My car died and I had it towed to the Volvo dealership. The repair was simply a new battery. They then said my transmission was shot because reverse was slipping and the oil was burnt. A couple of questions.
Is this something that the towing company could have caused?
How long until I need to do something?
Should I bother putting in new transmission fluid?
When I do something, say put in a used transmission, how much should I expect to pay for the whole job. I am in Charlotte, NC.

I have noticed only a couple of times in reverse that the car slightly jerks or slips. I have owned the car for about 9 months (this is my first one) and I am surprised that I need to do this. I figured Volvos would last forever.
thanks

You can do the tranny flush for $20. It is very easy, just follow the directions on Bay13. I have done it 10K miles ago, about to do it again with syn. The syn is the second flush, after about 6-10K miles. That one will be about $80 - $100 because of the cost of the syn....

I also am in Charlotte, and find the dealers totally lacking in knowledge when you bring an 850 in with tranny trouble. When I called the University dealer to have my tranny flushed, I was told it was not a part you can service...! When I went to the dealer on Independence, and told them my tranny was stuttering, they wanted to tune it up.

I would certainly have the dealer flush the transmission. Cost me 92$ and fixed my stuttering problem. I also have a name of a Volvo associate who can perform the tranny replacement at his home, and he would be the one at the dealership to make the replacement as well. So if you want his name let me know here. Might be able to save you some bucks, if your tranny is indeed hosed.

Unlikely that the tow caused a problem.
Obviously, the fluid has not been changed. Look at some of the previous comments here on the board.
Were it mine, I'd get a case of transmission fluid and change it--instructions are on the board. If it works, you've spent about $20 and some time. If it doesn't work, you've lost very little.

If the change seems to fix your transmission problems, then run it a while and repeat the operation using synthetic ATF.

I wouldn't even think of putting in a used box. With the labor expense involved, you would be better off getting a Volvo remanufactured unit.

Transmission failures are pretty rare.

How was it towed? I think the owners manual specifies how the
car should be towed (the all wheel drive models being the most
picky). Brown fluid is pretty common so I would not think it
was associated with towing.

A flush of the transmission fluid every 30K miles is considered
a good idea by many people that post here. We did our 95 850 around
55K miles (I forget exactly) and it shifted smooth and like new
afterwords. I'd do this and would not replace the transmission.

I think a new tranny is about $2000 with about 10 hours of labor.
It is not cheap. Used transmissions are also available from wrecked
cars. If you get a rebuild you want it from Volvo since the transmissions
are reported to be difficult to rebuild.

A lot of people think Volvos last forever and are as reliable as a
claw hammer. Actually, the reliability is about average. What you
do need to do is maintain them by the book (the service schedule in
the manual) and keep on top of any problems. 97 was a pretty good year
for 850s.

Boy Ray, I've got to disagree with you.

During the summer, this 850 Brickboard is filled with evaporator failure horror stories.

During the winter, this same board is, to a lessor degree, filled with transmission failure stories. The most common thread, for the last three months has been PNP switch failures, or proper automatic flushing procedures, or outright automatic tramission failure questions. To say that "transmission failures are pretty RARE," is absolutely wrong.

And as far as 850 reliability, it may be average, but barely so. According to the only reliability survey that I have seen, the Consumer Reports Buying Guide, the 850s were below average in reliability (we are talking 850s here, not V70s).

The reason I am countering your transmission, and general reliability claims is that I don't want to give cfb1022 the imopression that "it had to have been the tow company 'cause, according to everything I have heard about Volvos (marketing), they never fail." The fact is that the 850 was a less than reliable car and was more prone to failure, than most, when improperly maintained.

cfb1022, odds are that the automatic tranmission fluid on your car was NEVER changed and, due to that improper maintenance, it has just plain worn out. You can blame the people you bought the car from, but I'd bet that most people, including you, would never have changed the fluid anyway. This is the way we Americans are. We buy something. Expect it to last forever without proper maintenance, and then look for someone to blame when the product fails.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.