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Powershift problem

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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 17:33   #21
iainmd
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Originally Posted by Big feller View Post
Update on my Power shift gearbox woes:

Assuming not many of these gearboxes have failed so far, I am surprised Volvo are not willing to help out in order to protect their good name. How many people will buy a car for £4000 or less knowing that a minor gearbox fault could make it worthless at any moment?
That's horrific. I'm astonished that Volvo could think it reasonable that a gearbox could cost as much as an engine to replace in a relatively low cost car. It doesn't look like the Powershift is anywhere near the VAG DSG or Porsche PDK in terms of durability and service life.
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Old Apr 5th, 2013, 22:56   #22
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I think it may be an idea for Powershift owners to either try and find a Volvo dealer that is also a Ford dealer or just take it to a trusted Ford dealer.

The gearbox is, like most of the V50, from Ford. ( with input from PSA on the 1.6 and 2.0 diesel engines)

These gearboxes are a very new technology and perhaps some Volvo dealers are a little behind the times.

For example why do they find it so difficult to tell you when your cam elf should be changed and why do they think non Dpf cars have a Dpf.

My mates son shares a house with one of the engineers from Dunton and the Powershift box is certainly not a troublesome.

Much better than the DSG box for example which was always going wrong or the CVT rubbish as fitted to non Quattro Audis.

I wonder if the 90k mile box mentioned above had actually been properly maintained?

A few of my mates still work at AddLee and are very happy with the Powershift box and its reliability.

Apart from an occasional slight judder when pulling away that happens on some after 50/60k they are robust.

Any complicated piece of engineering will have a chance of failure.

Anybody that thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.

My advice find a specialist, main dealers are franchises not a bunch of expert engineers that started to sell cars.

Or give a local Ford dealer a go at fixing the issue, or at least diagnosing it.

If you got 100k out of a VW Sharon autobox you were considered lucky.

AddLee used to recon them anywhere between 80/90k with several ready to go on the shelf all the time.

They don't do this for the Powershift and didn't do it for the earlier autobox in the Galaxy.
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Old Apr 7th, 2013, 23:11   #23
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I obviously can't tell how the car was driven by the previous owner, but it had a full service history that showed a gearbox oil change. I think this was at 40,000 miles, but can't remember for sure.

Interesting to note that Ford literature suggests that the Powershift should be maintenance free for at least 130,000 miles.

To reiterate, I fully expect that there should be a small number of these units that fail ahead of time and you take that chance when you buy a second hand car. What I struggle with is that Volvo are not investing the tiniest fraction of their advertising budget in helping out the very few customers who get caught out by a simple fault that their service department is not equipped to diagnose. My car seems fine once the engine has been stopped and re-started. It is just like replacing an engine because the mechanic has neither the diagnostic tools or the training to know that the water pump has failed.

I have called a few gearbox specialists. None is able to help. I asked one if they could do a swop if I found a written off car with the same gearbox. I was told that this probably wouldn't work. It may not be the box itself at fault, but the control system, and even if both were swopped out, the software would probably need to be sorted.

In the not too distant future I can see quite a few cars being prematurely scrapped because their second hand value is the same or less than the cost of a replacement Powershift gearbox.

I bought my 940 second hand for £2000 and I reckon it would be well worth replacing its auto box if it failed. The car is seventeen years old. I am all for the new technology, but I think the manufacturer needs to be serious about supporting it if they want it to succeed.
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Old Apr 25th, 2013, 15:37   #24
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Default Powershift woes update

After I took the V50 back to the dealer for the second time, one of the mechanics suggested a last roll of the dice before gearbox replacement would be to try a gearbox additive to unstick the sticky valve. Two days after the treatment it seemed better and for a week after that didn't play up at all. Now the problem is very much back.

The good news is that in the meantime I have been put in touch with an independent transmission specialist who seems to know exactly what is going on and has had an almost identical case quite recently.

