We've only had our 1999 XC for a couple months...it's the one and only Volvo I've ever owned or driven...so I have no frame-of-reference as to how the mechanicals should feel, sound, behave, etc. It has 59k miles.

I see comments of the forum about transmission problems, bevel gear problems, and a host of other items.

Anyway, our 99 XC seems pretty much OK except that the transmission seems to be shifting "not smoothly" from 3rd to 4th and 4th to 3rd.

It kind of "clunks" from one gear to the other...it's pretty mild, but still, it doesn't seem right to me. The trans feels like it's "dropping" from one gear to other instead of smoothly shifting.

Is this the first sign of the transmission going? Or is this the way all V70's shift from 3rd to 4th and 4th to 3rd?

I also feel like the car has a few too many subtle mechanical vibrations and very subtle grinding sensations, both at low speeds and highway speeds...I can't put my finger on it, but it just doesn't feel right most of the time...it's almost more like a "humming" sensation that comes and goes at various rates (again, this may be normal for a Volvo, but I have no way of knowing)...these subtle vibrations/grindings may or may not be related to what the trans is doing.

Should I go buy a 30k-mile, $1100 extended warranty?

Thanks...

For what it is worth, my '98 XC started to shift roughly and at 62k miles, the transmission failed. It was replaced by the dealer for $3,000.

I do not know how this can be prevented nor was Volvo able (willing?) to tell me what caused it. The car has always been dealer served, including the 60k service about a month before the transmission failed.

Hi Bill,

The clunks you are feeling is consider normal for the 4 speed automatic transmission. I own a 99 XC and have had this problem since I own the car new. Currently I have 39K miles on the car and it still shifts rough between 3rd and 4th gear. It is at its worse when the transmission is HOT. It does it mostly if you slow down from let say 50mph to 30mph and then accelerate back to 50mph. When you pass through 35mph to 40mph the shift that occurs between 3rd and 4th is a bump and not a smooth shift.

I have found that using Valvaline Dura Blend Dextron III transmission oil works the best. It is a synthetic blend that is a little heavier in weight then the average Dextron III oils on the market. Valvaline advertise this oil for older transmission that has a lot of wear. I started using this oil at 18Kmiles (about 1½ years ago) and it greatly reduced the bump.

Also, there is a drain plug (24mm) located at the bottom of the transmission. I am in the habit of draining/changing 3qts out of 8qts total every 10Kmiles. This help keeps the transmission fluid clean and the transmission shifting smoothly.

Good Luck,

Steven---

Steven,

Have you tried Mobile 1 full-synthetic as well to compare to the Valvoline semi-synthetic?

Thanks...

Hi Bill,

You should have seen the look on my face when I discovered that the transmission fluid in my 99XC was fried. My first response was at 15K miles on the car this should not have happened! To me something was very wrong!

Next I made an appointment with my dealer to have the fluid change and had a long talk with 2 factory representatives. I came to 2 conclusion after my discussion with the factory representatives.

1) Volvo used an ATF oil that did not meet the specification of the transmission and that the ATF used to flush my transmission by the Dealer did meet the specification and no damage was done.
2) I felt deep down (my little birdy) that I was being Bull S to by 2 individual who were covering up a problem that Volvo want to avoid at all cost.

So I drove the car for another 8K miles and started to see Volvo’s new and improved AFT (an AFT that was suppose to meet the transmission specification) turning brown and smelling burnt! At this point I made the decision to throw Volvo into a tree shredder and proceed on my own.

I installed an after-market transmission oil cooler. You know the type you can buy at your local car parts store design for trailer towing. And I also installed a paper filter (Fram PH8A) with a magnet attached to the side of the can. I did all this at 23K miles. Now I have 39K miles on the car and the transmission fluid is as rosy red as the day I last did a flush (23K miles back on January 15 2001). Problem Solved!

The reason I did not chose to go with Mobil 1 was I though it would be a waste of money if the transmission burned the Mobil 1 and the Valvaline semi-synthetic was heavier in weight (thicker) which solve some of the shifting problems I was having with the car. Both Valvaline and Mobil 1 claimed to have the same high temperature resistance. So I decided to take the cheaper road.

