Volvo Repair: 2000 V70 Transmission problem????, internal faults, volvo dealer

Question
I have a 2000 V70 with 143K on it. Recently, the transmission has been doing strange things. It usually "slips" when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear for about 1 second and causes the RPM'S to run up. Sometimes when I put it in drive, it takes a couple of seconds to engage. Other times it seems to work normally. Today, when it shifted from 2nd to 3rd, it was OK, but slipped a bit going from 3rd to 4th. It also seems to shift rougher than usual. I took it to a transmission shop and they said it needed to be rebuilt at a cost of $2,000.00 plus! I have read recently in some forms that there may be some software up dates from the Volvo dealer that would fix it. Any advise?

Thanks for your help!

Dan  

Answer
There is a software upgrade available that is said to correct that problem.  But this software patch will only work if it is the out of date software causing the problem.  Its worth a shot since it is so much less expensive.  The software is less than 40 and probably 1 hr of labor to program it. Check with your dealer.  They'll also be able to tell you if it is a waste of your time.  If the computer has set a DTC for transmission internal faults they can tell you, so you aren't wasting your money on software.  Hope that helps.

James

P.S. To see the service bulletin go to this link http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm
and fill out the information for your car.  It should be near the bottom of the list.