Laggy Transmission - "Hesitation" at low revs / low gear

[iceman_jkh]

Hi,

I am having issues with my Volvo XC40 MY20 (T5 R-Design, with 250k kms) where the car is quite 'hesitant' at low revs/low gear.
I'm convinced it's not normal for the car to feel this laggy at low revs (~<2k) or low speed (<15kph). It' doesn't always happen, but often enough to be an issue.

I've had the car serviced for this issue by a seemingly competent local mechanic (not Volvo official dealership), but they couldn't find the issue despite replacing transmission oil and some other unrelated repairs. It might have been beyond their skillset. *shrug*

I was consdiering purchasing an OBDII scanner to log engine/transmission/fuel data so I could figure out if there was a pattern/etc.
I'm now considering purchasing Orbit+sensor instead, but was hoping to know whether Orbit would be a better solution/investment for this issue.
Can it log more/less/same as the OBD?
What other function/features would Orbit offer to help my problem solving here?

I was also considering the Polestar upgrade (which seems to be partially enable-able by Orbit), but I want to sort out this issue first.

Thanks for any advice!

[IMAY2023]

Orbit does not record live data from ECUs. It only reads DTCs, send commands ECUs, change configuration and finally some procedures such as cleaning battery history, breaks service mode, camera, suspension calibrations. 

What you need a decent scan tool to record realtime data from TCM while you are driving! If you have a drive mode selector, check in comfort or dynamic mode. ECO mode has that similar behavior where it keeps the gear in high in low speeds  much longer than other modes.

[iceman_jkh]

Orbit does not record live data from ECUs. It only reads DTCs, send commands ECUs, change configuration and finally some procedures such as cleaning battery history, breaks service mode, camera, suspension calibrations. 

What you need a decent scan tool to record realtime data from TCM while you are driving! If you have a drive mode selector, check in comfort or dynamic mode. ECO mode has that similar behavior where it keeps the gear in high in low speeds  much longer than other modes.

Thanks.  Good to know. 
I'll try using a different drive mode to check if any different. 

Are there any cheap logging devices you'd recommend? I'd prefer something minimal, that connects/logs to my Android phone.

[IMAY2023]

I don't think there is OBD2 dongle with an Android app that records live data from ECUs. 
Many of those end up costing more money because they force to purchase in app features and if you switch a car model then they force you to purchase another addon.

[iceman_jkh]

 typical. Haha. 
I don't mind spending up to $50 for this logging, as it's only a temporary need. 

Any thoughts on orbit and the performance/results of  its  "polestar mode"?

[x119]

OrBits 'Polestar Mode' is the Polestar gearbox map exclusively. 
Is does not change the DEM software or ECM mapping. 

The difference in the mapping alone is good enough for me and I've been running now for over 2 years. I run a 16 XC90 for reference. 

Data logging is something that is being looked at, and in practice is possible with Orbit, it's rather that the gui to interpret the data isn't there. But if you like values in hex...

[iceman_jkh]

Thanks @x119
Can you tell me what the DEM and ECM mapping do, or rather, what performance/improvement I am 'missing' without them?

Any idea how far away logging is? 
I might be able to utilise that basic/crude logging function. Are there any examples of the output, as I don't want to wade through pages of hex data.... but would consider timestamped CSV data, that could be snapped to provide a bit of data to analyse later on.

I'll also try the earlier suggestion to change the driving mode.

Thanks.

[iceman_jkh]

Here's the best OBD2 scanner options I've found so far:

1. Veepeak Mini (Blue dongle) $20AUD + Torque Pro (Android) $5 AUD
   
2. Xtool A30/A30D/A30M $350AUD (lifetime free software updates)
   
3. Topton TopScan $140AUD (1yr free software updates)
   
4. Orbit $350 AUD (1yr free software updates - probably the most detrimental, as Orbit is new and in 1 year will have added lots of functions that established products already have)
   

If anyone has experience with any of the above (or can recommend better options), particularly with MY20 XC40, I would love to hear it!!

I believe the Orbit would give me all the same functionality (and more) as options 2 and 3? Comment from an Orbit rep would be great!
But I don't think I can justify the cost of Orbit yet, especially for the purpose of this thread, which was to view live data for fault finding/debugging, as Orbit doesn't provide that function just yet.

[BorD]

using veepeak and carscanner elm obd for iphone. software (web site carsscanner.info)  is $6.99 USD for lifetime. all live data from all available sensors can be trended

[iceman_jkh]

Thanks!

I was also wondering if any of those scanners/tools could allow me to get the CEM PIN for my 2020 XC40 (noting there's other steps/tools also needed - eg: wireshark, etc.)