty then they will help you.
But if not then usually they won't help.

 

Update:

What a waste of two days. After telling me on Friday that they'd be dropping the transmission and opening it up to see what is actually wrong with it today, the service advisor called me this morning to tell me...I need a new transmission. They are still basing this only on the codes, but have not actually done anything to see what's wrong with it.

I called a 20-year independent Volvo-only shop (I didn't take it there in the first place because they were closed by the timeI got back into the city last Thursday), who didn't have a replacement transmission in stock but rather referred me to the automatic transmission shop they use for re-builds. He also told me that he has never had a transmission rebuilt by this shop come back with a problem. The transmission shop went to the Volvo dealer, picked up my car, took it to their shop and quoted me $2600 for a full rebuild complete with new solenoids and upgraded valve bodies.

It'll be ready Wednesday.

 

Well - at least it sounds like you are going to get a decent deal on the transmision rebuild and it should actually be better than it was originally. It's unfortunate that it had to happen with such low mileage, but it's not the first time that an S80 trans had to be replaced so soon. I knew the dealer wouldn't do anything, except put a new trans in and charge you a premium price for the privilege. While you are at it, you should make sure the shop shows you the old parts, then you can see what wears out on these and get an idea of how an automatic transmission works - then at least it will be a learning experience. BTW - I used to be a pro photographer, as well. Nice website.

Dino

 

My mom had experienced similar problems(though the symptoms were slightly different). We got the car from a family friend who was ready to take it to the junker. I took it home, cleaned it up to get some motivation to bring it back to life... anyways. The only gears that worked were 3rd, 4th and reverse(1rst and 2nd were out), on top of that the idle was bad, the ABS didn't work, and ALLLLLLLL the warning lights in the dash were lit, along with the message center displaying: oh if I could remember 16 messages. I took the car to an electrician who had done work on a BMW for me before, he replaced the OBC, and tranny computer, and actually rebuilt the ABS computer him self. His work took care of all the warning lights and all but 2 messages: transmission service required, and SRS airbag service required. He came to a conclusion that the transmission problem was not electronically related(reason for paying him to come to this conclusion was the newer Volvo's, especially s80's are notorious for electronic issue's). We got an estimate to rebuild the tranny for 1800$. We decided that we'd change the timing belt and main seal located near the crank pulley as well. All this would run us around 2000$. Three weeks after getting the car back and in good working order, it starts doing the same thing. I'll be driving on the freeway, all of a sudden it just drops in to third and stays there, whether or not I put it in-to park. So I shut the car off then back on, it will go back to normal, but just for a short while. I'm looking at getting the tranny computer rebuilt instead of another replacement. I remember reading about the s80s computers' going in-to a safe mode(3rd gear), and that it's better to have them rebuilt then replaced.

If anyone reading this, knows where I can rebuild my tranny computer. I would be greatfull. I can't get a hold of the guy who did the work on the car before sorry for the super long post this is just for those who may be in a similar situation.

 

Just purchased a '99 S80 for $1000

Doesn't go past 55 mph
I can accelerate from stop and have barely any speed.
When I get up to around 40 mph i'm in the 3500 rpms
Also, after I start the engine, I cant put the vehicle into drive.

Any suggestions on what it could be?

ps....could it be the ETM????