2012 XC90 D5 Gearbox Oil

[GeoW151]

Hi all,

I know this has probably been posted a few times before but I've done some reading on the forums and still find myself a bit confused as to what oil I need for my gearbox.

I've owned a 12 plate XC90 D5 with the 6 speed auto for a few months now and it has great service history but no evidence of the gearbox oil having ever been changed. No towbar fitted etc. and it doesn't appear to have had a hard life but approaching 97k miles I want to change it for peace of mind.

I've seen that Volvo changed the recommended oil spec from JWS3309 to JWS3324/AW-1 around 2012-14 (I've seen 2012/13/14 mentioned!) The owners manual with the car states JWS3309 as the correct oil but when I spoke to my local Volvo dealer, they recommended this part number 31256775 which after a bit of googling seems to be the later AW1 oil.

Is anyone able to help me out with what oil I should use? The last thing I want to do is ruin a perfectly good gearbox with the wrong oil. I plan on doing the drain/fill method 4 or 5 times over.

Thanks,
George

[Kev0607]

Hello,

The spec changed from what's in the owner's manual since the car was released, hence the conflicting info from what's in the owner's manual and what you were told by Volvo.

AW-1 is the right stuff to use though.

[GeoW151]

Thanks Kev, I thought it would be something like that.

If it's never been changed presumably it'll currently have JWS3309 in the gearbox. If I'm doing the drain/fill method with AW-1 is it safe for these specs to mix in the gearbox?

Thanks.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by GeoW151

Thanks Kev, I thought it would be something like that.

If it's never been changed presumably it'll currently have JWS3309 in the gearbox. If I'm doing the drain/fill method with AW-1 is it safe for these specs to mix in the gearbox?

Thanks.

Yep, its perfectly fine.

Realistically, you'll never get all the transmission fluid out anyway. Some will be inside the internals of the transmission, which simply can't be drained.

Its my understanding that AW-1 is interchangeable. For example, you can use AW-1 to replace JWS3309 fluid, but you can't use JWS3309 fluid in a transmission that specifically requires AW-1.

[Tannaton]

The newer fluid was introduced with the Gen 2 TF80 gearbox in MY2010, but for some reason Volvo continued to use JWS3309 in the XC90 for a few years longer. However they now are clear that AW-1/3324 should be used for changes etc. in the Mk1 XC90 from MY2011 I think - that would be Chassis number ending in 586000 or later...

[GeoW151]

Thanks both, I'll use the newer fluid then. Planning on doing a change soon and then after a few months doing another change so it should end up with mostly AW-1 in the box.

Do you have any recommendations on suitable fluids? The Volvo stuff was £95 for 4l. I'll get that if need be but if I can get a good fluid for less then I'm all for it!

Cheers

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by GeoW151

Thanks both, I'll use the newer fluid then. Planning on doing a change soon and then after a few months doing another change so it should end up with mostly AW-1 in the box.

Do you have any recommendations on suitable fluids? The Volvo stuff was £95 for 4l. I'll get that if need be but if I can get a good fluid for less then I'm all for it!

Cheers

8 litres here for £110 delivered, search other items and there is 12 litres for £160 i think. Genuine Volvo gearbox juice.... very reliable seller.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202346084136

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323855873561

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by GeoW151

Thanks both, I'll use the newer fluid then. Planning on doing a change soon and then after a few months doing another change so it should end up with mostly AW-1 in the box.

Do you have any recommendations on suitable fluids? The Volvo stuff was £95 for 4l. I'll get that if need be but if I can get a good fluid for less then I'm all for it!

Cheers

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303691962...3ABFBMpKrRoZtj

Mannol is very good fluid. This may be slightly over what you need, but you'll always have some left for future (it won't go to waste). Depending how bad the fluid is, you may use 9-12 litres of this over time anyway. Its a bargain, considering Volvo want £95 for 4L.

Loads of people on here use Mannol transmission fluid and never had a problem. It meets JWS3324 spec (which is another name for AW-1).

[cbv8]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

The newer fluid was introduced with the Gen 2 TF80 gearbox in MY2010, but for some reason Volvo continued to use JWS3309 in the XC90 for a few years longer. However they now are clear that AW-1/3324 should be used for changes etc. in the Mk1 XC90 from MY2011 I think - that would be Chassis number ending in 586000 or later...

Hi Tannaton,
My XC90 200ps D5 is also a 2010 and i have it off good authority that my transmission should use JWS 3324 but how can you tell what spec of fluid that was in their to start with

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by cbv8

Hi Tannaton,
My XC90 200ps D5 is also a 2010 and i have it off good authority that my transmission should use JWS 3324 but how can you tell what spec of fluid that was in their to start with

You won't be able to tell.

What matters is you only use JWS3324 in future transmission fluid changes.