Apparently, there is a plastic component between the two clutches that houses some springs. This can break up. Although I had the gearbox filter changed recently, there is another small internal filter that cannot be easily changed or cleared. It seems likely that debris settles when the car is still and lifts and clogs the system on start up. When the engine is stopped and restarted, enough of this clears to allow the unit to function.

I hope to be able to update with some good news in a few weeks.
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Old May 23rd, 2013, 23:23   #25
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Default Powershift gearbox repaired by independent.

Our V50 is back in action and seems well again after a trip to SigTrans (Signature Transmissions)

It still cost a fortune to fix - about £3500, but at least I know that it was necessary. Had Volvo replaced the 'box I was told it would have been at least another thousand pounds and I would have forever wondered if I was paying all that money to fix a stuck solenoid.

Niall at SigTrans kept me well informed and did careful testing before the box was taken out and stripped. I was given a clear picture of the problems and accurate estimates for repairs. The car was picked up and delivered back to our house in the time frame suggested.

It did indeed turn out to be the double clutch at fault. This alone would not have been such an expensive repair, but there were also chipped gear teeth, presumably due to both clutches tussling with each other at some point.

I remain hugely disappointed that Volvo could not offer better back up to their own service department.
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Old Feb 1st, 2014, 20:12   #26
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My 59 reg V50 has just suffered auto box failure. I had noticed a slight delay in selecting reverse on the odd occasion recently but today it failed totally in reverse. In forward it would only go up to 2nd. Also got the transmission warning. Mileage is just over 50,000 and most recent service was done by a local independent Volvo specialist. Will have to wait until Monday to get it checked out. I do have a Warranty Direct policy so will have to see if I am covered.
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Old Feb 1st, 2014, 20:27   #27
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My 59 reg V50 has just suffered auto box failure. I had noticed a slight delay in selecting reverse on the odd occasion recently but today it failed totally in reverse. In forward it would only go up to 2nd. Also got the transmission warning. Mileage is just over 50,000 and most recent service was done by a local independent Volvo specialist. Will have to wait until Monday to get it checked out. I do have a Warranty Direct policy so will have to see if I am covered.
It is part of the VOLVO 50000 mile service to change the gearbox oil and filter in this gearbox .. It would also get any software it may need to improve it too . I would assume a volvo specialist would do this .These gearboxes are usualy superb and never heard of one with such low mileage failing . They are still going strong at double this mileage .
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Old Feb 2nd, 2014, 00:44   #28
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Just checked on my last service invoice, done at 49,000 miles, current mileage is 54,500, no mention of any attention to gearbox. ??

The garage is owned and in the main staffed by ex Volvo mechanics. Sadly the local main Volvo dealership closed down about five years ago. Is it possible to get a breakdown of service schedule requirements, they don't appear to be in the owners handbook anymore?

Last edited by iadom; Feb 2nd, 2014 at 01:35.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2014, 01:37   #29
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Post deleted, sorry, please ignore that last post, I wanted to delete it but seem unable to do so.???

Last edited by iadom; Feb 2nd, 2014 at 01:41.
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Old Feb 2nd, 2014, 11:15   #30
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Originally Posted by iadom View Post
Just checked on my last service invoice, done at 49,000 miles, current mileage is 54,500, no mention of any attention to gearbox. ??

The garage is owned and in the main staffed by ex Volvo mechanics. Sadly the local main Volvo dealership closed down about five years ago. Is it possible to get a breakdown of service schedule requirements, they don't appear to be in the owners handbook anymore?
"volvo specialist" and " ex volvo mechanics" can mean nothing at all , i know of one advertising themselves as this , but they havent been near a volvo dealer in over 15 years ... Things move on , you have to be bang up to date to advertise yourself as a "Volvo specialist" or "ex-volvo mechanic " otherwise how do you know the needs of a modern volvo ?

no disrespect to your volvo specialist of course .

pop into any volvo dealer and ask for a service checklist for your particular model ..
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