Transmission failure 1998 V70 XC

V0v0man2907 · Post by **V0v0man2907** » 09 Nov 2021, 04:26

I newley bought a 1998 V70 XC AWD with automatic transmission. The transmission works completly fine when cold, but it seems to get to a point where it is to warm and it needs aprox. 2500rpm to even move in 1st gear.

The day i bought it, i was driving aprox. 20 minutes before the problem started. Then i came to a steep hill and i used the cruise controll. After 3 minutes in the hill, the car suddenly shifted to a lower gear and revved up to 4500rpm. After that, on the same ride, it would not shift gears properly, and when trying to park by shifting from "D" to "R", it makes a knocking sound and the car shakes(only in the moment i shift). When i started it the next day, the transmission works completly fine, but after a 40min drive and a steep slope, it began bugging again. The dont think the transmission has been flushed in the last 120 000km. Does someone have any experience with this?

Some amateur thoughts:

- Does it have to do with the solenoids?
- It the TCM broke? and if: Is it possible to buy a new TCM module and Change it without taking the tranny og engine out?
- Is the Transmission completley trash?
- Can a full transmission-flush fix the problem?

Thanks for all answers
- V0lv0man2907

Post by **Sveedy** » 09 Nov 2021, 06:49

Welcome Vovoman !
The first thing I would try is the three flush / refills of the trans. With it acting up after its warm, I'm thinking that crud is being circulated and clogging things up. Worth a try - fingers crossed.

V0v0man2907 · Post by **V0v0man2907** » 09 Nov 2021, 08:11

Okay. I left out a detail. The blinking arrow pops up in dashboard when the problem starts.

Post by **scot850** » 09 Nov 2021, 08:31

That is a transmission warning light. Similar to the engine check light for the engine. If it detects an issue with the transmission it will flash to warn of a problem. The positive from that is that you can get the check light read and it may give a clue as to what is going on with your transmission. Sveedy's suggestion is a long shot but these transmissions should be serviced every 80,000km if not more often as they age. They do not like tired oil in them.

Volvo originally said these were 'sealed for life' transmissions meaning they did not need serviced. When they started to have problems they changed their view to an oil change every 80k. Problem is the owner handbook stills says they don't need serviced and many owners skip the service. If the car is not serviced at a Volvo dealer they may not even know of this.

Good Luck.

Post by **Sveedy** » 09 Nov 2021, 08:32

Guess that makes sense ( light on ). I'd still do the multiple flushes. Your TCM should be alongside the ECU ( box over right side wheel ). I can't remember if it's the inboard module or not ( someone else can verify ). You just remove it and let things sit or 10 minutes or so and that should reset it, as far as I know. Try those couple of things and see if there is improvement. There is also a simple trick used to help with the park/ neutral position switch where you row the shifter repeatably through its positions. Might as well do that too.

Post by **FireFox31** » 10 Nov 2021, 21:11

When changing the transmission fluid, drive for a few hundred miles between each drain/fill. This gives the system time to adapt to the new fluid. After one drain/fill in my 200k mile 2000 V70, I started getting a few hard shifts into 2nd and 3rd. After 1000 miles, I think they've stopped so I'll do the next drain/fill soon.