Hello. I am new to this group and appreciate any insight you might have. I have a 2001 V70 AWD XC low pressure turbo. When I am driving slowly, sometimes the car shifts hard between 1st and 2nd gear or slowing down from 2nd to 1st. If I accelerate quickly it doesn't seem to happen. If I turn a corner and accelerate, I'll get the hard shift/jerk.

I've had the latest transmission software uploaded, and the service has run the diagnostics--which comes up clean. The Volvo mechanic said he thought it was fine and actually a hard shift is OK, since you know the transmission is engaged in the gear you need to be in.

Also, at 55K miles, there was a servo motor in the transmission that failed--when it had failed, the car had really hard shifts up/down from 1st/2nd.

This feature is annoying as the car jerks abit--not smooth at all.

Is this the way these automatic transmissions work? The car runs great otherwise, smooth as glass on the highway.

Thanks for any info.

Unfortunately that´s the way the automatic transmissions work in our cars. As soon as they became old, they begin to function in that unpleasant way. Whatever you will do will probably make the problem less noticeable ( SW upgrade, oil flush, valve body replacement, etc ), until you change the complete unit. The automatic gearbox seems to be on a compromised design due to the small dimensions it has and if you are, as I do, hard in the gas pedal, the gearbox will suffer the effort, in particular if the transmission oil is "dirty" or burnt. At such point, the workshop will not be able to repair the unit.

Ask your garage how many they have already changed. For your information, you can change the unit by a factory refurbished w/warranty unit at half the price ( aprox 1500 plus handwork ), which is not far from the cost of the valve body.

Good luck!