PomonaGal Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 The winter mode light started flashing this afternoon. Manual says automatic gearbox warning, contact dealer. I live in a rural area with a great mechanic (no dealers for 100 miles) but this scares the bejeezus out of me. I've been unemployed for 2 years & am struggling. Any ideas of what's going on & is this going to bankrupt me? I just had to replace the engine last October because the thermostat locked up, no warning light came on and it warped the valves. UGH Out of my control but nasty anyway. Otherwise, car has been properly serviced and maintained. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 Warped the head, definitely your fault as the tempature gauge would have told you that the tempature was high. Also replacing the engine was a bit extreme as it's pretty cheap and easy to just swap out the head. Anyway, besides the point. Tranny... - check the fluid - possible PNP switch, row the shifter back and forth about 30-40 times rapidly. This won't reset the light be it will clean the PNP contacts. - get someone that can scan and reset the light if you don't have time to let it reset itself. - don't drive it a lot if it's in limp mode since it's defaulting to 3rd gear. - if the fluids has never been changed, get it changed out. Although if it's black and metal flakes, you might be screwed anyway(it needs to be changed regularly!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 Most of what Keaton said is right on, however unsympathetic he may be . You mentioned a great mechanic nearby, I'd try to get the fault codes checked ASAP. Advance Auto stores claim to do this for free, never tried it myself (if you have one nearby that is, I know you said you were rural). Once you have a fault code, it will be easier to figure a course of action . Hope this helps, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 A regular scanner won't pull tranny codes from these Volvos. Only a few units will do it... When money is tight, it means all the more reason to be on top of maintenance. That thermostat costs a lot more when it fails then it does just to replace it, right along with ATF fluid changes, timing belts, PCV systems and so forth. I am unsympathetic because im usually the one in my family that cleans up the messes because of this very situation. I'm sorry but when someone states a maintenance item as doing destruction as out of their control, it's BS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 A regular scanner won't pull tranny codes from these Volvos. Only a few units will do it... Isn't it an OBD-II requirement that any drivetrain faults be read by a standard scanner? I realize non-critical modules (CDM, CCM, etc) aren't OBD-II regulated, but pretty sure the ECM and TCM are... Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keaton85 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 Ive only been able to pull tranny codes from VADIS, an old model specific scanner, and a MAC mentor. Never with a regular OBD scanner that most stores have and/or the cheap ones online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ihatespeedbumps Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 Isn't it an OBD-II requirement that any drivetrain faults be read by a standard scanner? I realize non-critical modules (CDM, CCM, etc) aren't OBD-II regulated, but pretty sure the ECM and TCM are... Joe SOME TCM faults are covered by the OBD II requirements, but it's very few. The PNP switch fault comes to mind (no sure what the PO code is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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