Hey all,
I recently bought a used XC 70 and have been loving it. It's my first time in a Volvo after driving a few older BMWs (E34) and I have to say these things are beautifully engineered.

That being said after putting some work into this car for a long trip ( all unrelated to the trans) I had a complete failure of the transmission. I was going along at about 70 mph and hit a hill the car went to downshift and dropped out, rps went to 5-6. After limping off the interstate I noticed a lot of fluid and after resetting the battery to see if it was electrical (since there had not really been any signs of trans problems before) It would engage into park and shuttered in drive and reverse. It will drive in first and sometimes go into second but slips out offer. Fluid from the dipstick smells burnt and is brown.

My question: This car has 180,000 miles on it, in this fourms experience is this worth fixing? Used, rebuilt or reman? The tricky part is that this is in South Dakota and I live in Utah. Estimates I have received are far more then the price of the car. The manor in which all this went down kind of baffles me.

 

when you say you "noticed a lot of fluid", are you saying you noticed fluid on the ground or sprayed around the engine bay? If the transmission fluid level is low you can try filling it to see whether it starts engaging in gear again and then look for where the fluid is leaking from (ie transmission line, cooler, axle or input shaft seal). To get a sense of the cost of a transmission replacement, I'd start by searching car-part.com to get a sense of the market price and availability of transmissions to fit your car and any shipping costs.

 

Ya I kept checking for leaks on the trip because I was paranoid something might happen on the long haul and hadn't noticed anything until we started to get it on the tow truck. It had seemed to spray around in the engine bay. Could some cooler line or something bust loose under pressure and the car now be acting up because of low fuel levels?

 

And does burnt smelling fluid mean the trans is trashed?? The mechanic took one whiff and wrote the car off. I'm beginning to wonder if he just wanted me to leave it there so he could diagnose and sell once I told him he could handle the disposal of it.