Early P2 2.5T Transmission issues vs later MY

Post by **seggs** » 19 Nov 2024, 20:37

I have owned ‘03, 04,05, & 09 MY 2.5T P2 Volvos with no transmission problems up to 220k mi(sold it at that point). This is probably attributed to the good guidance I received from this site about keeping ATF fluid fresh.
My 16 year old daughter needs a dependable vehicle to drive, so naturally I’m interested in another Volvo. Tough to find P2s anymore that aren’t loaded up with miles.
I did find an 01 V70XC that checks a lot of boxes…original owner, good maintenance, clean, etc. Anyway, I hear nothing but bad things about 01s & 02s trans. Are those years different transmissions than later? What accounts for their higher failure rates?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

lrock · Post by **lrock** » 19 Nov 2024, 21:09

seggs wrote: ↑19 Nov 2024, 20:37 Are those years different transmissions than later? What accounts for their higher failure rates?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

B5244T3 engine is a 2.4 Liter, 3rd and 4th digit of the engine code. The 2.5 liters come along in 2003. AW50/51 AWD transmission with a viscous coupling to the rear wheels via the prop shaft that is prone to permanent lockup under a number of conditions, replaced by the Haldex in 2003. There's things you can do to check it if you can get all 4 wheels off the ground and able to spin. Read it on this forum somewhere. the VC is the fail point, ive heard of people just disconnecting the prop shaft and driving it FWD only, it's 95/5 split on power normally between front and back anyway.
2003-2007 use the same transmission, unless it's a 2004 manual, then it's an M58

Post by **seggs** » 19 Nov 2024, 22:38

Ah! Now that makes sense! I knew the awd system changed, but never made the connection.
Thank you!

Post by **BlackBart** » 20 Nov 2024, 12:31

But the 01 / 02 transmission problem is a different issue. Other members here will know the technical details of why.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 20 Nov 2024, 15:28

I have owned a 2001 V70 T5 with the 5 speed automatic for 60K miles. It now has 215K and had a rebuilt transmission at about 165K miles. Most people suggest having the original transmission software updated to remove the 'feature' that shifts to neutral while stopped in drive. I do not have this update.
In any case, it seems the best care for this transmission is complete refresh of the Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) about every 50K miles. The original factory recommendation was the ATF was good for the life of the car. Later, better informed advice was to replace the ATF much sooner. Many on MVS have had good success with refreshing the ATF and getting 200K or more miles from the transmission.
If the 2001 V70XC has good maintenance, including ATF changes, then I would not be afraid of a 2001 model.
volvolugnut

Post by **seggs** » 20 Nov 2024, 17:26

Volvolugnut
Good to hear the ‘01s still get decent longevity even without the software update. Just to be clear, did you do your trans flushes every 50k on that vehicle?

Post by **firstv70volvo** » 20 Nov 2024, 17:53

seggs wrote: ↑19 Nov 2024, 20:37 I have owned ‘03, 04,05, & 09 MY 2.5T P2 Volvos with no transmission problems up to 220k mi(sold it at that point). This is probably attributed to the good guidance I received from this site about keeping ATF fluid fresh.
My 16 year old daughter needs a dependable vehicle to drive, so naturally I’m interested in another Volvo. Tough to find P2s anymore that aren’t loaded up with miles.
I did find an 01 V70XC that checks a lot of boxes…original owner, good maintenance, clean, etc. Anyway, I hear nothing but bad things about 01s & 02s trans. Are those years different transmissions than later? What accounts for their higher failure rates?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

The history of my 2001 V70 T5 was the transmission started to have problems with hard and delayed shifting as early as 30K (original owner) miles and the original owner replaced the transmission around 75K when the transmission was completely burnt up and it was at his expense. I purchased the car with about 80K miles and started to get delayed and hard bang garage shifts around 175K and I replaced the valve body, which totally fixed the problem and I found a sticking linear solenoid in the valve body.
In my opinion there was a problem with sticking linear solenoids and if left unchecked the delayed, hard shifts significantly shortened the life of the transmission. Early on it may have been Aisin, Volvo and the dealers didn't know the exact cause of the valve body sticking solenoids issue and didn't repair the cars in time or at all so many transmissions failed early. Not necessarily a design issue more of an issue with faulty parts that took some time to diagnose correctly.
My advice would be to check the history of the transmission shift quality and if there were any problems find out if repairs were done at the first sign of any problems. Even if the car was well cared for with trans fluid changes the sticking solenoids issue can still result in a transmission with a short life. The sticking solenoids can't be prevented or fixed with fluid changes, the was a coating they used on the bushings in the solenoids that would swell over time and cause binding problems and more so at higher temperatures.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 20 Nov 2024, 19:53

seggs wrote: ↑20 Nov 2024, 17:26 Volvolugnut
Good to hear the ‘01s still get decent longevity even without the software update. Just to be clear, did you do your trans flushes every 50k on that vehicle?

I don't know the history before I purchased at about 150K miles. I had solenoids replaced at about 155 K and then replaced the trans with a rebuilt one at about 165K. I did a series of drain and refills at about 209K after getting hard shifts and transmission service required warnings.
I did not treat the transmission well, but have learned from my mistakes.
volvolugnut

Post by **vtl** » 20 Nov 2024, 20:21

Early AW55 are mechanically weaker than later ones. Around 2003 Aisin ironed out most of bugs, hardware is better in those transmissions. Plus Volvo had auto-neutral feature on these early transmission, which was not doing any good for its survivability.

Post by **scot850** » 20 Nov 2024, 23:43

As stated, the 2 main issues were Volvo told owners the trans were 'sealed for life' so no need to change the trans fluid. Now they recommend every 50k miles. The 2nd issue was the auto-neutral as vtl mentioned above. The auto-neutral had a software update to remove it to stop issues with it. Now whether owners ever had it done I don't know.

Neil.