QuestionQUESTION: My '96 850 Turbo automatic transmissiion won't shift out of 1st gear when I first start out if I haven't driven it for a few days. I have found that if I shift into 3 that it will upshift just fine. If I drive it around town in 3 for awhile (5-10 minutes) and then put it back into D, it shifts like it should. If I drive it the next day, it is still likely going to work fine. I had the trans flushed last summer and the fluid is still cherry red. This has been happening for years (even before the flush), but seems to be getting worse lately, perhaps because I haven't been driving it quite as much (my family prefers our luxoboat Honda Odyssey).
BTW, I bought this car new (and still love it), it has about 100K miles on it, I have had it to the (moderately incompetent) local Volvo dealer a number of times about this issue and they have never found or suggested anything.
ANSWER: Steve,
I take it as the dealer found no fault codes, right? The cars that I have seen that have had the same shifting problem I put in a new gear position sensor and that has fixed the cars. I believe the sensors contacts get old and miss making the correct connection so the trans control unit does not get the correct signal and therefore stays in first until the sensor warms a bit and or make better contact, then works correctly. The sensor is about $200.00 and 2 1/2 hours of labor, so it is not real cheap, but less than a trans. The ones that I can not fix get a trans. There have been a few problems with that trans.
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QUESTION: Thanks, this is what I was thinking from what I have read.
Dealer found no codes.
Another symptom might be related: When it gets cold out (below freezing, like two days ago) the trans will "slip" in first gear like a manual trans with the clutch pedal halfway down. The upshift light and the light on the Sport/Econ mode switch are both flashing. If I stop and put the car back into Park, the upshift light still flashes. It slowly decreases slipping, I get home after about three miles and park it, the next day it is as if it all never happened. This has been happening two or three times per year for the last 5 to 7 years or so without a big increase in frequency or severity. Love those Swedish engineers...a Swedish trans that screws up when its cold out!
Finally, is replacing this sensor something that I can do? I have fixed electric windows, replaced a water pump and parts of the exhaust system on my previous car. I used to do all sorts of tune up stuff (points, condenser, timing, etc.) before cars became computerized. Is the sensor in the trans or near the gear selector in the center console? I have a pretty full tool chest. Thanks for your help...really.
AnswerSteve,
The gear position sensor is on top of the Trans, connected to the shift valve. It slides over the top, that is the way it knows what gear was selected. It comes with a small wire harness that will need to be removed and reattached to the main wire harness plug on the Trans, sometimes that harness is tough to take apart. There is a tool to properly align the sensor however if you are careful and watch how the old one comes off and align it the same way you should be ok, if the original sensor was properly aligned.
