Autoboxes - Good or bad?

[Volvostorm]

I'm looking for T5, now, most of the ones I have come across are auto's, are they any good, I've read a few stories about them, are they as bads as I've read?

Thanks for any help

[5seaterT5x2]

I'm looking for T5, now, most of the ones I have come across are auto's, are they any good, I've read a few stories about them, are they as bads as I've read?

Thanks for any help

can be,mine was ********* unprintable that bit i would never buy another anyway toooooooooooooooooo much to go wrong especially if you got a heavy right boot manual for me next time.
guess it really depends on your driving style,in heavy traffic etc?

tis just my opinion from my own personel experience and hefty!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bill from an auto goin badly wrong

[stainesy]

i love my auto T-5 R and i dont have a bad thing to say about it. great drive. great power and soooooo easy in trafick and around town. can just criuse along then hit the sports button and blow away most things on the road

[Volvostorm]

i love my auto T-5 R and i dont have a bad thing to say about it. great drive. great power and soooooo easy in trafick and around town. can just criuse along then hit the sports button and blow away most things on the road

I am tempted to buy an auto, I like driving them :)
But how often do they go wrong?

[Storm-Troll]

I have an S70R.. Auto and I Love it.... After driving 20 gear Artics all day, the last thing u wanna do it change more gears in the car.. Plus I can keep my left hand free to molest the Knee of the Lovely Lady in the Passenger seat...lol.... welll. I will when I find one....I use my gearbox Like a Manual always using the 3.2.1 gears when on country lanes and coming up to junctions.... and I have had her 2 years now and Drive her hard like a Nuclear bomb has gone off behind me and I need to get away, and Never once had a single Problem with it at all.... Id rather have my auto than a Manual.. my last T5 was Manual and Im happy being an Auto-bot...lol:hail::rally_dri

[irf]

if you buy an auto, i'm sure you'll like it. buy a manual and you'll thank god you did!

[T-5HAUN]

I've had a few auto T5s (most over 150k miles) and never had a problem, they are a bit sluggish when you initially set off away from the line but fine once moving! Can be alarming if you want to nip out onto a roundabout and not a lot happens til you get some turbo. Other than that, highly recommended.

[Volvostorm]

So, your saying they aren't as bad as the horror stories I have read, and as long as the fluid is cherry red, I should be ok?

[cookie]

I've had both 850 and V70 auto's canned the nuts off them and never had a problem

[dickiemint]

I've had 2 autos, had nothing but good service out of both. My second is going up for sale shortly pending MOT and service next week!

[jez.w]

I have had both auto and manual boxes on 850's. I prefer auto, auto doesnt seem any slower once it get moving. Not had any trouble with autobox either.

[siamblue]

I would never touch a auto again, it was nice to drive around London and on long journeys but when they go wrong budget for £1500-£3500 for another box, unless you can DIY it,

I love my manual, would only go back if i lost a leg,

Gary

[y2blade]

i love my Auto box T5.....i doubt i'll own a manual car again

[Major Frank Squiff]

For the first year I had my car (850 T5 auto) I had strange problems such as "flaring" in First in the morning ( It feels and sounds like clutch slip on a manual) I liked the car a lot and took the financial plunge to have the transmission rebuilt, after a very long saga and £1200 later I got it back. 99% of the time its fine with just the odd "flaring " incident when I forget to take it easy for the first 10 minutes when the weather is cold. The car is brilliant and the automatic is great fun. However I am always thinking is it going to go wrong again! I would never buy another automatic T5 , I just think they are not strong enough to take continous thrashing.

[5seaterT5x2]

I would never touch a auto again, it was nice to drive around London and on long journeys but when they go wrong budget for £1500-£3500 for another box, unless you can DIY it,

I love my manual, would only go back if i lost a leg,

Gary


Yep an auto box goes wrong BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG bucks had i known then what i know now i would not have bought the auto and i would not have got it repaired an auto box goin badly wrong tis more than most cars are worth these day sadly

[flyingbrick]

Hi. I have an 850 t5r auto and have never had a problem. I used to think automatics were slow cars. I was wrong an auto is a bit slower from takeoff but only abit and abit more thirsty. Am very happy with mine.
Cheers Mark....

[dibble34]

Hi, I have had both now and prefer the auto. My feeling is that they are big luxury cars and should be as easy to drive as possible, with the added bonus of lots of power :). I had the manual and loved it, but it is never going to be a small nippy hot hatch that you want to do lots of gear changes in down A roads. (in my opinion) When the auto wrong I expect I will change my mind!

[Torch S70R]

my S70R is the first auto car ive owned and bought it cos i was sick and tired of town traffic and the constant stop start routine, they are a very relaxed form of driving and have much longer ratios compared to the manual. nothing gone wrong with mine (touch wood) :)

[BigV]

I would never touch a auto again, it was nice to drive around London and on long journeys but when they go wrong budget for £1500-£3500 for another box, unless you can DIY it,

I love my manual, would only go back if i lost a leg,

Gary

Surely the same can be said for a manual though....... if it goes wrong it is going to cost big money, either way.....

Auto boxes are great IMO, my first Volvo was an automatic and I have had 3 more since, I would never bother going back to a manual ever again. I just do not see the advantage of having a slightly faster pull away out weighing the negatives of having to dip the clutch and change gear every 5 seconds in traffic and not knowing if the previous owner has red lined the car in every gear.

