I am the main driver of the car, and I am not a person who fiddles around too much with the settings. Once I am happy with the seat position, the radio level.. it remains pretty much un-touched.
I am always amazed how other people react when they drive my car. My wife changes all of the settings, obviously the seat (but the car has memory - so problem solved) - the radio tuning, the air con settings and so on..
Radio I can accept, because this is taste. But why oh why do people fiddle around with the airco??
The driver from the garage did this. The car is black, it has black leather seats - so in summer - if parked in the sun, it gets hot. However - the air co is powerful, the seats are ventilated.. within seconds the car is becoming cool. My setting is auto with temp at 22C.. which means the fan doesn't go crazy.. but still pumps cold air into the interior..
So the guy has got the fan on full.. the air co on LO.. ?? what does this do apart from making a load of noise so you can't hear the radio?
Don't touch my controls !!!
Thursday 24 July 2008
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Washer Bottle Leak fix
Washer bottle now fixed via Volvo dealer. Getting the car picked up from the office is a lot easier - and given they valet the car each time.. not too ticked off it keeps going wrong
Monday 21 July 2008
How Popular is the new V70 & XC70
Having driven more than 18,000 miles in the last 7 months in my volvo XC70, I am actually surprised how few of the new V70 and XC70 that you see on the roads. It is literally a handful.
However, when I was in Germany and then Austria during the weekend, I saw a few more. I actually saw a black XC70 (German plate), I thought was identical to mine - however it wasn't the sport model. I also saw a nice black V70 with privacy glass and on a dutch plate. Always D5 models.
However, when I was in Germany and then Austria during the weekend, I saw a few more. I actually saw a black XC70 (German plate), I thought was identical to mine - however it wasn't the sport model. I also saw a nice black V70 with privacy glass and on a dutch plate. Always D5 models.
Sunday 20 July 2008
Service Details and what 90ps feels like
Well not much to report other than the service was completed as planned - the book was stamped and it's good for another 18,000 miles or one year.. which with the current rate will mean around Feb next year.
Unfortunately - the washer leak was not able to be fixed in this visit. I suspected that would be the case, since they probably wouldn't have the spare part. Apparently it is a pipe leading out of the washer bottle has split and needs replacement. Strange that it has broken after such a short time. So booked in for next week.
Tyres were rotated around the car - so will see how that works out in overall wear.
Dropped the car off at Purple Parking at Heathrow and went to the Alps for the weekend. Purple parking works out quite well as it was the cheapest listed on the internet and seems very secure place. However a good 15-20minutes from the airport.
At munich I was offered a Renault Modus or an Opel Astra. I took the Astra, a 1.4 petrol. On the motorway the car ran OK, if a bit high reving. As we were heading towards Solvenia direction, we were on the A10 - when the traffic came to a halt. We managed to communicate with a lorry driver who explained there was a 20km traffic jam - heading into the tunnels. So plan B, and rather than the tunnels, we headed up into the mountains. In the Volvo it would have been a perfect situation, we were often following caravans or vans and you needed a punchy bit of torque to get past on the twisty roads. The 1.4 Asta, breathing hard.. was pathetic.. I had to rev the engine to the red line in 2nd gear otherwise 3rd gear wouldn't pick up.. and at some points I had to rev the engine to the limit of it's life in 1st gear to get it past a tractor.. I am sure the tractor could have gone faster up the hill. The handling of the Astra was however very sharp - just needed a good turbo diesel under the bonnet. We did maybe 500miles in 2 days with 10 hours of driving. Perhaps next time the Renault Modus :)
Unfortunately - the washer leak was not able to be fixed in this visit. I suspected that would be the case, since they probably wouldn't have the spare part. Apparently it is a pipe leading out of the washer bottle has split and needs replacement. Strange that it has broken after such a short time. So booked in for next week.
Tyres were rotated around the car - so will see how that works out in overall wear.
Dropped the car off at Purple Parking at Heathrow and went to the Alps for the weekend. Purple parking works out quite well as it was the cheapest listed on the internet and seems very secure place. However a good 15-20minutes from the airport.
At munich I was offered a Renault Modus or an Opel Astra. I took the Astra, a 1.4 petrol. On the motorway the car ran OK, if a bit high reving. As we were heading towards Solvenia direction, we were on the A10 - when the traffic came to a halt. We managed to communicate with a lorry driver who explained there was a 20km traffic jam - heading into the tunnels. So plan B, and rather than the tunnels, we headed up into the mountains. In the Volvo it would have been a perfect situation, we were often following caravans or vans and you needed a punchy bit of torque to get past on the twisty roads. The 1.4 Asta, breathing hard.. was pathetic.. I had to rev the engine to the red line in 2nd gear otherwise 3rd gear wouldn't pick up.. and at some points I had to rev the engine to the limit of it's life in 1st gear to get it past a tractor.. I am sure the tractor could have gone faster up the hill. The handling of the Astra was however very sharp - just needed a good turbo diesel under the bonnet. We did maybe 500miles in 2 days with 10 hours of driving. Perhaps next time the Renault Modus :)
Wednesday 16 July 2008
Prior to Service
More by luck than judgement - the mileage on the car will be at almost exactly 18,000 as it goes for service. Had a long run today - and checked the consumption to see if it will be different after the service. Managed 38mpg average on the computer. I had recently pumped up the tyres.. and this seems to be a big factor if the car will get to 38 or stay around 36.
