I have a 2001 S40 Volvo. I was told by the dealer I should never change the transmission fluid- so I never did. The car has 168K miles on it now and I feel a little slippage from time to time, nothing major. It is now a back-up car and only gets driven 1-2K miles a year. Question: did I screw up and should I have changed it every 30-40K?
Unless there is something specific and unique to this model Volvo’s transmission, then I have to say that–yes–the fluid should have been changed every 30k.
This model, which was co-developed with Mitsubishi, and built in a plant that they co-owned in Belgium, probably has as many Mitsubishi-designed components in it as Volvo components, and probably is actually more Mitsu than Volvo in total. That being said, the automatic transmissions on these cars actually have a pretty good record of reliability, according to CR’s statistics. But, reliability of transmissions depends to a huge extent on regular servicing of them. Were these other S40s maintained appropriately? We don’t know.
To return to your original question, the ultimate authority regarding your question–namely the Volvo Maintenance Schedule–should be sitting in your glove compartment. While it is tempting to want to rely on the “expertise” of a dealership, in reality the mfr’s maintenance schedule is what should be followed when deciding how to maintain one’s car.
Does the Volvo maintenance schedule specify transmission servicing at the major service intervals, such as 30k, 60k, 90k? If so, then you did screw up.
If the Volvo maintenance schedule does not specify trans service at those intervals, then you were merely the victim of bad advice from the dealership.
The bottom line is that it is your car, so you need to take responsibility for its servicing by following the mfr’s maintenance schedule, rather than relying on what is told to by personnel who may have little or no mechanical expertise. The “service writers” at many dealerships are notorious for giving incorrect advice since they are rarely mechanics.
Much appreciated. Any idea of how many miles I can expect out of the transmission on “average”?
An automatic transmission that is never serviced, or that is serviced only rarely, can be expected to fail any time after ~90k miles. More typical is for the ignored transmission to fail somewhere around 120k. Since you have already driven over 160k miles on your non-serviced transmission, I would say that you are doing unusually well.
If a transmission is serviced correctly every 30k miles, it is possible in many cases to drive well over 200k with no transmission problems. That has not been the case with Honda Accords of the 2000-2003 vintage, but those transmissions were very problematic. Just think–without having serviced your transmission, you are already doing much better than most Accord owners of the 2000-2003 variety.
My guess is on average about 150k-200k with an automatic. Many exceed that.
I think in that range most people do not service them or only once. My wife’s relatives are lax on maintenance (eg no auto tranny fluid changes) on used cars acquired around 50-75k miles. With 10 people going into 150k-300k range no automatic transmission problems. They simply change the oil every 5k miles and address other items on an acute basis.
Appreciate the feedback, will schedule a service first thin next week. I actually got the mileage confused with a car I just donated away, that had 168K, the Volvo had 188K. Great car, just love it. Also, I bought a 2010 Ford Hybrid Fusion about 3 months ago and that car is really nice. You can really see all the safety features Ford borrowed from Volvo, not to mention the really comfortable seats. highly recommended. Thanks again.