[ucs308]

I have a Volvo XC V70 2001. We have had nothing but trouble with this car since we bought it. It has been the most expensive car I have ever owned in terms of servicing.

The Volvo has done 110K miles and I was told today that I might need to have a new transmission. Quite simply the car tends to sputter/hesitate when cruising at a constant speed. There is no deflection in the tach. The technicians have said we need to clean the throttle body (150USD) and flush the transmission fluid (300USD) which apparently has never been done even though this car has been serviced in accordance with Volvo's guidelines, which apparently do not include changing the Transmission fluid. Which reminds me. Next time I buy a car I would like a servicing guide from the manufacturer and another marked "the real technicians guide to servicing your car." It would be the latter I would follow. But if these two items don't fix it, and they suspect it might not, then I would, like a lot of others before me, need a new transmission.

I don't mind paying for proper servicing and I understand that things go wrong. But the issues for this car have been so many and so varied. I have in the past tried to get Volvo to admit they have significant issues with these cars and was essentially told to go away. Yet if you take your blinders off and research Volvo's before you buy you will find so many people with similar issues all being ignored.

Well if you own a XC change the transmission fluid. Somebody else can recommend the frequency but make sure you change it, don't trust the dealer to tell you when it needs doing.
Every time you get a bulb failure report it. Man the bulbs in these things blow almost monthly.
Complain about the rotors warping constantly.
And replace your cars before the Warranty runs out.

Quite simply I think Ford should know what is going with the Volvo line. And hopefully will work to get things fixed. I was looking at buying an S80, and XC90 T5, but I am now seriously considering Toyota's.

 

[Tech]

Sorry to hear about the poor customer service you encountered.Yes there is problems with the transmissions in these car.General Motors has not been able to figure them out yet and niether has Volvo.According to Volvo the transmission fluid SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE REPLACED.I think that is a bunch of B*** S***.I think you got one of the really bad ones.I have seen them with 200,000 miles and never any transmission problems.Has all the software in your car been upgraded lately?Some of the transmission issues can be fixed with software.

Yes I hope FORD goes in there and cleans house and straightning everything out and making all the customers happy.

 

[SYS]

Do you think Volvo has fixed such problems with the later models? Or am I going to be faced with the similar problems with my 2005 Volvo in about the time the warranty runs out or shortly thereafter?

 

[Tech]

I believe they have them all straightened out for the 2005 model year.

 

[ucs308]

No. Not from what I have seen. The problems have not been sorted out. Volvo continues to tell each person that requires a new transmission that they are unique. But on the day I picked my car up after the recent problems i had with my transmission, the repair shop were delivering two Volvos to their owners each with a new tranmission.

I looked at several of the consumer mags here in the US and they all rate the Volvo XC reliabaility as poor. To me this is good news. At least I know from my own experience that the mags have it at least somewhat right.

My advice would be not to hold onto your Volvo beyond the warranty period.

 

[ucs308]

Volvo has now accepted that there is a fault with the Throttle Control module and have said they will pay for any work done to repair one and repair a module that has not yet been replaced. You should have received mail from Volvo if you are the registered own of an affected vehicle.

 

[carlson]

Recently, with just 2,000 miles left on my 100K warranty, volvo finally relented and replaced my transmission. (I have a01 v70 t5. ) after downloading the $180 computer patch and still experiencing "shift flares" (new word that i learned from volvo), very hard down shifting, and other associated problems like very hard delayed upshifting when starting from stop I had enough. Very nicely mentioned to my dealer that I would stand outside of the auto row intersection with a sign till my "problem was solved". Bingo. Problem resolved. Also learned that when the v70 comes to a stop while in gear, the computer tells the transmission to go into neutral. As soon as you step on the gas the computer should move the car "into gear" very smoothly. Well the smooth shift become a loud thump which you could feel throughout the car. And yes Volvo service writers made it seem like I was the only one in the world with this problem.

Also Thank you big time. I did not know that volvo extended the trottle warrantly. I have had my trottle contact points "cleaned" twice. just " waiting" for it to fail. hopefully If (when) it does I will be in safe situation. I will not let my wife drive the car on the freeway
Good luck... art

 

[dariusz.brzozowski]

I got to this forum just tonight. And I am astonished about how numerous the problems with transmission are.
Just two hours ago I got the message "Engine system service required".
Is it any serious? My Volvo garage told me to exchange the whole transmission ($5,000 in Poland) I ignored that. What to do?
Looking for advise from drivers, who ezperienced the same.

 

[cordygreen]

Do the 2003 xc70 wagons need the upgrade also? I'm not having any problems, but will have the upgraded done if need be.

Thx,

Joe

 

[Danka 1]

I have a 2003 XC 70 with 142 K and I never had problems with transmission.
On top of the transmission there is a label which says "Made in japan" and that could be the reason.

 

[ucs308]

These are known problems with the 1999-2001 model line. Maybe a year either side of that.

 

[nikolay]

Hello, Tech!
I am form Russia, Moscow.

You mentioned that there can be problems with transmission due to software. Could you help me? In particular: for which units of the transmission software can/should be updated? Is it common programme installed or separately for different units.
It seems that on my car throttle position sensor works incorrectly. At a service station they say it may be helpful to update the software for throttle position sensor. Do you think updating is really useful or not for this unit? Did you do it on your car? If yes, were there any positive, significant results?

At the same time, I investigateted the throttle position sensor form WV (Skoda Octavia) - it has quite similar construction. There were just broken contacts - no relationship with software...
So, I am not sure: what is more probably can be wrong - software or sensor?

P.S.
As soon as warm weather in Moscow, Russia will establish, within 6 month, I am going to remove the throttle body to have a look at it and the contacts...