Friday 11 July 2008
Front Parking Sensors
Not sure if I have posted this one before. The front parking sensors are always active -unless you press a button on the dash. The rear ones only become active in reverse gear (and also if the button hasn't been touched). The button resets if the ignition is off/on. There is a danger you switch off the sensors for the front -and forget that the total system is off. A few close calls with that so far.
The reason to post is the sort of false alarms you get with the front sensors. I notice the front sensors are activated by other vehicles in traffic. I am not sure if it is air wave - or water spray - because the vehicles don't seem to come that close. Strangely the vehicles that seem to cause the most problem are motorbikes (maybe they are closer) and then trucks/buses. Cars don't tend to set off the sensors. If you are in queue - the sensor can be pinging away as a series of trucks drive by.
The reason to post is the sort of false alarms you get with the front sensors. I notice the front sensors are activated by other vehicles in traffic. I am not sure if it is air wave - or water spray - because the vehicles don't seem to come that close. Strangely the vehicles that seem to cause the most problem are motorbikes (maybe they are closer) and then trucks/buses. Cars don't tend to set off the sensors. If you are in queue - the sensor can be pinging away as a series of trucks drive by.
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Vehicle Messages
So now I have 2 vehicle messages each time I switch on the engine.
Fill washer bottle and now it's book maintenance. Well I know the washer bottle is empty, it leaks.. and already booked the service for next week. So need another 10 days of messages.
Checked tyre pressures today. Down a little bit from the 2.7 bar. However the reduction was equivalent side to side.. but front to back was -0.2 for the front and -0.1 for the back.. so there must be something to do with the fronts working harder that makes them lose more pressure.
Fill washer bottle and now it's book maintenance. Well I know the washer bottle is empty, it leaks.. and already booked the service for next week. So need another 10 days of messages.
Checked tyre pressures today. Down a little bit from the 2.7 bar. However the reduction was equivalent side to side.. but front to back was -0.2 for the front and -0.1 for the back.. so there must be something to do with the fronts working harder that makes them lose more pressure.
Sunday 6 July 2008
Friday 4 July 2008
First Planned Maintenance Is Due Soon
With close to 17,000 miles on the clock, the car is close to needing it's first planned garage visit.
For fixing faults it has been to my local Volvo garage, but each time I need to get a replacement car and there isn't fuel in those and just generally takes a load of time. Talking to a colleague at the office who also has a Volvo, have found out another dealer can pick the car up and return it as part of the service.
So the car is booked in for the 18,000mile service, a week from now. I expect to do the 1000miles within the week - so should be spot on the mark.
They should fix the leaking water washer system, and I also think it would be a good idea to rotate the tyres around the car. The fronts are now starting to show signs of more wear than the rears. Because the tyres are so chunky, it is initially hard to see the wear - the paint is still on some parts of the tread. However after 16,000 miles, you can now see the difference between front and rear.
Having said this, seems much better than the Audi allroad which eats a set of tyres in 15,000 miles. I guess that is a downside of constant 4 x 4 mode.
I also wonder if the suspension setting has an impact on tyre wear, I guess comfort setting is best.
The dealer also offered to "de-bug" the air conditioning as part of the service. Never heard of this before and considering the car is only 7 months old, feels hardly necessary.
For fixing faults it has been to my local Volvo garage, but each time I need to get a replacement car and there isn't fuel in those and just generally takes a load of time. Talking to a colleague at the office who also has a Volvo, have found out another dealer can pick the car up and return it as part of the service.
So the car is booked in for the 18,000mile service, a week from now. I expect to do the 1000miles within the week - so should be spot on the mark.
They should fix the leaking water washer system, and I also think it would be a good idea to rotate the tyres around the car. The fronts are now starting to show signs of more wear than the rears. Because the tyres are so chunky, it is initially hard to see the wear - the paint is still on some parts of the tread. However after 16,000 miles, you can now see the difference between front and rear.
Having said this, seems much better than the Audi allroad which eats a set of tyres in 15,000 miles. I guess that is a downside of constant 4 x 4 mode.
I also wonder if the suspension setting has an impact on tyre wear, I guess comfort setting is best.
The dealer also offered to "de-bug" the air conditioning as part of the service. Never heard of this before and considering the car is only 7 months old, feels hardly necessary.
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