However, my 96 BMW 328i just passed the 50K-mile mark and I had the transmission flushed and used Mobil 1. At 50K miles my BMW AFT looked almost new (a deep red color).

Good Luck,

Steven---

Steven,

You say you added an aftermarket transmission oil cooler?

I thought the XC already HAD a trans oil cooler installed from the factory...and it is in fact the hoses leading to/from this cooler that are used in the Bay 13 procedure to flush the transmission.

So did you add a SECOND oil cooler? Or replace the original?

Could you explain further?

Thanks...

Hi Bill,

Yes I installed an after-market transmission oil cooler and oil filter.

The way it works is as follows;

The transmission oil line coming from the transmission is the top oil line going in to the radiator. The bottom oil line of the radiator goes to an additional oil cooler radiator mounted to the front to the current installed radiator. The oil line coming from this second radiator (in my case) goes to a Bulkhead mounted oil filter (Fram PH8A). Than the out put of the oil filter goes back to the transmission.

Several notes:

1) Make sure you buy an after-market oil cooler that fits. There is not much room between the grill and the current radiator. The radiator in a 99 XC does 3 jobs (or there are 3 different radiators). Radiator #1 cools the engine. Radiator #2 is an inter-cooler, which cools down the air coming from the turbo. And last the transmission oil is cooled in the same radiator as the engine coolant. I would like to note that some pre 98 Volvos have the engine oil cooled in the radiator as well.
2) Adding an after-market oil cooler adds additional oil to the transmission. About 1/3rd of a quart is need for the oil cooler.
3) By passing the installed radiator will void the warranty so do not by pass the factory radiator.
4) Also I installed and oil filter. These transmissions have only a screen mesh to collect metal particles generated form the transmission break-in. Leaving the minute metal particles in the oil will cause the transmission to wear out faster then if they were removed. Also pop a magnet on to the oil filter. This will help in removing the metal particle from the oil that the paper filer can not catch.

This is the first transmission I have heard of that does not have an oil filter. I have been told that there are other automatic transmissions on the market that do not have an oil filer as well but this is not the norm.

My estimation is that the average life of this (AISIN AW the manufacture of the Automatic Transmission that goes into most Volvos) transmission is around 100k miles. Give or take a few thousand miles. The most common failure mechanism is the transmission starts to shift radically followed by no shifting at all. The failure is quick, usually with in 400miles.

Good Luck,

Steven---

I would strongly suggest that you pump out the transmission fluid and refill with fresh. You probably have no idea when or if that was done. The instructions for this process are on Bay 13. It can make quite a difference in smooth shifting and, if that doesn't fix it at least you tried the least expensive option first.
John Scales

Not only should the trans be flushed but flushed with Volvos synthetic ATF as there's a SB regarding this shifting problem with XCs (ONLY) and that's Volvos cure. It works too but the stuff isn't cheap as Volvo wants it flushed with 16 liters of the stuff and it's about $15 per liter (ouch!).
Only a dealer has both the fluid and access to that SB online. Bay 13s info on the proceedure is correct.
Volvos synthetic ATF cures the problem btw as I havent seen one come back with the same concern since.

I was going to use Mobil 1 synthetic ATF...about $6/quart.

Could there really be any difference between Mobile 1 and the Volvo stuff? Esp a difference worth paying $9/quart more for?

Let's see:

Volvo: 16 quarts (liters) times $15/liter = $240
Mobile 1: $96

I know the transmission should be treated with the best of care, but, well, that's $144 I can put toward that $1100 extended warranty .

Neither Volvo or I know how the Mobil 1 will perform in your trans so it'd be a gamble, one that I wouldn't advise unless either a Volvo rep says "its OK" OR you don't mind taking a chance of damaging your trans. If it's warranty still and the trans is damaged, IF Volvo then tests the fluid (which they can, might) and determines that it had the wrong fluid which then caused the failure, they CAN fail to cover the warranty claim. Volvos warranty situation isn't good, they're denying many claims now because all these warranty related probs are now costing them more than they planned on spending for it, so I'm just sharing a bit of caution here.
If it were my car, although it's no doubt expensive I'd use the fluid that the manufacturer recommends. That way even if you might still have problems later on, if you did what they advised they'll be more likely to work with you vs simply telling you "sorry, but you used the wrong stuff".