S80 99 Service transmission light (warning)

Mr Craig · Post by **Mr Craig** » 08 Oct 2009, 08:17

My service trans light came on with 160k on my car and I changed the fluid and filter and would like the light to go away. The Trans works great, always has. When I called the dealership before I did the work they said I didn't need to change the fluid (life time fluid?) but needed a soft-ware upgrade for 160$. My thinking was they wanted good money just to reset the light, After reading the form I'm glad I changed the fluid and filter. Also after reading the form I see I should have used Dextron 3. The auto parts store told me it used a multi-import fluid and that’s what I used. Should I drain the fluid and put in dextron?
You guys are great; I wish I would have found you sooner.
1999 S80 2.9

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 08 Oct 2009, 10:14

If the software upgrade is to eliminate the "shift to neutral at every stop feature" it should be free since it's a recall item. You can try calling the national Volvo number to confirm. I've receive two letters from Volvo about it but haven't done it yet since my car runs fine and I don't want them to mess anything else up while they have the car.

If the fluid you put in there meets Dexron III specs you should be OK leaving it in. If not, I'd change it to Dexron III, Dexron VI (the new replacement for Dexron III), or Mobil Synthetic ATF (meets Dexron III specs but is synthetic) if you can afford it (costs about $9 a quart). Some of the import fluids have friction modifiers that you don't want in your transmission.