Urgent Help / Advice S60 T5 Geartronic

[mdonaldson]

Good Evening,

I need some urgent help/advice for my T5 Geartonic.

I picked up my S60 T5 on Fri, and I've noticed that when driving lightly, 3rd gear seems to hold revs allot.

If I lift off slightly it goes into 4th no problem.

When I accelerate with the throttle half down, there’s no problem.

There are no clunks or nasty knocks whatsoever, and appears to be 3rd only.

Please try and put me out of my misery.

Cheers,
Mark

[minkymoo]

does it do this cold or hot or both, is it the aw55-50? there are issues with third gear on these boxes, usually due to the b4 servo cover plate, which is easily replacable, if its faulty tends to cause slip through the gear change up the box and a bit if a bump on down changes, have you checked your oil level/condition, may just need a top up or a change of fluid!!

[cornclose]

Mine always holds revs slightly longer when cold, which is odd, as it should be the other way round really (not over revving when cold etc).

However, as I drive mine in manual override pretty much all the time (only use drive when crawling in traffic) it makes no odds to me...

[mdonaldson]

minkymoo,

It does it hot or cold.

I had the adaptive gearbox thingee reset, and stil th esame issue.

Do you think its an doil issue, was bought from a private seller, and im guessing not used the appropriate volvo specified oil.

Im interested in the comment on the part that can be replaced b4 servo plate..... wha tis this? How knowledgeable are you on this, as i really need to get this done....

[cornclose]

I had my geartronic oil replaced about 6 months ago (well, about half of it anyway) and I'm about to get it done again next week (half of it again). I'm using the Volvo oil.

The last time I had it done, it made a big difference to the smoothness of gear changes...

EDIT: Depending on what year it is, it may also be worth investigating whether there is a software update available for the gearbox control system. I had some updates done at an independant, and after this, it did seem a lot more 'intelligent' as to what it was doing when in 'Drive'.

[minkymoo]

HI there, the make of the oil you are using is not really that important, if it meets jws 3309 specifications its fine if you buy the volvo labelled stuff it will cost you a small fortune.,parts for volvo online sell comma 3309, its not mobil but it meets the required spec and its a fraction of the cost!!!! changing your oil will definately make the world of difference.
The b4 servo cover plate is a stepped plate that has a sprung washer on the inside which controls the travel of the piston ( named b4 by aisin warner ). This piston controls oil flow and pressure during gear changes around 3rd gear and also neutral to drive . the washer when it wears becomes concave which causes long or poor/slipping gear changes, it is held in by a circlip, can take about fifteen mins to change. try a gradual oil change first, you could flush the complete system but its a pain, drain the sump and top up (approx three litres) and top up if you do this a couple of times over a few months it will clear pretty quickly!!!

[minkymoo]

depending on the age of the box/car there are software updates for 3rd gear changes and also harsh engagements. These software updates came about as volvo don't sell the majority of the valve block parts to remedy these issues, so re-arranging the software was the quickest and cheapest option for them!!!

[Volvo Family]

On the subject of holding onto gears longer when cold - it's quite feasible that it is programmed to do this to warm up the engine quicker - or more importantly warm up the cat quicker to improve emissions performance. My Merc auto held onto first and second gear to a very large extent when cold.

[mdonaldson]

Chaps,

th ecar is a 2002 model, with 48 on clock.

I wnet to an independant, and he reset the adaptive on the gearbox - made no diffenrec, however, the car does require a few upgrqades.......

im hoping, and starting cheap.

Engine / gearbox upgrades,

then Oil.

I will print some of thes ebits of and collate them when I take the car to the specialist, hes a pretty switche don guy, but doesnt know what could be causing it.

Any other info advice, is welcomed.

Thanks for your help so far.

[timbo_1975]

I would change & flush the trans oil FIRST, then update the software.

[mdonaldson]

*** LATEST NEWS ***

Well I visited my local Volvo specialist this morning, he ran diags and updated the car with two bits of software.

Amazing when the car was being re-programmed, the zenons were lighting up, and adjusting all by themself as the software was updating, weird to see :wow:

Checked all oils, and they were perfect, I then left for the 40 mins drive home.. and hey presto the problem is no more.

I'm a very happy chappy and have to thank Bob @ The Riverway Workshop in Harlow, Essex.

thank you for all your input. Minkymoo, I think one of your posts to this has got bob thinking about another problem he seen recently on a customers car.

Cheers,

Mark

[minkymoo]

not been on for a week or so, glad to see your issue is sorted, nowt worse than a problem that has a multitude of possible remedies!!!! happy driving!!!