2004 S60 AWD Trans acting weird

Ritsco · Post by **Ritsco** » 25 Mar 2014, 15:44

Hi All,

My wifes Volvo gave her some grief today. It has 170,000 miles on her. The Service Transmission message came on. Got home and took my Scan Guage II out and checked the codes (yeah, not a great reader, but it works sometimes). I got three codes: a 0000, a P2177 and a P0700.

I checked them out and it looks like the P2177 is fuel system related.

The P0700 code looks like either a faulty or missing signal to the TCM. Anyone have an idea of what could be the issue. I am in Groton CT, so if anyone knows of a reliable place to take the car to get looked at, I would appreciate any suggestions. I can't afford to get ripped off.

Thanks !

Post by **regent** » 25 Mar 2014, 16:32

It is best to read the car with VIDA; you can find an indie that has the equipment or you can pay the Stealership around $90. There are proprietary Volvo codes that remain obscure to the generic readers.

If you can post back with the codes, then we can try to analyse. Other than that the Service Transmission msg could be triggered by anything from 'burnt' transmission fluid to a loose connection to a combination of those. The P2177 is lean idle (probably due to a vacuum leak if no performance issues otherwise)

Did the car have any performance issues at all (like hard shifts or lack of acceleration)? How many miles on the clock; has the trans fluid ever been changed?

Ritsco · Post by **Ritsco** » 25 Mar 2014, 19:27

Just checked again and the mileage is 160,000. Wife said she thought it made a clunk when she was driving down the highway. She looked down and the "electronic" gear indicator, in the gauge cluster where the clock and temp read out, didn't show anything but a dash. She did say she didn't notice anything unusual performance wise. She also said she is unsure that the noise actually came from the transmission.

My only indication is that P0700 fault code and the electronic message saying "Service Transmission".

Post by **regent** » 26 Mar 2014, 07:06

At 160K your transmission fluid is way, way past due.
You will still need to have the car scanned with VIDA in order to see all the codes. I would not advise any 'trial and error' methods or 'guessing' without having the codes first.
Thanks

Ritsco · Post by **Ritsco** » 27 Mar 2014, 16:42

At the shop now. They tried to do a "reflash" of the computer, but nothing happened. They found that the network in the car wasn't communicating. They said the trans was acting up because of that and the car went into limp mode. They are installing a new CMU (?). Once that is done they will do a "reflash" and see what happens. They said there was still a "hard code" in trans, but they said it may clear after the do the CMU. I have my fingers crossed.

Oh, I have already done a complete flush of the trans, for the second time and used the correct 3309 fluid.

Ritsco · Post by **Ritsco** » 28 Mar 2014, 16:39

OK, got the car back. The shop successfully replaced the main computer, loaded new software, fired her up and got some codes. One was a transmission code, they clear it prior to the test drive and the other was a MAF. They test drove it for over an hour the first time, with the old MAF (to see if it was something else. Then, after clearing the code and changing out the MAF, the tech took it for another long drive. And yes, I specifically asked them to take a long drive, with me paying for the time, to make sure all was OK.

Bottom line is that apparently it was the main computer that caused the trans to malfunction. After all the work, the car seems even better than before and I consider ourselves lucky. Time will tell, but I have my fingers crossed.

And for information purposes, it broke down to $1650 for the repairs. This included a new computer, a MAF and a few other odds and ends (even a set of new wiper blades for the headlight wipers). The shop was great, didn't BS me and I think I got a very fair deal. They appear to be very customer oriented.

The shop was EuroCars in Groton CT. They were great.

Thanks !