2008 V70 2.4D Geartronic buying advice

[GranpaB]

Went to have a look at the above today and was a lovely drive, especially as it was on 135k miles but i have a bit of a concern with the gearbox reliability, and a potential issue i encountered.

Now i wasnt able to get the car up to temp, but i did notice that with kickdown, it dropped a gear and made progress but when i lifted my foot slightly, it seemed to hang on to the kickdown gear for a second or two before changing back up.

Is this something of a problem and i should maybe avoid the car?

I have never driven or owned a Volvo before so this is all new to me!

[Davie]

Geartronic issues are well documented and common and a lot of the time it can be due to a lack of oil changes as many believe they're sealed for life (Volvo advise they are) and over time / abuse, the oil degrades and that can create issues in the valve body and the like. Some claim a oil change and resetting the adaptions will cure it and others have replaced the complete valve body.

However, it could be down to a low (or high) oil level or something trivial... or it could be normal, they're not the most dynamic of boxes but again hard to say. One thing is for sure, I wouldn't even consider it without having driving it for a good half hour, under varied conditions and really given the box a work out up and down and selecting through the gears when cold, warm and hot and then gauge how it feels and if you're not sure, get somebody who is to check it over.

Failing that, buy it but budget for an oil change or worst case, a rebuild at some stage if you can't live with it...

[GranpaB]

Thanks Davie.