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2004 2.4 S80 automatic gearbox service.

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Old Jul 7th, 2020, 23:45   #1
Ben E
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Default 2004 2.4 S80 automatic gearbox service.

Good Evening all

This is my first post after buying a 2004, 2.4 S80 automatic.

The car is wonderful and I believe I've become a lifelong Volvo owner as I'm so impressed with my new purchase.

I've fully serviced the car since buying it last month but would like some advice on having the automatic gearbox serviced as the car has done 145,000 miles with no record of it having been done.

I understand the whole 'sealed for life' cobblers, but have noticed the gearbox holds onto gears for a little longer than I'd like at times. It also sometimes changes gear rather roughly but not to the extent I believe there's anything wrong with the gearbox as 95% of the changes are pretty flawless.

I've used an independent company in Bristol where I live before to do a full flush and fluid replacement on another car I used to own. I was impressed with the results and at £180 considered it good value. That was in 2014 however and I'm now being quoted £300 all in for the S80. I appreciate inflation and also am aware of the 12 litres of fluid needed in the S80 so am happy with the price.

However, I've also phoned the local Volvo main dealer who's quoted me £350 all in for the same service but also has said they'll reprogram the gearbox so it shifts better.

My question is, is the extra £50 worth it? Or will the car's ECU or gearbox electronics simply learn how to shift on their own once the fluid is replaced?

Many thanks

Ben.
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Old Jul 7th, 2020, 23:59   #2
LucasSilver
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300 seems excessive for gearbox fluid change. I'm not an expert but you can do it yourself for the price of fluid and an hour of DIY. So I've read mate. Good luck with everything.
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Old Jul 8th, 2020, 00:53   #3
Kev0607
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben E View Post
Good Evening all

This is my first post after buying a 2004, 2.4 S80 automatic.

The car is wonderful and I believe I've become a lifelong Volvo owner as I'm so impressed with my new purchase.

I've fully serviced the car since buying it last month but would like some advice on having the automatic gearbox serviced as the car has done 145,000 miles with no record of it having been done.

I understand the whole 'sealed for life' cobblers, but have noticed the gearbox holds onto gears for a little longer than I'd like at times. It also sometimes changes gear rather roughly but not to the extent I believe there's anything wrong with the gearbox as 95% of the changes are pretty flawless.

I've used an independent company in Bristol where I live before to do a full flush and fluid replacement on another car I used to own. I was impressed with the results and at £180 considered it good value. That was in 2014 however and I'm now being quoted £300 all in for the S80. I appreciate inflation and also am aware of the 12 litres of fluid needed in the S80 so am happy with the price.

However, I've also phoned the local Volvo main dealer who's quoted me £350 all in for the same service but also has said they'll reprogram the gearbox so it shifts better.

My question is, is the extra £50 worth it? Or will the car's ECU or gearbox electronics simply learn how to shift on their own once the fluid is replaced?

Many thanks

Ben.
The gearbox will learn learn how to shift itself after a fluid change, so don't be alarmed if you feel jerky changes for a little while (That's if you don't do the adaptions). I presume what the dealership are referring to & charging extra for is resetting the adaptions, which is best practice, but not totally necessary.

Personally, with 145,000 on the clock, I'd be a bit wary of doing a full gearbox flush... There's chance of dirt/debris getting dislodged & getting trapped inside the internals of the transmission. I'm not a fan of flushing a transmission for this reason, although, its your car & your choice. Many have done flushes & never had issues, but I wouldn't risk it. I think a better option would be to do a "drain & fill", so drain the old fluid out (You'll only get around 3L out, as the rest of the fluid is within the other parts of the transmission) & put new fluid in. You're only partially renewing the fluid this way admittedly, but you can repeat the process over a period of time... Cheaper on the pocket & it works well with less likelihood of causing problems.

If you do decide to go down the full transmission flush route, then being honest, the £50 extra for a dealership to do the job is probably worth it. Volvo will use the correct fluid, whereas a garage working on multiple brands of cars may use generic kind of fluids that aren't suitable for the car. I'm not implying that the garage you used in the past did this, but it does happen. Also, the Volvo dealership will have the correct software to reset the adaptions etc. £350 for a Volvo workshop to do the job doesn't sound too bad... I know independent Volvo garages charging more or less the same.

