2009 XC90 Tranmission Service Urgent

[mrbrian200]

I might fly with the fluid flush too - I agree if it looks ok it's been changed, and may not be spec. If the viscosity is a little lower I would expect to see more trouble as the weather warms up for spring. Quickie oil change places that offer this service are sort of notorious for not wanting to stock 20+ different OE spec/AT model specific fluids and will throw a multi 'compatible' fluid with results that can vary.

[SuperHerman]

Additional thoughts. First I would NOT do an external powered fluid flush. Had this done on my Lexus a number of years ago and a few days later the transmission failed. Many have had the same issue. Now a flush using the transmission's oil pump is fine. Fully agree with this approach. Here is the tough call - if the transmission fails after the flush what ownership does the shop have? Right now you have a faulty transmission - tying the flush to the failure is tough. It could be related and it might not be. Basically you are on the hook. But, such a failure would be the valve body, which you are, from the appearance of things, going to have to service in some manner. Although you will be spending money on a service which may not provide results, but the fluid can be reused.

Dropping the transmission oil pan would be best practice, but this could cost some additional money which may not be warranted at this point. A careful examination of all the fluid that comes out and the magnet on the drain plug is imperative to see if there are signs of internal hard part damages. A good shop will be able to make a 95% accurate call here, but they have to be looking for it. As some stated you could have low fluid or incorrect fluid which putting the right type and amount could resolve your problems. Still you are throwing good money at the wrong problem.

What really has to be done is the car has to be hooked up to a computer and monitored carefully. When and how the solenoids are firing will tell the shop what is wrong. If you have leaks in the valve bores, a good shop will see this on their computer. As one poster mentioned the solenoids are working - otherwise there would be a hard code stating one or more are not. The solenoids could be sticking, starting to fail, or not able to perform correctly because of leakage. This should show up on their computers. (I say this because I have watched countless videos on shops performing these tests and showing and interpreting the data.)

After extensive testing and review of the data it makes sense to throw new fluid, drop pan, rebuild valve body, and/or replace solenoids makes sense. Doing anything before this is going to cause duplication of work and add to costs.

Last item, for VIDA one can just buy an old laptop for under $100 and build your Volvo VIDA computer off it. That is what I did, although I had an old Dell sitting around which I put a $30 SDD in and installed the software, running Windows 10. It is plenty fast for the single application. You can even use an XP based laptop as after the software is installed and set up it will not access the internet (at least mine don't) so security is not an issue.

[shiloh51933]

Throwing money at problems rarely fixes anything properly, example; our government throws money at problems and rarely does this resolve issues properly. Unfortunately if your automotivly illiterate you will get ripped off time and time again. I would first try a drain and fill a couple times even if I didn't have access to VIDA. Anyone can do a drain/fill, then go from there. There's plenty of assistance on this website, some of the members here know more about Volvo than most Indy techs will ever know.

[matthew1]

I called him back and I'm having him do a drain and fill flush of the transmission fluid and then monitor it to see how it's performing. This mechanic shop only uses Volvo fluid so I know the right stuff will be put in.

rp2005, what's the resolution, or non-resolution of this?

[rp2005]

I called him back and I'm having him do a drain and fill flush of the transmission fluid and then monitor it to see how it's performing. This mechanic shop only uses Volvo fluid so I know the right stuff will be put in.

rp2005, what's the resolution, or non-resolution of this?

Sorry completely forgot to get back to the forum with an update. I ended up paying a shop to replace the Valve Body. I looked around in my are for a transmission place and couldn't find any with great reviews so while replacing the Valve Body was expensive, it seemed like the best option for the long haul. The car has been running phenomenal since making the swap so I feel good about that decision.

On a separate note, the blower motor/resistor went out on this car and a shop quoted me at $1500 to replace since they said it required removing the dash. I ended up buying replacement parts online for a few hundred and doing it myself without removing the dash. I feel pretty good about that. I also bought a VIDA DICE control module off eBay so now I should be better equipped to diagnose and fix issues going forward.

Really appreciate everyone's help on this. It was quite the roller coaster ride.