Nope, I think manual boxes are for people who want to feel like Lewis Hamilton every time they drive down a twisty road, auto T5's are for everyone else who wants to go fast in comfort with no effort required.

Also, in my opinion, for the average driver the automatic will launch just as fast as the manual car, and certainly it will change gear faster than a human could manage.

You also have the option (if you can be arsed) of locking out 3rd / 2nd gear for going down lanes, towing or in icey weather etc, by making full use of the box, not just sticking it in 'D' and going for it.

Just check the fluid is in good condition and that the box changes up and down all the gears, including into reverse without clunking, severe jerks, strange noises or long delays. Changing the fluid can improve the smoothness (is that a word?) and prolong life, apart from that not much to go wrong IMO.

My first two Volvo's had 140k+ and both were lovely to drive.

[Torch S70R]

great answer :D the only flaw is that lewis hamilton also drives an auto both on the track and on the road afaik ;)

[irf]

nothing to do with racing or lewis hamilton, it's about driver interaction. enjoy your autos and i'm sure they're absolutely brilliant, maybe better and quicker then a manual, i'll just keep practising and perfecting my heel and toe on my inferior manual lol.

[Torch S70R]

hence the big grin and wink ;) heel and toe is really only effective on a well balanced rwd car imho (i used to do it all the time in my M3)

[BigV]

nothing to do with racing or lewis hamilton, it's about driver interaction. enjoy your autos and i'm sure they're absolutely brilliant, maybe better and quicker then a manual, i'll just keep practising and perfecting my heel and toe on my inferior manual lol.

Not on a public road I hope........... and as if heel-toe driving is really high on the list of priorities for most people buying a FWD Volvo! :rolleyes:

[irf]

not on a public road? why not?? you don't have to be going fast although it is more satisfying of course.

torch, i hear you, used to do it on my modified 200sx and then promptly unbalance the car and drift round the roundabo............corner(track of course)

[Torch S70R]

not on a public road? why not?? you don't have to be going fast although it is more satisfying of course.

torch, i hear you, used to do it on my modified 200sx and then promptly unbalance the car and drift round the roundabo............corner(track of course)
:D man how id love to get back to that (someday)
RWD / LSD and some HP and you're set for some fun

but i do enjoy the lazyness of the auto box and the kickdown is plenty sufficient for overtakes (so long as you switch it over to sport mode which can be done on the fly) :)

[siamblue]

Surely the same can be said for a manual though....... if it goes wrong it is going to cost big money, either way.....

Auto boxes are great IMO, my first Volvo was an automatic and I have had 3 more since, I would never bother going back to a manual ever again. I just do not see the advantage of having a slightly faster pull away out weighing the negatives of having to dip the clutch and change gear every 5 seconds in traffic and not knowing if the previous owner has red lined the car in every gear.

Nope, I think manual boxes are for people who want to feel like Lewis Hamilton every time they drive down a twisty road, auto T5's are for everyone else who wants to go fast in comfort with no effort required.

Also, in my opinion, for the average driver the automatic will launch just as fast as the manual car, and certainly it will change gear faster than a human could manage.




I am not knocking the speed, they are just as quick if not quicker off the line,
The manual boxes are a £1000 for a recon and being mechanical hardly ever go wrong, whereas autos have clutch packs and solenoids at are £1500 upwards, plus a fluid that can overheat overtime if not checked upon as it is not a servicable item as Volvo states,

Gary

[T-5HAUN]

I think the auto boxes are more proned to problems on the later Volvos. The 850 and S/V/C70 boxes are pretty much bomb proof if looked after properly. Yes they are more complicated than a manual but they are very well made units, built to last and can take a lot of hammer. And if they do go wrong, there is always a range of options available to sort it out, some expensive and some very cheap, like fitting a 2nd hand one which is what I would do without question should a problem arise with mine.

[stainesy]

:D man how id love to get back to that (someday)
RWD / LSD and some HP and you're set for some fun

but i do enjoy the lazyness of the auto box and the kickdown is plenty sufficient for overtakes (so long as you switch it over to sport mode which can be done on the fly) :)

oh i remember the days of getting the back end out in my old saphire cosworth. wicked in the wet. used to go to a quiet roundabout and me and a few mates used to see who could keep the nose of the car pointed at the roundabout the longest. that was untill my cozzy went off an underpass on the way home from work one day LOL
but yeah i do miss the thrill of a rwd powerfull car

[russell2419]

Dear Torch,
I believe that Lewis drives a tiptronic gearbox on the track, which is an electronic box with a clutch but no pedal to depress.
As for the original thread, having driven both types for normal and fast response (Ambulance response car, Volvo V50 no less but a sluggish 2.0D that runs out of puff at about 125mph) give me a manul box for Personal preference. It has to be a personal choice as much as the personal purchase of this fine make of automobile.

[Babybadger]

I've had a few auto T5s (most over 150k miles) and never had a problem, they are a bit sluggish when you initially set off away from the line but fine once moving! Can be alarming if you want to nip out onto a roundabout and not a lot happens til you get some turbo. Other than that, highly recommended.

I disagree, get it RICA'd, Autos on T5 are an exception to the rule about autos, I have driven both, if you do a lot of town driving get an auto, if its fun a-roads and less traffic , get a manual, its that simple

[JOHN OWEN]

hi i have manual t5 p reg 125k mot aug tax april chipped dump induction itg 4 £900 live in bristol with pic on my last post look 4 john owen