Volvo Forums - Volvo Enthusiasts Forum - '04 XC90 T6 Urgent Transmission Service

First post, hopefully in looking for solutions you guys can help.

We have an '04 XC90 T6 with 103K miles on it. Car has been running ok, except we just got this warning.

The car, on occasion, will at a stop rev up and then jump into gear. Does it once a day at most and often not for days at a time. Took it to my mechanic who says that it needs a new transmission for $2780 for parts and $1400 for labor to install a Volvo rebuilt transmission. These guys are very trustworthy and have done work on both this car and my BMW. I believe what they say.

Last year I did tires so they are about 1/2 to 1/3 worn. I just did the brakes about 7K miles ago. I did tie rod ends last year. The engine is just fine and runs well. The rear differential might be wearing (a whine) but it could also be in the transmission - hard to tell for both me and the mechanic. My guess is that it is in the transmission.

Body and interior are in great shape. Car could almost be new otherwise.

Here's the issue: The car is worth between $12K to $15K and about $10K on a trade in. I can trade this on some other cars, as is, for $6-7 with the bad tranny. The car is paid for this month (go figure).

The question is if I replace this transmission, I need to drive this car for another 2-3 years (about 15K miles per year) in order to get out of this what I need to.

We've gone back and forth on what to do. We've looked at new cars (Subarus) and test driven used ones (BMW X5 and X3). Looks like we pay for the tranny one way or the other. The question is what can I expect to go wrong from here or do you think I will be ok? Are the rebuilts from Volvo the same P.O.S. that this tranny was? How do I know if this is the GM transmission with which there are problems or what should I look for?

What would you do?

In 30 years of owning cars, this is the first time I've ever had a transmission problem..

J.