Vibrations @55-80mph

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
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OneOff
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:43 pm

Post by OneOff »

Have I got the context right when you say "...unlike the XC40 permanent AWD".

The XC40 isn't strictly a permanent AWD system. I know you can't turn it off, so perhaps that's what you refer too.

In practice, as I understand it, it predominantly uses FWD unless it detects it needs to send some power rearwards. I think from a stop to go it uses AWD to pull away then swiftly into FWD as speed increases only calling on the rear wheels when conditions dictate.

Kipper
Posts: 45
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 7:47 pm

Post by Kipper »

My last car / SUV was a Honda HRV with a 1.5 Diesel. It was quiet and smooth at speed and the economy was over 60 mpg. I drove it in ECO mode all the time. Why change? Well I love Volvo engineering, solid with an S40 I had for 7 years still on its original battery, brakes and clutch (Manual), plus although the Honda was superb engineering wise and easy to live with, the dashboard was a mess with the seats flat with no shape, having said that, I never felt uncomfortable in them. But, and a big but, it was a diesel and I did not do the millage to justify it with the particulate filter always hanging over me with such a low millage. I would never use it for short runs which used to annoy my wife when she wanted me to take her to the shops. It also was very unnerving using the electronic hand brake up hill with the manual. It had a tendency to release the brake before the clutch had enough bite to prevent the car from rolling back! And always when someone was 'up your bum'! The auto on the XC40 is much easier to use.

Other than that, it was a fine car. So I knew the T4 would have a fuel penalty but I can get 46mpg on a long motorway journey in Eco mode if I go easy on the 'loud' pedal. Otherwise about 32 around town. I tend to drive slowly much to the annoyance of those who seem to treat the speed limit in town as a minimum speed. As my millage is low, I am prepared to accept the fuel penalty, added to which, the power on hand is handy when needed, once you anticipate the turbo lag.

The vibration is the only thing that takes the shine of the car, I know it's solvable so I am prepared to wait till Volvo find a solution.

Talking of the S40, several years ago with slush and snow on the streets by my house, the hill on the estate was proving tricky but the traction control kicked in and was we sailed up the hill. Yes I like Volvo engineering.

But no doubt we shall all be shamed into driving electric vehicles before too long. But before you think about the cheap electricity to fuel the vehicle, remember, the government (of all persuasions) receive a lot of revenue from petrol / diesel, they cannot afford to lose that revenue, so where will they get it from? Added to which, they will not have thought about the infrastructure to support such a move, just think about it, when I travel down the M6 toll, I stop at Norton Cains and the car park is usually mobbed, say 250 cars at any one time. That means 250 chargers for the electric cars, you will need a power station to provide that amount of power, or a stay of at least an hour. (Back of a fag packet calcs).

No we are a long way off full electric motion, also think of terraced housing where you cannot park outside your house!

Rant over.

Kipper

P.S. If anyone is interested in knowing what its like to live with an HRV, I am happy to oblige.
XC40 T4 Inscription Pro / Luminous Sand / Blond
Elvo57
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:14 pm

Post by Elvo57 »

I sit corrected !

Yes you are right OneOff… a quick Google says the XC40 is not ‘permanent AWD’, my mistake. I guess I got confused by the salesman and the brochure marketing speak and it’s stealth operation… it is seamless to come in every time. Either way, the economy is not what I expected!

The amount of snow and ice we had easily foxed the ESP systems on both cars at the time… although the Smart Roadster RWD was by far the best… but just run out of ground clearance!

My father had two 1st gen HRV’s and currently runs his second CRV (but not the latest gen) so I am familiar with Hondas to some extent. I agree with you Kipper, good cars, but not well executed on the ergonomics / ease of use inside the cabin (rear load covers are ridiculous). Honda also make some strange decisions.. it took them years to go down the diesel route, and for some reason have decided not to bring the AWD HRV over to the UK (just a couple of standouts that I know about).

As for electric vehicles being the future, yes, they will not fit everyone’s needs by any stretch of the imagination and it will obviously not happen over night.
Don’t forget that the service stations will only be for those who do not have access to charging at home (60% of the population do), work or other destination chargers (the ideal places will be supermarkets... there's your 1hr Kipper), or are travelling on a journey over the maximum range of their vehicle (which is improving all the time), for example 280 miles on the Kia’s.
As a family, now being retired, I could only see us using Fast Chargers a couple of times a year. That’s if the destination does not have facilities (which are bound to improve quickly).

Yes, I also worry what the Govt is going to do to recoup its declining diesel / petrol revenues, but that would not stop me from going electric (fact of life… the Govt will do you over, several times). Sorry if I sound like an EV evangelist, but don’t forget £0 road tax (if you avoid the premium car tax), minimal service costs, and no gear box!

Don’t get me wrong, we (almost) love our Volvo. We wanted to buy a Skoda Karoq, but with the panoramic roof (mandatory with any decent spec car), the rear head room is compromised (enough height, but you sit with your head against the sloping side headlining above the door). Mercedes are great cars (GLC test driven) but way too expensive to run for us (SLK experience shows this). The Volvo dealership is great. The XC40 styling is great. The interior is great (sorry, no way I could go for Audi bland now (my brother has an A3)). But the Yeti was more space cleaver / practical and only a little less comfortable. See how many professional car reviewers say ‘bring back the Yeti’ !

Excuse me while I now get down from my soap box... cars... who needs them?

