[gthiessen]

I was told that all the XC models come with large animal detection. I live where there are a lot of deer and moose so this feature was one of the reasons I chose the car. I have not experienced an alarm yet. (That's actually a good thing). But I not sure how to confirm it is actually an active alarm on the car. Or how it will alarm me. Any advise?

 

[Kalvin]

This is an automatic feature and it works similar to pedestrian and cyclist detection. Should the car detect an animal in the road an alarm will sound, and if you don't react the car will automatically brake to avoid of reduce the impact. Hopefully its something you don't have to rely on, but its great to have.

 

[gthiessen]

I understood it was to be activated at about 100 yards. Is there an animal icon that shows up on the dash?

 

[Watson58]

I understood it was to be activated at about 100 yards. Is there an animal icon that shows up on the dash?

The icon is the same as collision risk of pedestrian or cars. It is an icon of a car. I have seen it multiple times on false positives on a mountain road where you are turning and it appears that the oncoming vehicle is about to have a head on collision. In the user guide the icon is shown on page 91 under "Collision risk"

 

[Aizen]

Any idea how reliable this system is at night? Because that's when you're probably going to encounter animals like deer trying to cross. I have read that each system has been configured differently depending on where the car is being sold and the types of animals you are more likely to encounter.

 

[Watson58]

Any idea how reliable this system is at night? Because that's when you're probably going to encounter animals like deer trying to cross. I have read that each system has been configured differently depending on where the car is being sold and the types of animals you are more likely to encounter.

From my understanding, the system is not just a camera or visible detection system. The system uses radar combined with a camera to identify potential collisions. So the radar signal obviously does not rely on light.

 

[Foggy18]

Some companies like BMW, MB and Audi are using infrared based systems, but those only function when night vision is activated. Volvo's radar and camera system works 24 hours a day. So long as your headlights are on, that should provide more than enough illumination for the system to recognize a crossing animal.

 

[gthiessen]

The icon is the same as collision risk of pedestrian or cars. It is an icon of a car. I have seen it multiple times on false positives on a mountain road where you are turning and it appears that the oncoming vehicle is about to have a head on collision. In the user guide the icon is shown on page 91 under "Collision risk"

Collision risk of pedestrians or cars is a relatively close event when the warning or brakes are activated. Large animal detection should be activated at a much farther distance ahead or it not really of much use. Is this not the case for the Volvo system?

 

[Jezza]

I had a very close encounter during daylight with a small deer last fall. It bolted across the two-lane rural road right in front of me while I was probably going 45-50. I was able to brake in time, but the car did not detect the deer or intervene.

 

[Kalvin]

That's not very reassuring to hear, I wonder if there is a size limit to what it can detect? Its not intended to be a fail safe but you would have to imagine that deer is one of the main animals that the system has been designed for.