02 V70 AWD/FWD Generic Tranny Question

[rmmagow]

I see a lot of 01- V70's for sale with comment like, Transmission slips a little, probably computer, solenoid stuck etc etc. Generally these ads are either private owners or flip type dealers.
Are the transmissions really all that bad or will many respond to a good flush with 3309 fluid and maybe a solenoid replaced? How fragile are these trannys? My 98 responded well to a flush, but that is the 4 speed and I think semi-bulletproof anyway.
I'm looking at a 2002, a 2005 and 2006 all with supposed tranny problems, around 160~200K but look pretty good otherwise. My plan is to drive them and make a very lowball offer on one or two of them and fix the transmissions unless there really are deep seated problems that would generally force a tranny to be replaced. I'm not capable of actually pulling and rebuilding a trans myself but I can flush and fill with the best of them. Solenoid(s) is only marginally more difficult, but I'm thinking I can handle that too.

[benrk]

From my understanding it is important how long those minor issues have persisted & how hard the vehicle was driven, as rough or slipping shifts do wear mechanical parts over time.
In the end you can only go by trial & error, if you flush or replace solenoids & it shifts fine after, you got lucky, but even transmissions with some stronger mechanical wear can last a long time with good fluid & gentle driving.

[volvofl]

From my understanding it also has to do with the original software that ran these transmissions. It had the stop neutral feature that when the car stopped at a light it would put the transmission in neutral. It was a disaster to say the least. JRL has a strong opinion about all of this and has written pretty extensively about it as well. That being said, I had a 2002 that had 150k miles and was working well until we sold it last year.

[vtl]

I had a very positive experience with valve body replacement on 2002 V70 (built on 11/01). Hopefully, with all the mods (additional ATF cooler, inline filter, fresh ATF every year) it will run few more years. But, generally, stay away from 2001-2002.

My 2005 XC70 developed a slight 2-3 kick when ATF is cold, but the car is mostly a highway runner, so I don't care that much about the glitch. The car has all my love and same transmission mods as V70 has.

Solenoids job is doable, but it is a PITA to open valve body cover, so do spend few more hundreds and replace the whole valve body. In my case the culprit was the worn valve body, I had to open darn cover twice for solenoids replacement (new, then back to old ones) before taking care of the VB.

[JRL]

Most 01s and many 02 transmissions are bad for the reasons already stated
Now they ALL have high miles and if actually running are hanging on by a thread or were already repaired and the software removed early