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tony1963 · ‎01-30-2018

There has been some loose discussion on this board about Volvo transmissions. I have noticed an uptick in my business since the discussion started, perhaps it scared people into selling their vehicle cheap. But, at any rate, I've continued to do well with Volvos.

So, let's talk about "Volvo transmissions". First, there aren't any. All Volvo vehicles have and have had other manufacturers. Those transmissions are shared by other vehicle makes. Let's talk about a few.

AW55-50 SN

This is the transmission that is found on Volvos with 5-cylinder engines model years 2000 to 2007 and it is a 5-speed automatic with adaptive shift control. This transmission is made by Asian Warner and that same complany makes transmissions for other vehicles including Jeep. The AW55-50SN is found in Volvo, GM, Saturn, Nissan and Infinity vehicles. Each make has their own designation for this transmission, but it is the same unit.

I am most familiar with this model since I tend to sell the 5-cylinder Volvo cars. The problem that crops up over time is that the shift solenoids stick after warmup given erratic shifts. New solenoids and a fluid change will restore the unit to peak operating performance.

Volvo 6-Cylinder Vehicles

The 6-cylinder vehicles 1999 through 2007 (S80, XC90) use a transmission that is built by none other than GM. The unit is shared across midsized GM vehicles of the era and is very difficult to service.

6-Speed Automatic

After 2007 Volvo began using a 6-speed automatic that is also made by Asian Warner. This transmission is also found in many vehicle models including Ford.

So, after all of this, it is not accurate to describe Volvos as having "bad transmissions" since it really isn't a Volvo unit.

In 20 years of selling Volvos, I have only ever had two transmission failures. One was a 5-speed manual that was whining and the other was an AW55-50SN that had erratic shift points. I replaced that transmission before I discovered the shift solenoid fix, but the customer was so impressed that they bought three other vehicles from me.

ripsmc · ‎01-30-2018

I think your post is dead on and oh so true.

It's always been amusing to me to hear someone trashing Car A for having **bleep** transmssions and praising Car B for having good ones when the transmissions rolled out of the same factory.

When it comes to car complaints some people can be downright weird. Such as the lady who bought a brand new Nissan Maxima and did not have the oil changed one single time. At 25k miles the engine blew and she was justifiably refused warranty.

She cursed to the heavens that even if she never changed the motor oil that Nissan should have built the engine better.......

tony1963 · ‎01-31-2018

I was looking at all of the vehicle models that use the AW55/50 transmission and the Chevrolet Equinox is on that list too.

If I look back over the last 20 years, the Volvo brand has remained robust with my business and we've continued to do well. We have repaired north of 30 of the AW55/50 units with new solenoids and fluid, restoring them to new performance. The highest mileage one that we have done was 184k miles. After putting the software in relearn mode with new solenoids, it takes about 20 miles of mixed driving to fully appreciate the changes. The other alternative is to not put the software in relearn mode and it will accomplish the same thing, just over several days of driving.

So, for every Volvo with a supposedly "bad transmission", there are thousands of others.

So which Volvo transmissions are bad? From my perspective, they're all just fine $$$.

legitimate_bidder · ‎01-31-2018

wrote:

When it comes to car complaints some people can be downright weird. Such as the lady who bought a brand new Nissan Maxima and did not have the oil changed one single time. At 25k miles the engine blew and she was justifiably refused warranty.
She cursed to the heavens that even if she never changed the motor oil that Nissan should have built the engine better.......

Probably the wife of that European dude who used to post here, who'd say that we 'Mercans were crazy for changing our oil so frequently, and that we should only do it once every 20K miles or some such nonsense, because "frequent oil changes were just a habit instilled by propaganda from the oil companies, and Americans were the only ones who fall for it"!

whatmorefabric · ‎01-31-2018

We have 6 Volvos in the family. The oldest being my husbands 1993 850 Wagon with 332,000 miles that he still drives from DC to NH.

The newest is a 2013. The kids have 4 in the 2001 to 2006 range. We buy a new car and hand them down.

My daughter was 16 when a Honda Civic ran a red light and T boned her. The kid driving the Honda was cut out of his car with serious leg injuries. The Trooper took my daughter out from the passenger side and without a scratch.

I have never had a transmission issue, but than we do the regular maintenance on them.

tony1963 · ‎01-31-2018

That's a great story. I guess if there were transmission issues with Volvo, you'd have discovered that by now.

I believe, as well, that they are great cars and a tremendous value in today's market.

sockmonkeydave · ‎01-31-2018

@ripsmc

wrote:
I think your post is dead on and oh so true.

It's always been amusing to me to hear someone trashing Car A for having **bleep** transmssions and praising Car B for having good ones when the transmissions rolled out of the same factory.

When it comes to car complaints some people can be downright weird. Such as the lady who bought a brand new Nissan Maxima and did not have the oil changed one single time. At 25k miles the engine blew and she was justifiably refused warranty.
She cursed to the heavens that even if she never changed the motor oil that Nissan should have built the engine better.......

lol all my cars leak oil so fast I never have dirty oil.

I get my oil from Rural King, in 5 gal. buckets.

atikovi · ‎01-31-2018

wrote:

I get my oil from Rural King, in 5 gal. buckets.

Must be a pain to add oil to your cars.

ripsmc · ‎01-31-2018

Personally, I think Volvos and other European cars such as SAABs, VWs, and Benzes get a bad rap that is not deserved.

As for transmissions, service them regularly and they should last the life of the car. A good friend of mine who has been a transmission rebuilder and who has owned his own shop for decades has told me several times that almost all of the transmission problems he sees are caused by not changing the fluid regularly or running the transmission low on fluid because of a leak.

tony1963 · ‎02-07-2018

So, when all is said and done, which Volvos have bad transmissions?

Anonymous · ‎02-07-2018

https://www.aboutlawsuits.com/volvo-transmission-settlement-43494/

Anonymous · ‎02-07-2018

https://repairpal.com/transmission-failure-common-257

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2018

https://www.eeuroparts.com/blog/4739/is-your-volvo-hard-shifting-you-should-read-this/

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2018

Be careful what you ask for....

Google "volvo bad transmissions". The internet seems to be full of real, actual cases of thousands of volvos with bad transmissions and class action suits. These are real individuals, with volvos, with bad transmissions. Not just the members of this board you don't like....