2008 S60 2.5T - Known transmission problems?

[zanzabar]

Was the car level hot and idle with the transmission in P? As above, search about replacing the fluid - is it the geartronic or the 5 speed auto? Careful not to remove the wrong 'drain plug'. Fluid level is not easy to measure properly, just look around about tips on the subject.

The car had been just sitting for about 2 days when I checked. I didn't realize it needed to be warm and idling to get a proper measurement.

FIRST - measure it properly: engine up to temp, on perfectly level ground, after a drive DO NOT shut the engine off, keep it in P, engine at idle, then pull the dipstick and take a couple measurements to see where the level actually is. T

The measurement you took earlier is meaningless.

I concur with a drain and fill. This should be done every 30k miles or so depending on how hard your drive cycle is.

[Rattnalle]

40k is the interval for hard driving according to Volvo. Here this applied mostly to taxies and police cars.

As a normal driver doing it at all is a huge improvement even if you do it with longer intervals.

[mrbrian200]

I used Toyota T-IV from the local Toyota dealer @ $5.38/qt.

[vtl]

New/refurb valve body solved similar problem on 02 V70 and did not solve on 05 XC70. Because your MY has good VB with all fixes it may be a mechanical problem in transmission itself. Could be a slack in differential or partially stripped collar sleeve too.

[mrbrian200]

If the issues are primarily due to old fluid (viscosity and additive breakdown, particulate contamination interfering with solenoid/valve body function), a single drain/fill of about 3.5 quarts should result in a measurable improvement.

Do 1 drain and fill, after some initial moderate hiccups that might be expected while the TCM adapts to the modified fluid properties, if it doesn't settle down into a consistently better pattern of behavior then I would lean more toward a mechanical or valve body issue. At which point you'll want enlist an expert diagnosis in person to nail down exactly what it is. If a full rebuild is necessary every ounce of fluid inside the trans will be replaced new as part of the process and it doesn't make sense to spend $80-100+ on all new fluid now not if it's not going to correct the issue. For now, spend $20-25 to perform 1 drain/fill as a 'diagnostic aid'.
And visually inspect your engine/transmission mounts.

[JRL]

Yes, 3309 or Toyota Type 4 and you check when the fluid is HOT, not warm
At least 30 minutes of running then you check the hot (level) line

[precopster]

Sounds EXACTLY like the symptoms I had recently in my 2001 V70 T5 with Geartronic......the symptoms got worse then the internal filter TOTALLY blocked causing no forward or rearward motion. I had already done a drain and fill and was obviously too late. Eventually it totally failed and had to get it towed home. Prior to total failure I could hear the transmission pump whining at idle and during driving due to partial starvation of fluid.
The feeling of the transmission engaging to 1st gear is that the filter has lowered the fluid pressure so much that you require about 1,100 revs for any engagement especially when it's hot.

The good news is I repaired it by knocking out that ridiculous internal filter by drilling a carefully located hole in the casing and thrusting a steel rod up there to perforate the filter. I use an inline Magnefine filter placed on the cooling hose now. Check my recent posts for details. Page 6 of that thread shows the hole location. Costs almost nothing compared to a rebuilt transmission (about $250 in parts).

I had a crashing 1-2 shift and harsh downshifts from3-2 & 2-1. I can now say that after 1,500kms of driving it is perfect. NO bad shifts at all. I let the TCM adapt to the greater fluid pressure.

[MOZKNBBUHD]

Once I measured the level properly it was just fine, but I did a drain and fill anyways. It seemed to help a bit, so I'll drive for a while and do another. It wasn't bad in the first place (don't know if I made it sound like it was) it was just a tiny muffled thump feeling.