1998 V70 T5 Flashing arrow & mode switches

[Conrad Birdie]

New to the front drive Volvos after years of owning rear drive - still have a 245 and 745 but picked up this T5 with higher mileage, 437,000 km to be exact. It is a West coast car so is rust free with mostly highway mileage. We are the third owner and the car had a good maintenance schedule. Anyway, I have been researching this problem and have come across the common PNP switch and valve body solenoid issues - in my case the flashing arrow is accompanied by the Sport and Economy console switches flashing orange alternately. The owner did mention that the car would only drive in Sport mode and mentioned a probable solenoid issue and when I drove the car back home on the highway it never really seemed to downshift going up some grades, it seemed to have no real problem maintaining speed although I never pushed the car just to be easy on it so I cannot say if it would really accelerate as a turbo equipped car should. The rpm pretty well stayed around 2000 rpm and the lock up did engage at just around 100 kmh. The problem I am mentioning only happened later on in the day when I took it out again while driving and it appeared to shift alright but perhaps a bit slower feeling. I have a feeling that the solenoids will have to be replaced but have not attempted to get the fault codes yet - I understand one can access them with a test light? I should have tried to let the car downshift to see if it would accelerate as it should just to see but regardless it did not feel snappy, rather linear as it gathered speed reasonably well, just never any real rpm considering it was in Sport mode.

[mecheng]

Change trans fluid, as the fluid is the power transfer mechanism. Quick and easy first step
Btw: I think you have the record for mileage on a s70 in this forum!

[Conrad Birdie]

mecheng - Thank you for the advice on the transmission fluid, I have not checked the condition and levels yet, the car was only driven that one day and has been sitting since last month, the previous owner mentioning it was changed two years ago but I do like to start at a known point with a used car and change all of the fluids. I may just tackle the solenoids if they turn out to be the issue and given the age and mileage it could even be harden seals - I believe there is a transmission filter as well? By the way, regarding the high mileage - kilometers in this case - I hope I do not have the honor, not that it is a bad thing! Anyone have any tips or suggestions on what else to do? I was going to have it gone over by a mechanic - engine compression, pcv system etc. but the car was reasonably well looked after with regular oil changes, in fact when I removed the oil filler cap it was extremely clean with absolutely no build up on the head or cams and looked like a new engine. It will need lower control arms and am thinking of some Bilstein hd shocks, IPD sway bars and chassis brace if the car turns out to be worth the effort. There is a '98 turbo engine with a new timing belt and pump with 190,000 km on it listed for 399.00 in the local Craigslist that might be worth grabbing for a spare.

[Ozark Lee]

Get the codes read, it could be something simple. The flashing arrow is triggered by an error being reported by the TCU and there are a myriad of things that can put it into limp mode. Without actual code numbers all you can do is guess. Standard P codes can often reveal a lot but a scan with something like VOL-FCR can get you better information and you can eliminate some guesswork.

...Lee

[Conrad Birdie]

I had the car battery disconnected for over a week and was checking under the driver's mat and found coolant had soaked the carpet and the underlay so looks like a heater core - easy to do though as I found out. Meanwhile I started the car and the flashing arrow etc. was gone and it is now operating normally although I could only drive it in the parking area it appears to go into third or first manually just fine with the arrow coming on as it should. The sSport mode switch is showing a steady orange indicator light.So who knows, it will almost assuredly come back at some point - I will change the transmission fluid which smelled alright and was not low when checked.

[Ozark Lee]

A common problem with the transmission that triggers the flashing up arrow and mode switch lights is the PNP switch. Normally that error will cause the car to operate in 3rd gear and it feels like you are dragging around a safe when you take off from a start and it never shifts into high gear on the highway. The associated problems are intermittent.

A quick and dirty test of the PNP switch is to see if you have reverse lights. No reverse lights is alway a sign that the switch is sticking or failing.

You can usually get the PNP switch to work again by rowing the shifter back and forth, quickly, from park to low gear a couple of dozen times. It is the kind of thing that continues to get worse and it will start to cause a no crank/no start condition. As the temperatures drop it tends to get worse.

...Lee

[Conrad Birdie]

Ozark Lee = I appreciate your input and advice! I did row through the shifter when checking on the issue earlier and it did not clear it at the time, when I drove it around the lot yesterday it went into reverse just fine with the backup lights functioning. I will be calling the shop that the previous owner used to find out what maintenance was done - the pcv test on checking the dipstick tube showed no issues and I know the car was serviced regularly, including the main fuel pump recently. Also need to have the a/c system checked and it was indicated as a problem inside the car - I am guessing the evaporator. Next up is an oil change - is there any recommendation on a higher mileage car like this? The vehicle had no owner's manual so I am checking the internet for information at this point.

[polskamafia mjl]

There are several threads on MVS regarding weight and quality. If you do a quick google search you should be able to find the various threads pretty quickly. Those will be much more helpful than any single reply you get in this thread.

As for the transmission, next time it goes into limp mode get the codes checked so you can start formulating a plan of attack to fix the problem.

[Ozark Lee]

This is a link to the US division of Volvo but you can get your owners manual here:

http://www.volvocars.com/us/top/yourvol ... fault.aspx

...Lee