D5 Auto - Acceleration lag when pulling off

[JOHN 850]

Recently had to borrow a new V70 D5 geartronic from Dealer & had the same problem - I found it down right dangerous when having to pull out of a busy junction ! When I took it back I explained about this & they said the gearbox is designed to put itself into neutral when stopped, which then puts itself into drive when you come off the footbrake & is there to stop excessive wear on the box. This however takes a couple of seconds & obviously can easily be 'caught out' with quick foot work !

I personally like autos, but wouldn't have one of these out of choice. It sounds like the gearbox is a weakness & needs all the help it can get !! I would have thought Volvo could re-write the software though if customers didn't like this facility ?

Cheers,

John.

Deleted by the request of the poster.

[carlhunt]

Is this just a characteristic of the diesel automatics or is the low end torque of a petrol engine sufficient i.e. do T6 geartronic owners face similar problems ?

Ta

Carl

[StevePritchard]

Can anybody shed some light on this topic then?

On one hand we've got the possibility that it's the gearbox - if I understand correctly, the theory is that it sits in neutral, and takes a while to kick in to first. This seems unlikely to me because it's not that you don't move, it's that there is a real lag until you move at speed.

On the other hand, there's the point that an engine reprogram cures the problem - this would indicate that the gearbox is less of a player here, and it's the torque below 2000rpm that's the most likely culprit.

Has anybody had any specific info from Volvo regarding this, and whether there's any official software that addresses this issue?

Cheers,

Steve.

[KeatV70D5SE]

I had an S60 loaner when my car was being serviced and the geartronic box was rubbish (IMO). I remember driving Toyota Landcruiser 4.2 turbo diesel autos 10 years ago that had better gearboxes.

[StevePritchard]

I've driven auto gearboxes in the past (most recently an Isuzu Trooper) which didn't suffer the delay in take-off. I guess, the issue is whether the delay is clutch-slippage from the geaur box, or a lack of torque from the engine at low revs.

I guess if Adam is right from VolvoTuning then the latter plays a bigger part in the problem than the former.

Cheers,

Steve.

Not saying that it cures the problem but I have found that a tuning box (on my 163HP T5 manual) has had a huge impact on the performance. Please email me if you want some details - in the UK they run from £250 upwards but I managed to find a supplier in Germany that does them for around £100. I was quite sceptical but it really does work - quote is 195HP and I have to believe that is about right. BTW - I bought a manual gearbox XC90 because I thought that the T5 engine plus Geartronic were a very poor match when I test drove the car. Not enough gee-gees to pull the tank....

[StevePritchard]

My car was in for a service today, and apparently, after speaking to Volvo Technical, they say that it's behaving as expected, and there's nothing they can do.

I've purchased a tuning box, and will report what, if any, effect it has on the problem.

Cheers,

Steve.

Thanks Steve

Keep in touch let us know how you get on with the Power Box and if it makes any difference, is it worth the investment, easily fitted etc...having now had my XC90 just over a month, the accleration lag at pull off is something you get used to but it is far from satisfactory.

Cheers for now

Justin

[StevePritchard]

I will keep you posted.

I was planning to put the box in this weekend, but due to a fault with my fuel gauge the XC90 is going back into the garage for a couple of days next week, so I'll hold off fitting the PBox until I get it back.

Cheers,

Steve.