As I said above, I wouldn't flush a transmission on a vehicle full stop & not knowing its previous history, that would make me even more wary of doing it it. However, its up to you... Your car, your choice.
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Last edited by Kev0607; Jul 8th, 2020 at 00:57.
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Old Jul 8th, 2020, 04:12   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kev0607 View Post
The gearbox will learn learn how to shift itself after a fluid change, so don't be alarmed if you feel jerky changes for a little while (That's if you don't do the adaptions). I presume what the dealership are referring to & charging extra for is resetting the adaptions, which is best practice, but not totally necessary.

Personally, with 145,000 on the clock, I'd be a bit wary of doing a full gearbox flush... There's chance of dirt/debris getting dislodged & getting trapped inside the internals of the transmission. I'm not a fan of flushing a transmission for this reason, although, its your car & your choice. Many have done flushes & never had issues, but I wouldn't risk it. I think a better option would be to do a "drain & fill", so drain the old fluid out (You'll only get around 3L out, as the rest of the fluid is within the other parts of the transmission) & put new fluid in. You're only partially renewing the fluid this way admittedly, but you can repeat the process over a period of time... Cheaper on the pocket & it works well with less likelihood of causing problems.

If you do decide to go down the full transmission flush route, then being honest, the £50 extra for a dealership to do the job is probably worth it. Volvo will use the correct fluid, whereas a garage working on multiple brands of cars may use generic kind of fluids that aren't suitable for the car. I'm not implying that the garage you used in the past did this, but it does happen. Also, the Volvo dealership will have the correct software to reset the adaptions etc. £350 for a Volvo workshop to do the job doesn't sound too bad... I know independent Volvo garages charging more or less the same.

As I said above, I wouldn't flush a transmission on a vehicle full stop & not knowing its previous history, that would make me even more wary of doing it it. However, its up to you... Your car, your choice.
I was quoted £150 early this year, late last year, if i remember correctly, that was at an independent volvo center, no mention of resetting the adaptions, but that only takes a few mins in Vida, now it could well be the involved method that Volvo was referring to where there, drive the car in a certain way through the gears (forgot what its called now) but i believe thats forcing the evil out. I myself just reset the adaptions after doing the Gibbons flush, thats where you attach a hose to the return line on the cooler, and put through a 10l or whatever it is, forgot now, but i did, quite a few sump dumps and at least 3-4 gibbons flushes and still my box is thumping when when the box is hot, ie after about 20 mins of driving, so its does not always improve the situ
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Old Jul 8th, 2020, 10:26   #5
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For the 5 speed Aisin you have a dipstick so you can see how the fluid looks - for the level it's trickier to get a good reading https://youtu.be/czDDSwguYR8
As said above, if the fluid looks completely dark brown, it may be the original one. It is not a good idea to have the garage flush it all at once. Plus, you need to make sure they use a correct 3309 norm fluid - in Europe the german Mannol should be a choice, or Toyota Tyoe IV. If it was me, I would only replace about 2 liters at the return hose, then drive the car inside the city for a few weeks to allow the transmission to shift multiple times - this gets it to adapt faster. Replacing too much fluid then driving the car or the motorway long distances may cause clutch plates wear. As for resetting the transmission, there are two resets: the fluid counter reset and the transmission adaptations reset - the second one must be done only when replacing transmission parts, the first one when replacing the entire fluid
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Old Jul 8th, 2020, 10:46   #6
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Thank you for the speedy replies!

I will think again as the last thing I want is to write the car off if the flush ruins the gearbox.

Bloody shame it's not been done regularly as I guess then it wouldn't have the same chance of dislodging crud into the gearbox when flushed.

If I chose to leave it as it is, as long as the ATF dipstick level is correct, are the gearboxes known for giving up the ghost? I've never heard many horror stories regarding Volvos and reliability. Just curious as to whether the automatic transmissions found in this generation of S80 are particularly strong?

