can you change transmission fluid in 2016 Volvo XC60?

2003XC90 · Post by **2003XC90** » 25 Jul 2020, 08:36

Help! We need to change the transmission fluid on our 2016 XC60 with 75K. Owners manual and dealer says tranny is sealed and will last a "lifetime."
We would like to drive ours until the wheels fall off. The fluid needs to be changed.
Do you have a schematic anywhere showing any fill or drain plugs for this transmission? If we can siphon any out we can replace with fresh spec fluids. Thanks!

Post by **jimmy57** » 25 Jul 2020, 10:11

There is a drain plug on bottom. It is 17mm hex with a Torx 40 plug inside the 17mm hex. You have to remove the Torx to get a 17mm hex key into the plug. There is a TORX55 fill plug up top if you remove aircleaner box.
The drain plug has a tube on it when you remove it. The tube is the height of the warm fluid level when engine is idling in Park on level ground. Once you remove plug and it drains, reinstall plug plus the torx40 plug. The torx40 should be just snug as it will be removed again. Add one gallon through the hole on top where torx55 was removed and then reinstall that fill plug and tighten it. Run engine 10 minutes. During the ten minutes move gear lever to D and to R positions for 10 seconds or so in each position. Now with engine running remove the torx40 plug and allow all the fluid that will run out to drain. The fluid that drains is the fluid above the tube of drain plug. The gallon you added is an overfill of approximately one pint so expect about that much to drain. The 10 minutes of running will get you to over very close to the temp Volvo would have you monitor with VIDA or other scan tool in order to let overfill to drain out to get correct fluid level. Install the torx40 plug and refit air cleaner and belly pan and you are done. The fluid is known by a few names. Volvo calls it AW1. It is the lower viscosity revised version of their older JWS3309 fluid. Volvo considers AW1 as replacement for the JWS3309 in 6 speeds prior to the change in 11 and 12 to the low viscosity version in 6 speeds (TF80). Aisin WS is the Transmission manufacturer's version of this oil and is what Toyota moved to 8 or so years back. This fluid also goes by JWS3324 in some labeling. Volvo genuine fluid p/n 31256774 is approaching $20 per litre and the others are available for $7-8 per quart.

Post by **MoVolvos** » 25 Jul 2020, 12:31

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Post by **shiloh51933** » 03 Sep 2020, 06:26

2003XC90 wrote: ↑25 Jul 2020, 08:36 Help! We need to change the transmission fluid on our 2016 XC60 with 75K. Owners manual and dealer says tranny is sealed and will last a "lifetime."
We would like to drive ours until the wheels fall off. The fluid needs to be changed.
Do you have a schematic anywhere showing any fill or drain plugs for this transmission? If we can siphon any out we can replace with fresh spec fluids. Thanks!

BMW is making the same claim these days, I believe they don't want the DIYers to touch anything. How would they make money if everything lasted forever, so if it's not changed it will last long enough for warranty to run out. BMW dealership's won't change it for preventive maintenance reasons, only for repairs.

Post by **regent** » 08 Sep 2020, 13:58

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BMW is making the same claim these days...
[/quote]

Strongly agree to that statement.

All evidence gathered from working on BMW (e90, F30) and Volvo (S60 and XC60) points in favor of the fact that our cars' maintenance schedules are conjured by the Engineers but then subject to pre-publication review by some Accountant to ensure that the word 'lifetime' is generously included before final release...

I am about to change the 'lifetime' transmission fluid in the wife's XC60T5, (just got me a case of 12 qts Aisin WS from Rock Auto)...

The lifetime power steering fluid in this car does not look too ugly yet but I am changing it as well. Pentosin CHF202 from FCP that is.
Also did the lifetime brake fluid while replacing the rear rotors and pads a couple months ago, and I am glad I did