2004 S80 Transmission Service Light-ECU/Computer replacement

[bremic]

Dad has 04 S80 T6 with 213k on the clock, best car he has ever owned.

Two weeks ago in the cold (-10 air temp) the transmission service urgent light went on while 300 miles from the closest dealer in MN. Transmission was fine and shifted with no issues, so drove it to the dealer where they diagnosed a computer issue saying the transmission is fine (after doing a complete diagnostic.) They ran the updates on the computer/ECU since it was still running original firmware. They said that sometimes the computer can 'deprogram' itself on older cars as they age (haven't really heard of this before.)

So today (-23 this morning) the transmission service urgent light went on and car wouldn't shift out of 3rd. 1,2,3 working fine but not above that.

Called the dealer and they think a complete computer replacement is in order for over $4k. Funny how computer or transmission are both in the $4k range.

Of course we are not going to put much money into the car. The transmission issues are well known on the higher mileage S80's but has anyone ever heard of the computer system going bad and losing it's programming? Wire rot? Can a donor computer work? (guessing no.) Take it somewhere else for diagnosis? Does it have any value as-is?

Thanks!

[precopster]

Buy a Vida/Dice system (actually you only need the Dice) and contact MVS user doublebug. He can reprogram used computers to suit your car for a fraction of the cost. All you need is a reliable internet connection, a computer removal tool (IPD USA sell them) and some used computers called ECM and TCM.