I have done a lot of reading about the various transmission woes of these cars and despite all the negative stuff I have read I still want one of these cars badly !. maybe someone can shed some light on the issues this one car I'm looking at purchasing has. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated--my adulation and thanks up-front to anyone that can offer some insight.

The car is a 2000 model with 124K miles. I took it for a drive today and these are the symptoms:

1. started out completley cold, it initially shifted through the gears normally and about 5 miles later the upshift light came on solid (no blinking)-the car was still shifting normally with the light on.

2. A couple of miles later I gave the car full throttle (it was warmed up properly) and it downshifted normally then, almost immediately, the shift light started blinking. I slowed down to a stop then accelerated again only this time the car felt like it was in high gear--it was lugging.

3. I manually shifted down to 1 , the trans went into 1 with no prob then accelerated through the gears normally under light load. I stopped, re-accelerated and the trans shifted normally. When I manually shift the trans under regular load it shifts perfectly. When I let it shift itself under moderate load it seems to drag out the 2-3,3-4 shift.

4. Took it up to highway speeds (70+) and it downshifted normally under full throttle then it would drag out the 3-4 shift a little with the throttle down.

It seems to shift well under light-moderate load most of the time but occasionally it drags out the 2-3,3-4 shift despite the amount of load. It intermittently seems to be stuck in a higher gear from a full stop but if shifted manually it goes through the gears fine. transmission fluid is BROWN in color --shouldn't it be red ?

Haven't run the codes yet--got to take it to a Volvo dealer to get specific codes I guess ?


Based on this info and without codes (I know--its best to have them) what do you think. Would a shot trans still shift through the gears fine manually ?, would a trans fluid change help maybe? maybe a bad module/sensor ? or do you think the trans is on its way out ?.


I really do appreciate any feedback, suggestions, insights, comments, etc,


THANKS !!!

Dan Bentley