New to me 2003 XC70 Trans shifts OK when cold,....and badly once it warms up.

[bcolins]

I bought a 2003 XC70 a few months back. It drove OKish when first started up,...but after about 15 or 20 minutes of driving,.....it would start going into neutral for a second or two, then BANG!.......it would slam into gear, and sometimes pop into neutral again immediately. I've installed the IPD B4 Shift Servo cap upgrade, and also taken it to the local dealer and spent$100 to update the transmission software.

The car now drives better than it did,........again..........for about 15-20 minutes,....then usually, the first shift flare followed by banging into gear comes when slowing down for a stop light, then accelerating a bit without coming to a complete stop,......as the light turns green before I come to a complete stop.

I think what is happening is that the car is downshifting as I slow down,....then, when it is between two gears,......not having completed the down shift,....I accelerate,....and get the mementary engine RPM flare, followed by a late transmission egagement or BAANG!

I bought the transmission flush kit from IPD,....have yet to do it,....I have some concern that a FLUSH MIGHT MAKE IT WORSE

Anyone experienced this big shift flare / RPM increase followed by banging into gear once their trans is warm? Suggestions?

Brian in Austin

[JRL]

Always do the drain and fills and upgrade software before the funeral, sometimes it will do the trick but it's probably shot.
In the least you will probably need a new valvebody
You neglected to post the mileage.

This is what happens when they fail, only when hot (at first) and the more you continue to drive it, you're hurting more internal parts than just a valvebody

[Swagger XC]

Only a power flush will make things worse. If you do a proper flush with the ipd kit it SHOULD make an improvement.
If not...it's gone.

Best of luck and get that old fluid out of there!

[bcolins]

Always do the drain and fills and upgrade software before the funeral, sometimes it will do the trick but it's probably shot.
In the least you will probably need a new valvebody
You neglected to post the mileage.

This is what happens when they fail, only when hot (at first) and the more you continue to drive it, you're hurting more internal parts than just a valvebody

mileage is 140,000 ish. (too lazy to walk outside and check)

[bugeye]

Transmission drain and fill is easy on your XC. Use Mobil 3309 available from amazon. Buy a 12 quart case for about $68 + shipping. drain will be about 3.3 quarts. Be sure to capture all drained, measure and add a little less through the dipstick hole only. Checking the fluid level on the dipstick is the hardest part. Transmission must be warm/hot and matches to different marks on the dipstick. The drain plug has a magnet to clean. Add fluid to appropriate level. Do a few drain/fills with a few miles between.

[NJ03XC]

Soooo. This very same thing has recently started occurring on my '03 XC70. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised as it rolled past 320k miles on the way to work today. I suppose the drain and fill should be step one but it sounds like a valve body might be prudent as well. The tranny slam is really the only thing that majorly wrong with the car - aside from some more minor issues that I'll get around to posting about.

[GearheadNY.com]

Soooo. This very same thing has recently started occurring on my '03 XC70. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised as it rolled past 320k miles on the way to work today. I suppose the drain and fill should be step one but it sounds like a valve body might be prudent as well. The tranny slam is really the only thing that majorly wrong with the car - aside from some more minor issues that I'll get around to posting about.

Been there, done that. Mine was a shift solenoid rebuild on a neglected transmission that solved the slam into gear and shift flares. It's a big job, but only a $70 rebuild kit from ebay. I guess 6-8 hours of your time for a $2500 savings isn't bad though.

[JRL]

$2500?
I had my valvebody rebuilt AND with labor to remove and install the entire deal was $500 even.
You can buy a rebuilt one for $500 or if a nearby shop has any talent the rebuilt kit is only $180 or so

[Astro14]

Been down this road.

Twice.

IPD flush with proper fluid will help. Might even cure it...for a while...

If it's been banging, it's been wearing out...depending on how long it's been banging, it might be saved by a valve body, or it might not..

In the meantime, manual selection of the gears will minimize the banging.

[AKAMick]

Sounds identical to the 02 I recently acquired, same stuff with the slamming and flares, did a gibbons flush and added a Hayden oil cooler along with a magnefine filter, and aside from a inconsistent converter lock up, its the daily driver with no issues with shifting, though I will rebuild the VB and the linear solenoids to take care of the converter lock up problem. Seems that I am the only one that notices that problem though. The LS units when energized pull metal wear particles into them which causes them to stick and delay movement causing erratic shifting,

[GearheadNY.com]

$2500?
I had my valvebody rebuilt AND with labor to remove and install the entire deal was $500 even.
You can buy a rebuilt one for $500 or if a nearby shop has any talent the rebuilt kit is only $180 or so

Easy there killer. I'm talking about an entire transmission + R&R in case you can't math. Sometimes you're past the point of a valve body rebuild and you need to replace the entire unit.

[NJ03XC]

I appreciate the feedback. My one man Indy shop will do a flush but doesn't seem interested in the valve body job. I will have to do some searching around for a shop. Pretty sure I have no interest in the dealer getting involved.

[JRL]

If you buy a rebuilt valvebody, the install is pretty straight forward, your guy should be able to do it.
However, in general, , YOU NEED TO FIND A SHOP THAT SPECIALIZES IN VOLVOS