[Watson58]

Just received my 2019 Volvo XC40 T5 R-Design AWD. A very happy new owner (my first Volvo, previous car was 2015 Chevy Impala)

Looking at the user guide, it mentioned on page 513 "Use an air pressure gauge and check the inflation pressure on all the tires, including the spare tire, at least once a month and before long trips. Volvo strongly recommends buying a reliable air pressure gauge"

So let me get this straight... I have an incredibly technologically advanced vehicle which almost can drive itself and has a TPMS system capable of monitoring when the tire pressures need attention... but I have to buy a $12 tire gauge?? Why can't the system just display a graphic of 4 tires (like on the TPMS screen) and simply display the PSI of each tire? Obviously the system knows in order to determine if the pressure needs correcting.

The two additional is a redesign of the shifter and central console. The human interface of the controls of this car is not always logical. For starters, the gear/transmission shifter it's horrible. It requires a two-step action. For example, to engage reverse or drive, one must move the gear selector twice. This is extremely annoying during parking maneuvers and is very frustrating. Of course the argument could be that I should use the automated parking assistance but the shifter is just very unnatural for me. While you can operate almost every control from the steering wheel and the voice recognition is a nice addition, the central control screen is extremely convoluted and requires a high degree of learning curve. Coming from Volvo, particularly because it sees itself as a safety brand, the central control screen is just unsafe because it is almost impossible to operate safely while driving. There are too many unintuitive multiple taps, swipes and scrolls necessary to navigate the system. In addition, the system is awfully slow to respond. For example, changing a driver profile can take over a minute to load. If there are two things requiring a redesign, it would be the shifter and the control screen. The goal obviously should be to reduce the distraction and the precious seconds’ loss with eyes off the road to do basic functions as changing cabin temperature and audio source.

As with most newer cars, when you stop, once the engine is warm, the XC 40 idles the engine completely down to a point that the engine is shut off (0 RPM). This system would cause an abrupt jerking when restarting. The SUV would lurch forward when starting up from a stop light.

 

[Foggy18]

The start/stop function is supposed to be deactivated in the Dynamic driving mode. It should remain off until the engine is restarted or you change to a different driving profile. Sometimes this can be permanently disabled if you unplug a fuse. I think its now regulated by the government for new cars to default to having it engaged.

 

[eVolved]

there's a bit of a growing trend of this happening in the industry which might lead to Raspberry PI based systems to make up for where the stock configuration lacks.
for all we know Volvo might have turned off certain functions for god knows what reason

 

[Aizen]

Completely agree on the lacking TPMS, especially on a car that prides itself on technology. There are a good amount of features that can be controlled via voice commands, so that may be another way to go about circumventing the menus.

 

[bdalameda]

Just received my 2019 Volvo XC40 T5 R-Design AWD. A very happy new owner (my first Volvo, previous car was 2015 Chevy Impala)

Looking at the user guide, it mentioned on page 513 "Use an air pressure gauge and check the inflation pressure on all the tires, including the spare tire, at least once a month and before long trips. Volvo strongly recommends buying a reliable air pressure gauge"

So let me get this straight... I have an incredibly technologically advanced vehicle which almost can drive itself and has a TPMS system capable of monitoring when the tire pressures need attention... but I have to buy a $12 tire gauge?? Why can't the system just display a graphic of 4 tires (like on the TPMS screen) and simply display the PSI of each tire? Obviously the system knows in order to determine if the pressure needs correcting.

The two additional is a redesign of the shifter and central console. The human interface of the controls of this car is not always logical. For starters, the gear/transmission shifter it's horrible. It requires a two-step action. For example, to engage reverse or drive, one must move the gear selector twice. This is extremely annoying during parking maneuvers and is very frustrating. Of course the argument could be that I should use the automated parking assistance but the shifter is just very unnatural for me. While you can operate almost every control from the steering wheel and the voice recognition is a nice addition, the central control screen is extremely convoluted and requires a high degree of learning curve. Coming from Volvo, particularly because it sees itself as a safety brand, the central control screen is just unsafe because it is almost impossible to operate safely while driving. There are too many unintuitive multiple taps, swipes and scrolls necessary to navigate the system. In addition, the system is awfully slow to respond. For example, changing a driver profile can take over a minute to load. If there are two things requiring a redesign, it would be the shifter and the control screen. The goal obviously should be to reduce the distraction and the precious seconds’ loss with eyes off the road to do basic functions as changing cabin temperature and audio source.

As with most newer cars, when you stop, once the engine is warm, the XC 40 idles the engine completely down to a point that the engine is shut off (0 RPM). This system would cause an abrupt jerking when restarting. The SUV would lurch forward when starting up from a stop light.

The interesting thing about the Volvo TPMS system, unlike most standard TPMS's on other vehicles, the TPMS does not use a pressure transmitter to evaluate tire pressure. The Volvo system actually measures the tire rotation and compares the rotation to the other wheels and can tell if one or more tires is under-inflated, it shows up as a slight speed difference as it rotates. That is why an accurate inflation is needed to calibrate the system when the car is new or if the tires are replaced or rotated.

 

[bdalameda]

I really don't understand why people dislike the XC40 shift lever so much. On previous automatic shifters you would have to shift from park to reverse to neutral and to drive to move forward through each shift gate. And from drive, to back up, into neutral and then reverse through those shift gate detents. I find the shifter very intuitive especially with just having to push the park button regardless of what gear is engaged to park the car. I took to the new system right away and so did my wife. I think if you will look at the gear position indicator lights when you engage the shifter you will be less reliant on "muscle memory" and will learn the new system. I don't even think about it anymore when driving the XC40.

