Hill Descent Control

After more than 6months of ownership, I finally got around to using the Hill Descent Control feature on the car.

It is a little button you press on the lower central dash that engages a mode where the braking is automatically controlled by the car - to keep you at a constant low speed down a hill, allowing you to take care of the steering and not worrying about braking etc.

We were at a Safari park - and some steep hills on the route. Wanted to drive slowly down these slopes so we could see the animals, so decided to try the hill control.

Engaged first gear and pressed the button - speed builds up and then suddenly the brakes engaged - a bit violently at first in my opinion. Reminded me a little bit of the feeling of ABS taking control of the braking. Once the car has got a steady speed - the brakes seem to be coming on and off pretty fast - that you don't notice any particular judder.

So first time out - worked pretty well. I wonder how much of this is really a novelty versus a really useful feature.

The latest fault on my XC70

It's a bit frustrating. Literally the moment you post something good about the car - it develops another small and irritating fault.

Last week I noticed a patch of water on the drive, underneath the right hand side of the engine bay. Given it had been hot weather and the AC had been on, I assumed it was the condenser draining water. However the patch didn't seem to go away despite the warm weather...looked under the bonnet and all the coolant levels were correct.

Then the "washer level" warning light came on. Well not unexpected, since it was a while since it was filled. My wife actually filled it up - she was suprised how much water was needed. Anyway, it was done and should last at least another month. So much to my surprise the warning light came on again after just a few days - and I had hardly used the washer. So again I have filled it up and wait to see how many days it will last. Then it will be back to the Volvo dealer again.