MY impeccable 1985 Mercedes is reserved for summer driving so I bought a 2005 xc90 for winter use and also to haul hay . All of my Mercs have suffered from the same problem at acquisition: neglected or deferred maintenance until they were no longer the cars that left Stuttgart. The task is always to bring them back from neglect, at which point they are a joy to drive.

On to the Volvo: 2005 xc90 awd. 5 cylinder engine. Timing belt has 20,000 mile on it. Has good response and shifts well ( at least I think so— my Merc shifts crisply while the VOlvo is rather softer. But no clunks or slips so far). This was a commuter on a dirt road. Probably needs new struts and springs as there is a camber problem on the front tires. Add to the list. It seems to have heavy steering btw— is this a trait or a problem?

Here’s the vin: YV1cz592651141266

Todays query is over the transmission. I want to either change the fluid and filter or have it flushed as its likely to never have been done. Based on the vin, what transmission do I have? Wikipedia returned me a trans that didnt seem right— AW40. Is this likely?

And the fun one: I cant find the dipstick to check the condition of the fluid! I promise not to over post in the future, but I’m orienting myself to this new and to me exotic platform: my Mercedes is all analog while this is all digital, and thats a big big change. Thanks in advance.

 

you should see the yellow dipstick kind of hiding below/beside the lower radiator hose. See if this thread helps. Not sure if you are planning to do as a DIY or just reading up before having a shop do it...

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fo...ic.php?t=64335

 

Thanks for replying. First thing is do I have aw40 or 55-50. THen I want to check the condition of the fluid. I’ll look under there again but theres nothing yellow to be seen under all the grime so far.