All three of my Volvo’s have had the transmission fluid changed (cooler line exchange, AKA Gibbons flush). They ALL work better with fresh fluid. They all have an aftermarket cooler.
I change the fluid every 30,000 miles. Perhaps that is too frequently. I don’t care. The procedure is easy. Transmissions are very expensive.
I use good fluid. Toyota T-IV. Mobil 3309. Valvoline import multi vehicle synthetic. I’ve even tried AMSOIL. They have all worked well.
My wife’s XC, a 2002 known for transmission troubles, has 245,000 miles on the original transmission. Over 130,000 miles since that valve body was rebuilt, but otherwise original parts. It operates flawlessly. It was flushed again at 240,000 miles.
Regular fluid changes will prolong the life of your transmission.
“Fill for life” is a deadly combination of marketing hype and design engineers that don’t want hack mechanics introducing dirt into the transmission (words from my BIL, a power train engineer for a major car company).
Current Fleet:
2016 Tundra Crewmax 4WD 1794
2005 MB S600 (126K, Michelin AS4, HPL 0W40)
2005 MB SL600 (55K Michelin AS4, Mobil 1 0W40)
2004 V70R (143K, six speed M66, HPL 5W40)
2004 XC90 (235K, HPL 0W30 Euro)
2002 V70-XC (295K, HPL 0W30 Euro)
2002 V70-T5 (225K, IPD bars, Bilsteins)
2001 V70-T5 (125K, IPD downpipe, cat back and other mods)
1932 Packard Sedan (straight 8, dual sidemounts, original paint and interior, Shell Rotella 15W40)
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