Transmission service mystery

[TJNS]

[QUOTE=AidanC;2335359]When you say the dealer gave you that diagnosis, do you mean the Volvo dealer or the selling dealer?

Thank you Aidan -

Re above: it was the dealer we bought from. It has a one year MoT (from last week) so i'm not sure if that will be an issue or not. However, it passed its MoT with the faults that the Volvo guys picked up on and said it shouldn't pass with.

So i don't know for sure if in itself it shouldn't pass with a warning light (it's amber, not red, for the record), but the MoT point is a good one, so thanks for pointing that out.

Interested to hear from anyone who has had this issue or heard of it elsewhere - i can't see anything on the threads here.

Tom

[Moose Test]

I don't want to be the glass-half-empty guy here but if it were my car and my money invested in it, I would follow the advice that TJNS and Tannaton have offered. Exercise your statutory rights whilst they still apply and take your money back.

It is perfectly reasonable to expect to own a good early D5 without this issue for the money you've spent, or thereabouts.

As you've related events above, it sounds to me as if your supplying dealer really has no idea. If you keep the car, you're gambling with a high stake. If you look around on this forum you'll see that some (seemingly) similar issues are resolved by flushing, others require new value bodies. Some gearboxes are simply dead. You don't need to take the risk, so don't.

[TJNS]

[QUOTE=Moose Test;2335413]Exercise your statutory rights whilst they still apply and take your money back.


Thanks Moose - i'm rapidly coming to that conclusion too.

Tom

[Tannaton]

Sorry to add more gloom but I am very skeptical of the dealers explanation...

- On that year of car the transmission control module is separate from the gearbox. It lives in a black box on the drivers side of the engine bay in front of the power steering reservoir. There is no need to touch the gearbox to replace the control module.

- By default when stationary in drive the AW55 (fresh from AISIN WARNER) gearbox does not select neutral. Volvo added a feature called "Neutral Control" via their own electronics for the gearbox where it will select neutral if you are in drive, foot on brake and stationary for more then 15 seconds. If the gearbox is in good order, the selection of neutral under these circumstances and dropping back into gear when you lift off the brake is undetectable to the driver.

FYI the warning light, dashboard message and gearbox issues is not an issue for the UK MOT, so long as the vehicle can move under its own power. Some red lights would be a fail (ABS, traction/stability control, airbag/SRS etc.)

I think it is fair to say that there is an internal problem with your gearbox and whilst it can be driven with some precautions now, it is only going to get worse with time. That might be 5 days or 5 years but given the cost of repairs, availability of cars at that price, I would get your money back and run for the hills. I would say the value of taking the risk of keeping it it 2/3rds the cost of repair - i.e. what you paid for the car....

[TJNS]

Thanks Tannaton, that's really detailed and helpful. Much appreciated.

We will be following the advice and trying to get as much of our money back as we can.

Fingers crossed.

Will update.

Probably be back in the market for an xc90 at around 3k in case anyone hears of a trouble free example!

Tom

[TJNS]

Hi all -

Thanks so much for all the help with this.

Just to let you know that we did indeed take it back and got a full refund - the dealer was pretty good about it all to be honest.

We're back in the market for an XC90 that doesn't have so many issues and would love any advice from experienced owners - things to look for etc.

Our budget at the moment is up to about £3,500 - which i realise is not enough to be expect to be completely trouble free - but we hope is enough for a car that will serve us well for a year or two.

I'm keeping an eye on Autotrader - is there anywhere else i should look?

We live in Stoke Newington, north London, and won't find it easy to travel far to test/buy.

All help gratefully received - hopefully back in a Volvo soon and won't feel like an impostor here!

[sreviz]

Originally Posted by TJNS

Hi all -

Thanks so much for all the help with this.

Just to let you know that we did indeed take it back and got a full refund - the dealer was pretty good about it all to be honest.

We're back in the market for an XC90 that doesn't have so many issues and would love any advice from experienced owners - things to look for etc.

Our budget at the moment is up to about £3,500 - which i realise is not enough to be expect to be completely trouble free - but we hope is enough for a car that will serve us well for a year or two.

I'm keeping an eye on Autotrader - is there anywhere else i should look?

We live in Stoke Newington, north London, and won't find it easy to travel far to test/buy.

All help gratefully received - hopefully back in a Volvo soon and won't feel like an impostor here!

Keep aside 1000k for extra for repairs.
Just check gear box, four wheel drive and any oil leaks under the car. Beware there is an engine guard tray below which can hide things.

[gmonag]

Keep aside 1000k for extra for repairs

I think 1 million is a bit steep!

[TJNS]

Ha!

One miiiilliiiion pounds....

So go with 3k buying budget and 1k maintaining budget... Sounds sensible.

[TJNS]

And...

We're back on the road.

Much better buying experience than last time and the new car seems to be in excellent order.

Hopefully it will run without me needing too much help from everyone for a while...

Cheers again all