VIDA and gearbox reset
 

Hi all,

Looking at potentially getting VIDA for my 2012 XC90 as I'm doing most maintenance myself. I'm wondering where the best place to get it is. I've seen things like this on eBay but not sure how reliable this is:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256364896...mis&media=COPY

Does anyone have any idea if this would work or do I need the proper kit? If so how much am I looking at and where can I get it?

I'm about to do a gearbox service so was going to use it to reset the adaptations. How critical is it I do that? Or can I get away with just the new oil?

Cheers,
George

Hi George, I'm a new Volvo owner myself and bought a Mongoose OBD device just like this to couple to an old laptop with VIDA on it which was an ebay buy as well; it works well. You would be able to do resets and also measure the oil temperature of between 50°C and 60°C before draining to set the correct fluid level at the last flush.

I saw these sellers when looking but managed to buy the Mongoose for a little less via a Volvo owner who'd sold his V70. The laptop and VIDA was around £140 or so. I plan to be using the kit in future and think it a worthwhile purchase. Hope this helps.

Peter

You don’t HAVE to reset the adaptions, as the transmission will learn to adapt itself. You may notice odd gear changes at first, but it’ll take a while to learn.

Most important thing is you use the correct spec fluid, reset the counter so the car knows it has new trans fluid and set the level. You’ll need VIDA to do that.

I decided to let the professionals service the gearbox on my low mileage V70 and when I asked about doing adaptations was told it should only be done if there are any odd/weird symptoms with the gearbox.

Thanks all, any ideas on reliable VIDA software sellers? I have a laptop I can run it on already.

There aren't any as such as the VIDA we owners use is cracked, pirated software.... however Volvo would appear to tolerate that, having made little to no attempt to block it.

As the last release of VIDA was in 2015 (version 2014d), it generally needs an older, now unsupported, operating system such as Windows 7 and hence most distribution is now as a VMWare virtual machine.

That standard Volvo practice is to reset the adaptations after a fluid change, especially if the fluid was very dirty as the gearbox will adapt more quickly, but it isn't essential as it will get there in the end. It's also best practice to reset the counter but has no impact, it is just a counter and does not change the gearbox performance.

EDIT: Just read the VIDA procedure for my 2011MY XC90 and it no longer states that you must reset the adaptations when changing fluid, and does say reset the fluid counter "to avoid DTC's to be stored in error...."

Thanks all. Found a local Volvo indy with a good reputation as well but they wanted just as much as the main dealer to service it! Think I'll be doing it myself with genuine Volvo oil from volvopartstrade on eBay.

Would you suggest I just find a VIDA laptop on eBay too?

I got my vida laptop from a guy called Lawrence in Coventry and it’s worked perfectly for me.

You don’t need to use genuine Volvo stuff for everything. I used mannol jws in mine so have lots of others. Some stuff isn’t worth the saving but some stuff is.

I didn’t reset the adaptations as I don’t understand it all but I reset the oil counter on Vida.

You don't need VIDA to change the oil - just run the car say 10 miles to get the gearbox warm and then check the level. Yes - using VIDA is best practice but if you don't have access to it, you should not delay changing your fluid if it is old, burnt or you're having gearbox issues.

The oil counter is just that, not resetting it has no impact on how the gearbox works, there is just a small chance you might get a "transmission service required" error on the dash if it thinks the oil has been overheated too many times. In the UK, unless you're towing all day, that's not likely.

And having checked VIDA following a debate in a earlier post, seemingly Volvo do not state you must clear the adaptation memory when changing fluid on the TF80...

I'm not having problems with the gearbox or anything like that, I'm just changing the oil because I haven't had the car particularly long but don't have any history to suggest the gearbox was ever serviced. Just doing it out of good practice really.

I was looking at VIDA again just out of best practice and for future diagnosing too if I needed it. Maybe for now though I'll just go ahead without it and save a few pennies.

Cheers