Is it common for Volvo S60 automatic gearboxes to fail after just 84,000 miles?

I am writing after recent disappointment with my Volvo. The car is a 2002 S60 T5 and at 84,000 miles the automatic gearbox has been playing up and is slowly getting to the point where it is horrible to drive. This car has had mostly motorway miles and has been fully serviced and looked after. It was £26,000 new and is supposed to be a high quality car. I am gutted, as I love driving it. I didn't really expect Volvo to help with payment towards a new box, but I didn't expect them to admit that at 87,000 miles and eight years old they consider it to be normal failure.

What they are covering up is that they recommended nothing to be done to the gearbox. ‘Sealed for life’ is their phrase (there is no maintenance procedure for the auto for that generation of car) and this has led to many of these transmissions failing. The Volvo forums are full of dodgy gearbox articles. I have read that Toyota uses the same gearbox, includes service recommendations and doesn't have anywhere near as many failures.

Asked on 10 October 2010 by ML, Crownhill

Answered by Honest John

Yes, this is a common problem, listed in car-by-car breakdown at www.honestjohn.co.uk. It's also a general problem. When they say the transmission is “sealed for lifer”, the life they are referring to is just seven to ten years. Cars are only built to last around seven years these days, after which rectification work can cost more than the car is worth. £80,000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class cars less than 10 years old are being cannibalised for parts and scrapped because of body rust. That's how far it has gone. It's caused mainly by legislators demanding ever-lower emissions and ever-greater safety which means extra components that fail.

Tags: automatics known defect faulty gearbox

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