 

[Jezza]

I really don't understand why people dislike the XC40 shift lever so much. ... I took to the new system right away and so did my wife. I don't even think about it anymore when driving the XC40.

Same here. It took no time to get used to it and I similarly don't even think about it. Maybe once or twice I've slipped up a little trying to shift quickly while parallel parking or something, but I also have no complaints with the design and actually like the uniqueness of it. :wink

 

[[email protected]]

The shifter seems a Euro thing as I’ve seen the exact same thing on new BMW’s. Yeah, it takes a few hundred miles of city driving, parking to get used to it. If they had forums in the day, folks would be whining about “why isn’t it on the column instead of the counsel”. My guess is there is some efficiency there that we aren’t recognizing.

 

[Watson58]

The interesting thing about the Volvo TPMS system, unlike most standard TPMS's on other vehicles, the TPMS does not use a pressure transmitter to evaluate tire pressure. The Volvo system actually measures the tire rotation and compares the rotation to the other wheels and can tell if one or more tires is under-inflated, it shows up as a slight speed difference as it rotates. That is why an accurate inflation is needed to calibrate the system when the car is new or if the tires are replaced or rotated.

The TPMS system is a very sore subject for me. I have never been able to use the "Store" option after ensuring all tires are inflated properly. When I hit "Store" I get a dialog stating it will store but when I click OK I get the standby cursor (spinning cursor) and I can leave it for a half an hour or drive it for two hours and it never completes the setting. Because of this, the "Store" button remains and I never get the "calibrate" button as the user guide indicates. I think with the technology that's put into this car it is almost embarrassing to have such a primitive system.

 

[eVolved]

The shifter seems a Euro thing as I’ve seen the exact same thing on new BMW’s. Yeah, it takes a few hundred miles of city driving, parking to get used to it. If they had forums in the day, folks would be whining about “why isn’t it on the column instead of the counsel”. My guess is there is some efficiency there that we aren’t recognizing.

automakers rarely provide insight to the general public as to why they do what they do, if done i think it would get rid of a lot of complaints

 

[Watson58]

Side mirror minor redesign

One of the human interface design which will make a car more enjoyable and safer to drive is if the driver requires very minimum eye scans to monitor all critical areas. For example, a well placed rear and side mirrors requiring minimum eye movement to scan. Three or four degrees eye movement seems to be the most comfortable (in my humble opinion). Instruments in jet fighters for example are positioned in a much tighter cluster to include a heads up display. I found myself a little bit over extending when it comes to the Volvo XC 40 side mirrors. I have tried from an engineering (to include aerodynamics) point of view to understand why Volvo engineers decided to mount the side mirror so much aft. There is a significant gap between the side mirror and the body. This is a distraction (seeing things showing through between the mirror) and it requires you to look further back to see the mirror. So if I have a design request to the engineers, I would request the side mirrors to be moved three inches to the front.

 

[Seriously?]

The interesting thing about the Volvo TPMS system, unlike most standard TPMS's on other vehicles, the TPMS does not use a pressure transmitter to evaluate tire pressure. The Volvo system actually measures the tire rotation and compares the rotation to the other wheels and can tell if one or more tires is under-inflated, it shows up as a slight speed difference as it rotates. That is why an accurate inflation is needed to calibrate the system when the car is new or if the tires are replaced or rotated.

So, if I understand you correctly there is not a TPMS transmitter in each of the tires. Is that correct? If this is true, then switching between sets of tires is much easier. No need for reprogramming TPMSs....

 

[bdalameda]

So, if I understand you correctly there is not a TPMS transmitter in each of the tires. Is that correct? If this is true, then switching between sets of tires is much easier. No need for reprogramming TPMSs....

As long as the tires are of the same size and wear. The system should be re-calibrated after changing tires. Look in the manual for a description of how to calibrate the system.

 

[Seriously?]

Thanks for the reply. I looked into it and recalibrating the system is very easy. I like this system much better than the one that requires the transmitters.

 

[bdalameda]

I also like the Volvo setup. I have three other cars with the transmitters. Have had issues with all of them with bad transmitters or low batteries, reprogramming new ones etc. The Volvo system is simple and not dependent on transmitters to function. Over the last 18 mos I have recalibrated mine a few times after checking tire pressure without any issue.

 

[He Keith]

Looking at the user guide, it mentioned on page 513 "Use an air pressure gauge and check the inflation pressure on all the tires, including the spare tire, at least once a month and before long trips. Volvo strongly recommends buying a reliable air pressure gauge"

So let me get this straight... I have an incredibly technologically advanced vehicle which almost can drive itself and has a TPMS system capable of monitoring when the tire pressures need attention... but I have to buy a $12 tire gauge?? Why can't the system just display a graphic of 4 tires (like on the TPMS screen) and simply display the PSI of each tire? Obviously the system knows in order to determine if the pressure needs correcting.

This is common with several of the European brands, my Audi a few years back was same thing and I hate it as all my Asian cars every time I got in them I would scroll to tires to make sure inflation was good. That said if pisses me off every time I get in either of our Volvos to not be able to see that at a glance. Now every week or 2 I need to manually check all 4 tires on each car. And on my P8 that is a hassle as for some reason those valve stems are sensitive and stick so I start losing air fast.