Many thanks again

Ben
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Old Jul 8th, 2020, 23:57   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bashy View Post
I was quoted £150 early this year, late last year, if i remember correctly, that was at an independent volvo center, no mention of resetting the adaptions, but that only takes a few mins in Vida, now it could well be the involved method that Volvo was referring to where there, drive the car in a certain way through the gears (forgot what its called now) but i believe thats forcing the evil out. I myself just reset the adaptions after doing the Gibbons flush, thats where you attach a hose to the return line on the cooler, and put through a 10l or whatever it is, forgot now, but i did, quite a few sump dumps and at least 3-4 gibbons flushes and still my box is thumping when when the box is hot, ie after about 20 mins of driving, so its does not always improve the situ
Unfortunately, that sounds like a transmission issue & it may be best to get it checked (If it was thumping into gear prior to a fluid change that is & its still the same afterwards). Bear in mind, a fluid change is good maintenance on a transmission that is fully functioning as it should, but if there's an underlying issue prior to the fluid being changed, then changing the fluid is a roll of a dice really... It could work, but there's a chance that it won't.

Is the software up-to-date? If not, that's something to consider getting done.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben E View Post
Thank you for the speedy replies!

I will think again as the last thing I want is to write the car off if the flush ruins the gearbox.

Bloody shame it's not been done regularly as I guess then it wouldn't have the same chance of dislodging crud into the gearbox when flushed.

If I chose to leave it as it is, as long as the ATF dipstick level is correct, are the gearboxes known for giving up the ghost? I've never heard many horror stories regarding Volvos and reliability. Just curious as to whether the automatic transmissions found in this generation of S80 are particularly strong?

Many thanks again

Ben
A drain & fill is your best bet, especially on a car that you know nothing about & taking the mileage into consideration. Stay away from flushing in my opinion.

Check the colour of the fluid on the dipstick, it should be a red colour (If it uses JWS3309 fluid that is). If its not, then it needs to be changed as soon as. However, if it still has a red consistency to it, you may be able to leave it for a while & change the fluid at a later date.

If your car has the Aisin-Warner AW55 gearbox, then they do suffer from valve body issues at high mileage. They're good, but aren't without their problems at the same time unfortunately. However, as yours seems to be shifting fine, then its happy days.

Look after it & it'll look after you.
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Last edited by Kev0607; Jul 9th, 2020 at 00:13.
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Old Jul 9th, 2020, 16:55   #8
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Now the temperature is becoming really high, even with the extra cooler fitted it is slow for Reverse to kick in when hot , is it a simple fit to replace a valve body ? It is liveable with, can take up to 20 seconds before I can reverse or NO seconds if I press the pedal and get a very big Thump !!
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Old Jul 9th, 2020, 19:00   #9
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I haven't seen such issue on forums, so unless you are lucky to get someone who had this to reply, I guess the cheaper would be to try a partial oil change. A valve body may or may not fix it, not sure I would take the chance with these miles because a new VB is expensive, and a used one is what it is..
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Old Jul 9th, 2020, 20:55   #10
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Now the temperature is becoming really high, even with the extra cooler fitted it is slow for Reverse to kick in when hot , is it a simple fit to replace a valve body ? It is liveable with, can take up to 20 seconds before I can reverse or NO seconds if I press the pedal and get a very big Thump !!
Mine thumps in to reverse, but it does engage straight away, so here's a thought, when I accidentally put engine oil in mine and after a flush with the correct oil, ie a bit mixed with engine oil, when I drove it a couple of miles to get it mixed in so I could flush again, it was like yours, but not as long, it took maybe 5 seconds to engage, so with that in mind, are you 100% sure it has the correct oil in it?

I've looked into a valve body, you can get them cheap on ebay, new from China, as for fitting, I think the job is too involved for me, plus it may need to be programmed in, can't remember now, I think ya looking at about a grand old all in, or was it 1500,damn,my memory is bad. The other option is to replace the solenoids, that's quite a bit cheaper, even more so if its just one playing up, again, too involved for me, I would have to get a pro on the case.

To be honest, I think my top mount maybe contributing to the thump......
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