IShift Problems

2008 VNL 730, 685k. I have owned it for about a year.

Since owning the truck, it has always started out in first gear when in drive. I have seen it pick a higher gear no more than 10 times. It has been to the dealer three times for a fix, even upgraded to a premium shifter at a cost of 1000. Along with starting in first, it also runs up to 2k rpm before shifting most of the time. The other ishift trucks I have driven are much more calm. I also don't get the up and down arrows on the dash when in drive. These things have forced me to drive it in manual most of the time.

The few times it has picked a higher gear from a dead stop were when the truck was on a down hill slope. This leads me to believe that whatever sensor is supposed to determine the attitude of the truck is not working correctly. I'm assuming this would be in the TCU, but not sure. Local Volvo dealer hasn't been any help with this issue.

 

I think you completely missed the point. My truck is not functioning the way it was designed, based on my experience in several other iShift trucks. It has nothing to do with me not getting along with the automatic.

 

I just talked to the Volvo mechanic that worked on the truck yesterday. He said that it was definitely starting in 4th when he drove it. It seems to me like there is a malfunctioning sensor that should determine the start gear (based on load and attitude). I'm taking it back to them today.

 

After spending a few hours at the Volvo dealership with the technician, we have decided that the cause of the issue was one of a couple incorrect settings in the Bendix system. After correcting a few parameters, it starts in 4th and shifts at the proper RPM. It's like a whole new truck.

It is still throwing a DTC for steering angle sensor, but the best we can tell that's an issue in the harness between the sensor and the ECU. Replacing the sensor does not fix the problem. I'll have to pull everything apart and trace it. That DTC is preventing the lateral acceleration sensor from calibrating, which is why we assumed the issue was related to the lateral acceleration sensor. I will work on that at some point in the future, but for now, the truck is performing well.