2006 XC-70 Transmission Case Oil Seep

[altalake]

Looking for advice on a possible ’06 XC70 with under 100,000 miles purchase.
(Right now I have a rare (for NA) ’01 V70 T5 manual 5 speed. Great car but not good for logging roads.)
Re: The 5 speed automatic. Did they have the bugs mostly worked out of these automatic transmissions by 2006 or were they still prone to sudden failure? The mechanic’s report noted an “oil seep” at the transmission case seam but felt this was not a big deal.
The angle gear & driveshaft have been replaced.
Regular oil changes at 6,000km with non-synthetic oil.
Xenon headlights, Four-C shocks - things I don’t really want.
Are these cars trouble or what? Thanks.

[Rattnalle]

The xenons are brilliant (pun intended), the only drawback is you won't want to be without them in the future.

Oil at the seam between transmission and engine could be a symptom of pressure in the crankcase. Do you know if the pcv has been checked/replaced?
The transmission should be fine if it drives well now, just change the fluid if that hasn't been done recently.

A thought though. New stock non T5 springs will give you a decent ride height on you current car, if that's the issue you're having.

[altalake]

Thanks. No issues yet because I haven't bought the car - but I'm concerned about the cost of servicing the suspension. Cheapest price I've seen on those shocks is $325USD each at Vivaperformance.com - list price almost triple that here in CDN dollars - and that's each. But if they last a really long time maybe that's not so bad.

[Rattnalle]

I meant if the ride height was the reason for looking at the XC over your current car.

The 4C is something I don't really see the point of personally on a car like this and I assume they wear like any other shock. This if anything is what I might avoid although I don't have any actual experience with them. Hopefully someone who has will chime in.

[abscate]

Transmissions are solid after the 2001 (corrected to read 2001-2002), you can read the sticky (link below) to get the exact models/transmission codes for peace of mind

Unless you do the work yourself plan on 15-20 cent per mile to run,after spending $2-3000 on repairs to the clunker you just bought, even when it looks perfect. It's a luxury brand with high end, quality parts, like those shocks

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=75828

[precopster]

Not so solid in 2002 Steve . The improvements were mostly implemented in 2003.

I know as I own a 2002 XC70 and so do many more unfortunate souls wrestling with these transmissions.