T5 Recharge MY22 auto-braking when accelerating to 60mph

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
Humpy83
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Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:09 am

Post by Humpy83 »

Morning all,

I’ve had my XC40 T5 Recharge for almost about 6 weeks now, averaging 115mpg with daily charging, which is fantastic. However, when driving in hybrid/pure mode the car appears to apply the brakes automatically for 1-2 seconds when accelerating between 58-60mph. Brake lights don’t come on, but it really feels like someone is stamping in the brake pedal.

The car is currently in with the dealer, after one of the engineers tested it and said it felt dangerous to drive. Today I’ve had a call to say that they reported the issue to Volvo who have advised that all models do this, and that there if no fault. The engineers haven’t experienced it before, and when I took an identical model for a test drive, there was no sign of the issue. I honestly wouldn’t have bought one if this was a ‘feature’.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I’m not prepared to accept the car back as it is, because it really doesn’t feel safe.

Any insight or similar experiences would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Rockford
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Joined: Thu May 20, 2021 2:31 pm

Post by Rockford »

I have the same thing. It happens at 58mph for me.
My understanding is that it happens when the transmission changes up to 4th gear from 2nd gear when in electric-only mode.
It's disconcerting, but doesn't feel like the brakes are being applied for me. It feels more like a momentary loss of power. I can live with it, but it doesn't feel very refined. Your description sounds worse than mine feels.
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Greggspies
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Post by Greggspies »

As Rockford says. For me it's a moments hesitation when on battery power as the car has to back off the power delivery while it shifts cogs from 2nd to 4th. The harder you accelerate the stronger the effect but it sounds like the OPs car has a fault.
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Humpy83
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Post by Humpy83 »

Thanks for your replies both… it does sound like a similar issue, albeit my car sounds like it loses power for a little longer than yours. Does yours just happen once on a whole journey, or is it every time you accelerate up to 60mph and the transmission changes from 2nd to 4th? For me it’s the latter. I notice it especially when on country roads which fluctuate between 30/40/60 quite frequently, but even on the motorway when traffic slows and then speeds up.

I’ve spoken to several other dealerships / service depts over the last few days, and not one of them has experienced the issue as described.

I should hopefully hear back from Volvo customer service on Monday, so I’ll update you then.

Thanks again
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Greggspies
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Post by Greggspies »

In my case, generally at those speeds in hybrid mode the engine is being used so it doesn't seem to occur or it's not noticeable. In pure mode it will happen whenever the car gets to around 60. It's only the electric motor that shifts gear at that speed, the engine will change gear whenever it needs in the normal way.
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Thirlsy
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Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2023 4:10 pm

Post by Thirlsy »

Hi All,

I have been experiencing this issue regularly with my T4 Recharge. I have had the car for 4 months and noticed it in the last few months. Volvo took it back to have a look and couldn’t find any faults during a test drive.

It was quite a relief to read the other posts as they largely confirmed what I was experiencing. Having taken the car out and testing it I can confirm I was able to make it do the “thing” by accelerating up to 60mph in EV and hybrid mode. Did it every time so it seems that the gear change explanation is correct. I also get loud motor whine that increases in frequency and volume as the car accelerates which stops after it shifts gears, which would make sense.

I still plan on getting Volvo to take another look now I can re produce it and hopefully they can do something to make it better as right now it’s very annoying!!

Be good to hear if anyone has overcome it or had it improved?

Thanks, Thirlsy
AndyN
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Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:15 pm

Post by AndyN »

I can definitely feel this in my T5 phev even in power mode I can feel it but much more subtle.
If you give it the beans from say 30 mph in power mode foot almost flat you can definitely feel a hesitation just before 60 then it surges forward again. Feels like 0.5 of a second or so drop in power where you can feel the car is not really accelerating.

99% of the time I don't notice it it's only when you are giving it full pasty.

Then in pure ev or hybrid but in ev you do get a slight drop in power as it shifts.

I'm not perticularly bothered but would prefer it not to do it.
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m@rk
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Post by m@rk »

This is a know FEATURE on the hybrids and yes, it is stupid if not dangerous.

The car is dual clutch but the electric motor is only connected to gears 2 and 4 thus in electric mode, what changing gears, instead of going 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 etc it goes 2..... pause........ 4

What you are experiencing is a really slow and leisurely gear change!

See below for the official Volvo statement

XC40 Gear Change

Frequently asked questions about changing gear in electric operation
Updated 05/03/2020

Questions that may arise about changing gear in electric operation.
When driving the XC40, it sometimes seems as if I lose power when accelerating between 80-90 km/h, why?
In the XC40, the electric motor is installed in combination with the transmission. When the electric motor is used, it starts in second gear and changes to fourth gear at high speeds (80-90 km/h).
When changing from second to fourth gear, at the same time as accelerating, the engine loses power, i.e. the torque from the motor is reduced for short period in order for changing gear to be possible. This behaviour is normal.

Sometimes it seems as if the motor is losing power, why?
The power transmission will always aim to change gear from second to fourth in electric operation whenever the driver releases the accelerator pedal (halfway or fully). This means that the driver will hardly notice the gear change. However, if the driver constantly accelerates from lower speeds up to approx. 90 km/h, changing gear will be noticed according to the description above.
When speed is reduced, downshifting from fourth to second gear will hardly be noticed since there is no need for extra power during downshifting. This means that changing gear can take place without any power disruption.

https://www.volvocars.com/mt/support/ma ... -operation
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Felindre
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Post by Felindre »

I guess you could help it a little by lifting off for a second when you're approaching 60 mph?
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m@rk
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Post by m@rk »

Felindre wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:12 am I guess you could help it a little by lifting off for a second when you're approaching 60 mph?
For me, the biggest challenge with this is that this is the speed I find myself at the bottom of a slip road when joining a motorway. Lifting off the power when trying to match my speed to join is simply not an option.
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