01' XC70 Shifting issue comes and goes

jklnhyde · Post by **jklnhyde** » 01 Feb 2015, 18:46

I've read just about all the posts regarding the transmission shift flares, sticky solenoids and the such. I purchased my XC knowing the risks, but for the first few weeks I never experienced anything out of the ordinary. I know the stop-neutral feature is still active; I did change the fluid twice in 1000 miles, and the B4 swap went without a hitch.
My daily drive is 12 miles of 60-80mph wide open freeway with only about 1 mile on each end of quick side roads--no stop and go, nor idling. Yeah, unbeleavable. Anyway last week I had to sit at a drive-through longer than planned and hit some traffic on my way home; guess what? 3-2 downshift flare from that point until I parked the car at home.
Now open road driving with little to no idle/traffic and the tranny is working perfect, but the moment I let it idle for a while, it downshifts hard. How is this possible? Is it heat related? The temp needle sits in the center all the time--no spikes. Shouldn't the tranny be hotter after a good freeway romp anyway? What would heat have to do with downshift-slamming into 2nd gear? I'm confused...

BTW, anyone in the Durham NC area that can do the tranny reset/counter/stop-neutral fix and NOT charge $250?
Rick

Post by **precopster** » 02 Feb 2015, 00:19

Heat from the engine block is easily transferred directly into the transmission casing. After all they ARE bolted to each other with a very large surface area. When cruising the coolant is colder and so is the ATF flowing through the radiator cooler.....

You will probably have cooler ATF even with a couple of hard kick downs at cruising speed for passing than you would when sitting still in a traffic jam.

The needle sits in the middle over a roughly 20-25deg F range with hardly any movement at all.

Traffic kills engines AND transmissions.

jklnhyde · Post by **jklnhyde** » 04 Feb 2015, 16:29

Well,I guess I'll just have to live with the issue or just drive open roads!!

Post by **vtl** » 04 Feb 2015, 22:15

Extra ATF cooler may help.

Post by **precopster** » 05 Feb 2015, 06:17

vtl wrote:Extra ATF cooler may help.

True very few have tried this however the few who have always report good results. The built-in ATF cooler is inefficient and too closely tied to the temperature of the engine block/coolant.

Post by **JRL** » 05 Feb 2015, 06:42

You have read to REMOVE the Stop Neutral software and you should do that ASAP.
Every time that shifts it's doing damage

jklnhyde · Post by **jklnhyde** » 09 Feb 2015, 06:06

Yes, I know. I'll have to visit my Indy ad get it done...

Post by **chrism** » 09 Feb 2015, 08:29

What type of ATF did you use when changing the fluid?

Post by **regent** » 09 Feb 2015, 08:56

JRL wrote:...REMOVE the Stop Neutral ...ASAP...

Very true. Also, do not forget to ask the indie guys to put the TCM in 'adaptation mode' after updating your firmware, and then leave it running for you to complete the routine.

Post by **xHeart** » 09 Feb 2015, 13:10

vtl wrote:Extra ATF cooler may help.

Or move to somewhere it is always cold with open roads. Lol.

I will call Volvo dealership for the history of software update with your VIN first...before Indy.