My first Volvo, 2005 V70. P0811 clutch slippage excessive

[johnschnupp]

Hello, Hopefully posting this in the correct section. Picked up my first Volvo a couple weeks ago, a 2005 V70 with 162,000 miles. It replaced a blown 2004 Subaru Impreza with 216,000 miles and too much rust and other issues. I was very impressed with how well the body of the car has held up. On my test drive I did not notice any issues with steering or transmission...however, since then I have noticed that once fully up to temp the automatic transmission is having difficulty shifting 1-2 and 2-3, once in 3rd or higher transmission seems great and I have no issues at highway/interstate speeds.

I've spent a lot of time reading in MVS and am picking up some 3309 tranny fluid and am going to have my mechanic do the drain and fill option (v. the full flush). In the mean time, I have found that if I am gentle and keep below 2,000RPM when accelerating from a stop it seems to shift better. Since it's a 2005 I know it does not have the stop-neutral software. My real concern is that the other day I got a CEL and transmission service required and the tranny went into "limp" mode. I checked the codes with my OBDII reader and the concern is P0811 clutch slippage excessive, it's especially concerning to me because it's an automatic. I have not seen much on this code in MVS. There was one reply that indicated it was pretty much a death code. I can't get in to the shop until next week. I've cleared the code and will monitor shifting/tranny closely. Hoping this does not turn out to be a $3,000 mistake.

John Schnupp, N3CNL
1995 Sportster XLH 1200 +106,000
2004 Subaru Impreza RS +216,000 RIP
2005 Volvo V70 +162,000
2013 Ford Focus +75,000
Georgia, VT