[Rat]

This morning I got into my gym clothes and got in the Volvo to go to the gym. The car wouldn't start. I kept getting a message on the driver's screen saying Start System Check Brake Pull lever all the way to start. Of course I had already pushed it all the way into Reverse (I was in my garage). I tried stepping on, then off the brake, putting the car in drive and reverse multiple times but kept getting the same message. I tried holding the shift lever in place for an extended period but nothing changed. Finally a little warning appeared in the lower right of the display saying emergency assistance and giving the 800 number.

I called the 800 number and they first wanted to troubleshoot the key fob, so they told me to empty the cupholders (I had my dark glasses in them), then place the key fob on the diagram of the key in the cupholder. Only there was no diagram of the key. I put it in there anyway and tried again. Same thing happened. At that point she said she'd start a case and call a tow truck. Shortly after that I got a text saying the tow truck was on its way in 40 minutes. I changed my clothes, showered and decided to try one more time. Of course this time the car started the first time. I called the 800 number again and they left it up to me to be towed or cancel. I decided to cancel because my experience is that mechanics can't can't diagnose, much less fix, a problem when they can't see it or get a code. and with a brand new model like this, I suspect they have no clue what to do even if the error happens.

I want to start the thread to make a record of it so we can see if others have the same problem. Maybe this should be a general troubleshooting thread. Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[Rat]

Added info: it had 63% charge and the bluetooth worked fine, although it seemed to keep balking when I started to play music on my phone. It took me three or four times to get the music playing, and that was before I tried to start the car.

 

[Stephen Cerruti]

The key goes into the storage bin behind the cup holders and trash can. That is where you will find the diagram of the key. This is also necessary when associating a key to a profile if you have more than one key in the car.

 

[Rat]

Good to know. I never set up a profile so I haven't had occasion to use that.

 

[scans]

The key goes into the storage bin behind the cup holders and trash can. That is where you will find the diagram of the key. This is also necessary when associating a key to a profile if you have more than one key in the car.

I was told that spot was for the RFID reader if there is a complete system failure or power loss and you need to turn on the car.

 

[blitzswede]

 

[SeattleCat]

Ouch that sounds scary. Do we need to add:
1. Walk a way from your car before walking back and
2. Walk away from your car and return with a different key


to our diagnosis / fixing routines.

I do hope that going to have a shower is not an essential part of fixing the car (joke)

 

[Rat]

During the initial episode, I did get out of the car with the key once and stood about twenty feet away for a minute or so, just to see if I could "reboot" the car, but that didn't help. I didn't try the orange key.

 

[SeattleCat]

Is 20 feet enough?

Enough being defined as the distance that if you put your key on the ground and walked back to the car it would not let you in?

20 feet seems like it could be on the edge of too close.

You could also define the magic distance as the distance at which the flash your lights /lock button stops working plus say 10 more feet to be sure

Yay sciencing ones car …

 

[goatsweater]

This sounded like a fun experiment, so I went outside with a tape measure to see how far away I could unlock the car. With the key on the ground at 8 feet the doors wouldn’t unlock. I was still able to get the doors to unlock at 5 feet though.

 

[SeattleCat]

Wow that is a lot shorter than I would of expected based on modern and old cars.

Sadness that I cannot re lock my doors from 30+ feet to placate my ocd/ptsd. 5 feet…I can almost stretch that far!!!

 

[EVrookieSoCal]

Wow that is a lot shorter than I would of expected based on modern and old cars.

Sadness that I cannot re lock my doors from 30+ feet to placate my ocd/ptsd. 5 feet…I can almost stretch that far!!!

I interpret @goatsweater experiment as unlocking via opening a locked door using the presence of the key, not by physically pressing the lock/unlock button on the fob. The key was sitting 5' away and was able to open a locked door. Is that correct? Please let me know if I read that wrong.

I can attest to re-locking doors from across the parking lot with the key fob does work, as I did that yesterday (because the lights are just fun to look at)

 

[goatsweater]

I interpret @goatsweater experiment as unlocking via opening a locked door using the presence of the key, not by physically pressing the lock/unlock button on the fob. The key was sitting 5' away and was able to open a locked door. Is that correct? Please let me know if I read that wrong.

I can attest to re-locking doors from across the parking lot with the key fob does work, as I did that yesterday (because the lights are just fun to look at)

Yes, sorry I put the key on the ground and tried to use my hand to unlock the door via the door handle. I figured at that range the car can no longer “detect” the key. You can certainly push the button on the fob for a much longer range lock/unlock experience. I don’t know how far that is, but I’ve done it from within my house so at least ~30 feet away.

 

[SeattleCat]

Sweet

That makes the short range of key detection perfect. Of course this means that Rats 20 feet was enough so it is unknown as to why it worked.

I hate problems that resolve without reason almost as much as those that appear without reason.

Hopefully it never happens again or happens again and stays so it can be fixed.

 

[blitzswede]

Yet again, the Owners Manual reveals the secret:
Remote key range

Updated 11/9/2020

In order to function correctly, the remote key must be within a certain distance from the vehicle.
Manual use
The remote key's functions for e.g. locking and unlocking, which are activated by pressing

or

, have a range of approx. 20 meters (65 feet) from the vehicle. If the vehicle's locks do not react, move closer and try again.
Keyless use

For keyless use, a remote key or the Key Tag must be within the shaded areas shown in the illustration, i.e. a semicircle with a radius of approx. 1.5 meter (5 feet) along the sides of the vehicle or approx. 1 meter (3 feet) from the tailgate.
Note
The functions of the remote control key can be disrupted by ambient radio waves, buildings, topographical conditions, etc. The vehicle can always be locked/unlocked using the key blade.
If the remote key is removed from the vehicle
If the key is removed from the vehicle while the engine is running, the warning message The car key is not detected. See Owner's Manual for more information. will be displayed in the instrument panel and an audible signal will sound when the last door is closed.
The message will disappear when the key is returned to the vehicle and the O button on the right-side steering wheel keypad is pressed or when the last door is closed again.

 

[Jezza]

Wow that is a lot shorter than I would of expected based on modern and old cars.

Sadness that I cannot re lock my doors from 30+ feet to placate my ocd/ptsd. 5 feet…I can almost stretch that far!!!

This is a security issue from several angles. Here in a big city car thieves use radio frequency sniffers to grab data from keys and then unlock and operate cars. It’s also generally safer to unlock your car when you’re within clear visibility of it. Volvo thinks of these kinds of things so that we don’t have to. Sad that they have to though, but I’m grateful for all the security I can get living and driving where I do these days. By the way, even the feature that only unlocks the driver’s door while leaving others locked has spared me a potentially bad situation in the past. For the original poster, I hope whatever happened doesn’t again.

 

[Rat]

I've since driven the car without further incident several times, but I'm still not 100% confident in its reliability. If it does happen again, I'll definitely take/tow it to the dealer whether or not I can restart it. I'll also take a picture of the driver's screen to preserve the error message, which I failed to do the first time.