Hi,

It sounds like a classis case of a stuck Valve body. The pause you are feeling is a total lack of gears being engaged. That is you are coasting. Then the gear engages late. Also the gears are not being dis-engaged correctly and a stuck Value body can also cause this.

The valve body is a set electronic controlled solenoids that changes the ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) flow causing the transmission to shift up or shift down. There are several items that can cause the Valve body not to work correctly.

1) A problem in the wiring harness and or connectors going from the computer to the transmission.
2) A bad and or flaky Computer
3) The Value body itself is bad

If your Dealer is telling you that it is a Software problem or the Transmission has to “Adapt” to your driving habits (which is a pile of Male Cow Chips) then contact the “Volvo After Market Sales Manager” (Volvo’s fancy name for Factory Rep). You do this one of 2 ways. I would recommend you do both.

First you can contact the Factory Rep via the Dealer by wiggling your finger in the Service Manager face. Second you can “Log” a complaint to the 800 number in your owner’s manual. When logging the complaint just state your problem and ask that you want to be contacted by the “After Market Sales Manager” and you do not want to be contacted by the Dealership. They love to blow you off to the Dealer ship. Remember the person on the other end of the phone is just a clerk. Not a Volvo expert so don’t expect a quick response.

And most important “KEEP IT POSITIVE”! No negative attitude is allowed! Be happy and up beat and you can get the “After Market Sales Manager” to work miracles.

Good Luck,

Steven---

Chris,

I've got a 2000 V70 R AWD with a 5 speed adaptive tranny. I know EXACTLY what you mean, my tranny does the same. It doesn't matter if it's cold or warm, weird and rough shifting is all I'm getting. Especially from 2nd to 3rd.

Sometimes the tranny kinda "slips" during a 2nd to 3rd shift; rpm's rise about 400rpm before the third gear kicks in. This is when I'm driving slow and with full throttle it won't shift before I let the gas off. It's pretty exciting to overtake, you never know if the next gear is going to work... :(

It does this once every 200 miles or so. Local dealer told me that the atf is fine and there's no error codes registered. They admit that the shifting behavior isn't normal and they recommend changing the whole tranny... I'm sooo happy!!! A car that has got 40k on the odometer.

Has anyone got a clue if it's possible to mount a manual tranny from an older model R AWD????

-Cyphos

When you car is cold, you car will shift later, it's called CAT Start. it's purpose is to heat up the Cat more rapidly. It's only in Volvos from '00 and up.

You should probably find a good dealer who can check the service
bulletins for you. The transmissions can be re-programmed and on
a couple model years there have been software updates. If you want
to see the service bulletins alldatadiy.com will sell you a one year
subscription for $25 (also includes a lot of general info and repair
procedures; parts cost; estimated times to do a specific job, etc.)

I do know that the shift points are higher when the engine is cold
to help the engine warm up faster (thats the sort of stuff they
do with software).

Our 95 855 sometimes does not want to downshift and that drives me
nuts (the tac just stuck at 3500 RPM and the car not
going anywhere).

I HAVE A 2002 V70 (FWD, NON-TURBO) AND ALSO HAVE TRANSMISSION TROUBLES. THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS FINE WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING, SHIFTS ARE SMOOTH AND CONSISTENT BUT, WHEN YOU COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AND THEN RELEASE THE BRAKE PEDAL, BANG ! I FEELS AS THOUGH THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING INTO NEUTRAL EVERYTIME YOU STOP AND THE GOES BACK INTO GEAR AFTER YOU RELEASE THE BRAKE PEDAL. TO ME IT SEEMS THAT THERE A SLIGHT DELAY BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION GOES BACK INTO GEAR, IT SLIPS AND THEN CATCHES. IT IS VERY ANNOYING !!! I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THAT THIS "NORMAL" BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION IS SUPPOSED TO GO INTO NEUTRAL WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED !I SAY HOGWASH ! THIS IS NOT ACCEPATABLE FOR ANY AUTOMOBILE, MUCHLESS A $40,000.00 VOLVO !
SO PLEASE , IF ANYONE OUT THERE KNOWS THE FIX FOR THIS CONDITION, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I LOVE MY V70 BUT THIS ONE FLAW IS RUINING MY OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE.