2001 S80 transmission not engaging

rey619 · Post by **rey619** » 24 Jan 2012, 23:39

I recently bought a 2001 Volvo S80 2.9 auto. with 130k miles. It had been running fine, once or twice the RPM's would rise without the car getting any power at about 40 to 50mph but then would run and pick up just fine. I was on the freeway the other night and while going 70mph the RPM's rose almost to the red line so i let go of the gas and when i pressed the pedal again it wouldn't pick up speed and the RPM's would rise once more. I pulled over safely and before shutting the engine off, checked underneath for any tranny leaks which there was none. I checked the tranny dipstick and fluid looked red in color and smelled a little burned. It was at correct markings as well.

I went back into the car and tried shifting to Drive but car wasn't engaging, nor into any lower gears or Reverse. I turned the engine off then back on and it turned on just fine but still didn't engage gears. I purchased myself an Actron OBD reader. It gave out the following codes. (P1111)Ambient Air Temp , (P1174)Fuel Adaption, Bank 1, and (P1184) Fuel Adaption, Bank 2. I've been reading about these codes and can't imagine that they would cause the transmission to lose control connectivity then again I'm very limited to my car knowledge. Also no transmission codes came up. I changed the tranny oil and filter and also cleaned out the throttle body today, I plugged my OBD tester and this time no error codes came up. I've never dealt with a situation like this, what troubleshooting steps do you recommend, could the tranny solenoids be causing this since the gears won't engage at all.

This turned out to be lengthy and I apologize. I'll try to better word next time. I appreciate any assistance or advice you guys can provide me with.

Post by **jblackburn** » 25 Jan 2012, 07:53

A generic OBD scan tool will not read transmission codes on a Volvo. Those codes can only be read by a Volvo Scan Tool or software - which means probably having it towed to a dealer.

I'm not sure if this issue IS just solenoids - it sounds like a total failure inside the transmission somewhere.

rey619 · Post by **rey619** » 25 Jan 2012, 10:20

Thank you sir I appreciate your advice. From reading on here I know these trannys aren't the best, I was trying to be optimistic but its a long shot when its a 2001 S80.

Post by **jblackburn** » 25 Jan 2012, 10:25

If it's not a T6 (just a regular 2.9), the transmissions aren't complete junk. In that case, I'd just replace it with a used one. Shop around for estimates to have it installed.

Oh and please, don't go to an AAMCO. They're...ugh...

rey619 · Post by **rey619** » 25 Jan 2012, 11:01

Will do sir, just incase it's something else I'll keep this updated. Thanks again.