Hey all. I have a 2003 XC90 FWD with the 2.5T with 204k miles. I just purchased the car from a friend for very cheap as it had some random issues. The car runs and drives "ok" now, but the transmission seems odd.

It's almost like it's slipping, but it's also kind of not, haha, it sort of acts like it has a stall converter in it. The issue only really seems to take place from a stop (super noticeable if it's cold out and the car is cold.) The vehicle doesn't just drive off the line, you have to give it a fair bit of gas, then about the time the engine gets up to 2k rpm it goes. That makes it sound a bit worse than it is because it's not like it just sits there, but it just isn't linear at all. You really have to dip into the throttle a bit to get it to go. It's hard to describe. It's not like it just BANG goes at 2k rpm, it just seems to bring the throttle up a lot more than should be needed to get going.

I haven't owned an automatic in many many years so honestly I thought maybe it was just me, so i went and test drove a 2007 V8 XC90 and it did not have this issue at all. It had a very linear progression right off the line and was easy to control the speed at low speeds.

I had another friend drive it yesterday and he had a hard time modulating accelerating from a stop as well. So i don't think it's just me.

Anyone have any ideas? Any suggestions? Is the trans on the way out? Anyone experienced anything similar?

Thanks!

 

Two possible simple explanations: 1. It's starting out in a higher gear, and 2. Internal torque converter problems.


You can I think convince yourself what gear it's in with a little experimentation.