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Today I was driving my recently purchased 2001 volvo v40 (auto) up to the mountain.  I began to notice that the car would rev out and not engage in a gear! It happened a couple of times then began to get worse and wosre. Fretting, I drove it towards a volvo dealer, I was almost there when the car simply would not move forward when in gear and the motor would just rev.  I got the vehicle towed the rest of the way. Upon inspection the dealer indicated that asmall seal was faulty and I was losing my transmission oil.  There was oil along the ground in big puddles into the dealer. (at this poin tI am thinking I should have stoped the vehicle and got it towed right when it began occuring).  They told me they would replace the seal/small black grommet (100.00). and refill the oil and do a test drive. If the test drive failed there would be transmission failure and would need to be replaced at 3500-4000 dollars which i do not have. They did the work and the car drove now that it was holding the oil.  The technician told me that the gears seemed smooth 1-3 but the fourth gear was a bit "clunky". He told me that the transmission might be ok for a day or for the life of the vehicle.  But not to go on any trips....AHHRRGGG!~!!,
this is my new volvo with 64,000 ks on it!!

I drove the car home and did not notice any change in the way it shifts compared to before the problem started.  

I would like to hear from some people and see what they think about this issue, could there be major damage in the trans?

if it seems to run fine now, could it get worse?

now every little noise im trying to determine if it is due to damage in the transmission.  It ran so good before.

Could the trans change the way the motor idles and would it not make noise during shifting if there was an internal issue?

If there is wear due to driving with the low oil what should I begin to expect in the future?

Should I take it in to a transmission shop ? can they evaluate if there is in fact an issue?

If all is fine now that they have stopped the leak and the gears seem to be smooth, is it possible there was no damage caused?


any suggestions and comments about this situation are greatly appreciated,  

If the fluid leaked slowly over a number of months damage is more likely to occur.
A sudden loss of fluid will cause the fluid to stop being pumped which means everything inside will quit turning or applying.

The dealer may have been playing with your mind.

Do this.

Drive the vehicle for 20 km's or so.

With the engine running check the transmission fluid level as prescribed in your owners manual.

Using a clean white tissue take a sample of the fluid and observe it.
It should be clear with no minute metal or fibre particles.
Smell it.
If it smells like something that would make a maggot puke then it is burnt.  

thanks stuart,

i will do that after school today

and post my reply,

it was not leaking over time, i know that. It happened all that day within an hour but my concern is that I Drove untill it would drive anymore

thank you  

About all you can do at this point is to drive it and keep your fingers crossed.

Gary  

ok, thanks for the replies, I stopped my a local mechanic and told him whaty happened and explained I wanted to check the condition of the trans oil.  It was Burnt for sure.  He kooked it up to a machine which took out all the old oil and replaced it with new oil.  Car still seems to drive ok.

He said that when I am back in town in a week we will take a look and see the condition.  He indicated to me that if it drives fine in a week it would probably be ok and i wouldnt need to worry about it any longer...

so I guess as gary said  "About all you can do at this point is to drive it and keep your fingers crossed."


after a few weeks should I still be concerned that I could have tran problems on a trip or do you guys think it will be ok?

What should I expect to notice if there is a problem, could it be subtle ? every time I feel the engine switch to another gear Im wondering "is that normal"??  

I may need to get the transmission replaced for my own peace of mind even if it is perfectly fine!!!!