MVS Forums member bguzz describes what he did to service his Volvo XC90’s transmission flush:
I just did mine on my 2008 3.2. It has the same trans as yours…the Aisin TF-80SC. At 64K, the fluid was dark as used engine oil…it needed it. It has no dipstick, so you need to be careful how you do it. I had a couple of S70’s and always did the fluid transfer/flush via the oil cooler line…so simple.
Wait. What? No dipstick?
With the XC90, I chose to just flush it out with the internal pump pushing it instead of draining the pan AND using the DIY flush method. The way I did it was to use 2 empty water jugs, a digital scale, and a 5/8″ OD vinyl hose. I would weigh exactly what came out after starting the engine and then getting the bubbles, then weigh the exact same amount to pour back in. You don’t have to worry about fluid expansion and temperature this way, as weight is always the same. Just make sure the line is a tight fit into the oil cooler (not the line that fits into the cooler like on the S70 method) and you should be fine with no leaks.
Thoughtful, Careful Maintenance = Long Life
I thought that at 64K I might be over doing it with changing the transmission fluid as the car shifted beautifully, turns out it now shifts even smoother…a nice surprise.
Incidentally, I chose to use Redline D4 synthetic fluid instead of Mobil JWS-3309 mineral based fluid as I feel that this widely used transmission (Ford Fusion, Mazda, Saab, etc) is probably in a heavy duty situation in our XC90’s. D4 is JWS-3309 stamped, but in confirming that, I found that in either 2010 or 2011, Volvo modified the transmission flush spec and required AW-1 fluid, which apparently is a similar but thinner fluid so they could meet CAFE requirements. Redline said that their D6 fluid met that standard, but said you should be able to use either without issue. You might want to confirm that…I don’t know if your spec if JWS-3309 or AW1. I used 16qts and by the time I was on 14, I think I had bright pink fluid coming out of it.
BTW, I thought that at 64K I might be over doing it with changing the transmission fluid as the car shifted beautifully, turns out it now shifts even smoother…a nice surprise. Volvo missed the ball on this when they call it a lifetime fill (maybe they meant lifetime of the transmission…which will be shorter if not changed).
