Hi there,

This is my first post having recently bought my first Volvo. The car is a 1994 850 2.0 litre auto which has covered 80,000 miles. I bought the car privately and noticed (after I had got home and handed over my cash!) that all was not well with the gearbox.

Despite everything appearing normal during the road test, the first problem was that the Sport/Econ/Winter/Summer switch was completely dead. There were no gearbox warning lights working on the dash. The car was sluggish and appeared to either not want to kick down at low speeds or would pull away in what felt like 3rd or 4th. (Since found out that this is probably "limp home" mode. Looking through the diagnostic codes a fault was showing with the S1/S2 solenoid(s) and the car was sent to my local Volvo dealer. After an hour and £85 later they said they did not know what the problem was and said that they needed to "look inside" the 'box (4 hours minimum) and that the solenoids were £250 each plus fitting! While I was considering my next move the gearbox failed completely.

The gearbox specialist said that the friction plates had disintegrated and that the problem had been made worse by engine coolant having mixed with the transmission fluid due to a faulty radiator! I now have a new gearbox (and a new radiator) but the problems are still there. When the car was first returned the gearbox was fine for the first few hundred miles, but now appears to have gone back to "limp home" mode. The gearbox company will not get involved as they say that the other problems were there before and that they have fixed their bit.

During all the problems, there have been no warning lights on the dash and the indicator showing Low or 2nd gear does not illuminate (does work though when the ignition lights come on when starting) , and the sport/econ switch is still dead, even though the switch is new.

I am convinced that the problems are electrical (it has got a new gearbox after all) but would welcome any suggestions as to what to look for or check before it all starts getting expensive again. I have been offered a second hand replacement gearbox ecu for next to nothing. Would it be worth trying this?

I would appreciate some advice from you "old hands" as my patience is running out. Other than this I love the car!