I CURRENTLY HAVE A 1999 VOLVO S80. A FEW DAYS AGO, THE “transmission service required” MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE MESSAGE BOARD. THE “check engine” WARNING LIGHT ALSO ILLUMNATED AT THE SAME TIME.
IS THERE A SENSOR THAT COULD BE BAD? THE TRANS. FLUID LEVEL IS FINE AND THERE ARE NO LEAKS. THE CAR DOESN’T SEEM TO BE SLIPPING BETWEEN GEARS (ALTHOUGH THE RPM’S ARE A LITTLE HIGH BETWEEN GEAR SHIFTS)
PLEASE HELP !! I HAVE A ROAD TRIP COMING UP IN A WEEK !!
THANKS.
That CEL (check engine light) is just a kid in class waving her hand trying to get you attention because she has the answer. You need to have the codes read. Some places will read them for FREE. Try Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts. Get the exact code not just their translation into English and post it back here. It likely will have a format like P1234.
Exactly the same thing happened to my S80 last week (8/7) at about 107,000 miles. The Volvo dealer said that the transnmission needed to be replaced based on the codes and a tech’s test drive ($4,000). The “check engine” notice led to replacing the #2 and #4 ignition coils. $200 to “diagnos” the transmission, $300 for the coils. Doesn’t sound right to me, although this car has been a sad experience of several nagging repairs and a few expensive ones for a car that Volvo apparently admits was flawed. It was not wise purchase a first model year car, even from Volvo.