XC40 | First Edition | D4 AWD | Bursting Blue | 19" Continental Premium Contact 6 tyres | Ordered 14/03/18 | Delivered 11th October 2018 | UK.
Kipper
Posts: 45
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 7:47 pm

Post by Kipper »

I think I gave the wrong impression about EV's, I am not against them per se, but the inability of governments to create a practical policy for their introduction. My wife's step brother in law (?), is a well healed engineer (from modest means I hasten to add), who has a Tesla Model S or X I'm not sure, any way he loves it. He regularly drives from Derby to Bristol. He says as you always have to stop on journeys these days, (don't we all), so he combines a coffee with a battery top up and being one of the last to have free top ups included with his car, he travels for free! He stops the same place on the way home so the range is not an issue. It's just a question of adapting you driving style to suit. He, in fact, drove to Le Mans and back for free while a friend paid some £400 in petrol alone for his Audi. Great, now try a tour of Northern Scotland.

As I say infrastructure needs planning. And when we all drive electric vehicles AND get rid of power stations we will be hoping that the wind blows and the sun shines! Another of my rants - but we won't go there.

Talking of Tesla, my wife's nephew works for MIRA, (I may have mentioned that in the past), and has had a close look at the Tesla. Fabulous motor and battery set up, but the rest of the vehicle is poorly designed and made. A result, he says, of a car built by a software company rather than a car built by a car firm with lots of computers on board.

And as for automated driving, that will never be safe until ALL vehicles are automated. In the Honda and the XC40 the Intelligent Limiter function both had the same flaw, it could not differentiate between the signs that were appropriate or not. What do I mean from about that? Soon after I bought the HRV I was travelling on the M60 (Manchester ring road) as they were installing the "smart motorway", (don't start me), the system was set to 50, very handy as sometimes the traffic can go faster and you tend to follow their speed if not careful. As I left the M60 and joined the M61 I let the speed increase to 70 intending to selected cruise when I reached it, (it is on the same button). To my surprise I lost power with beeps telling me I was exceeding the set speed. Luckily, the M61 was quiet so I was able to check out why, then I noticed it, White Van Man, his vehicle was limited to 62 mph and so was I, for the sign informing me of that, was just like a road traffic sign. The HRV was correct, it was following its programming.

In Kirkham, where I live, the by-pass has a 50 limit. Some of the roads leading off are 20. One in particular has its sign pointed at you as you go around the roundabout, if you have the limiter selected, your speed is immediately reduced with loss of engine power. No big deal you say, indeed it isn't, unless you have a truck behind you travelling if not at 50 then certainly faster than the 20, and he cannot stop that quickly. Fortunately I am now familiar with the problem and react quite timely when new occurrences appear. Again the software is acting correctly. People forget just how our brain can compute complex visual signs automatically, whereas mere electronic ones merely follow programming rules. Unfortunately there is no warning to other vehicles of you sudden reduction in speed. (As far as I am aware).

There, my chest feels a lot lighter now.

Now to sort out the shower............

Kipper
XC40 T4 Inscription Pro / Luminous Sand / Blond
Elvo57
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:14 pm

Post by Elvo57 »

Just about with you on every comment Kipper!

Teslas are great cars if you ignore the initial purchase cost, high insurance, premium car road tax, next to no dealerships, aluminium bodywork (needs specialist repair shops), parts availability and so on.

Hope I did not upset anyone when I mentioned Audi bland… I was specifically thinking of the Q3 and Q5 which we looked at early days in the XC40s' resonance troubles. Sat in them both... just a sea of greyness, with square seats, you may as well buy an equivolent Skoda, they seamed very similar to the Karoq to be honest.

But I think you will be surprised how quick the charging network evolves. I worked for BT Private Services (fibre, technical stuff) for 25years (40 years total). We also provided the fibre/tech into the mobile operators’ network such as O2, Voda, 3, EE etc, including the Mobile Phone Masts. It was surprising how the public mindset changed from ‘I don’t want one of those disgusting Phone Masts near me’ to… ‘I have a right to a good Mobile phone signal’.

Fibre Broadband has gone the same way… initially local councils objected to the new Fibre street cabinets (that stand along side the old green copper cabinets) as being ‘a pedestrian hazard and eyesore’, but are now demanding them… for faster and faster speeds!

Automated driving… after a week we turned off the lane assist. The local roads are not marked well enough and it seemed to pick up pot hole repairs instead (of which there are many in East Yorkshire). Signed speed limits appear to conflict a lot in the area as well (and still do 14months later), so we have never turned on the limiter (but always keep an eye on the display).
My argument with automated driving is, yes it can probably be done, but should it be done?

Hallway decorating to start soon… ish

XC40 | First Edition | D4 AWD | Bursting Blue | 19" Continental Premium Contact 6 tyres | Ordered 14/03/18 | Delivered 11th October 2018 | UK.
Gnomeface
Posts: 62
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:15 pm

Post by Gnomeface »

Elvo57 - Interesting that your car experience is very similar to mine! My wife had a Yeti 2.0 diesel (chipped to about 160 bhp) and now has an XC40 T5 Inscription Pro; my car is an SLC (facelifted SLK) with the 9-speed automatic gearbox and a tuned 235 BHP 2-litre petrol engine. The XC40 is a shared car in reality, normally with me driving if we are both in it.

I agree with most of your comments, particularly about fuel consumption; SLC and XC40 are similar at about 32mpg local driving and 35 on longer trips (perhaps 38 for the SLC) but our Volvo 8-speed box is really smooth and just as good as the Mercedes one. Both cars are far quieter than the Yeti of course, being petrol. Despite similar 0-60 times (about 6 seconds) the Volvo lacks the instant response and kick in the back compared with the SLC but does have plenty of torque for quick overtakes. The T4 demo that we test drove had similar performance to the Yeti on normal roads, hence the choice of T5.
Family car - XC40 T5 Inscription Pro, Glacier Silver, charcoal leather, Intellisafe Pro and Xenium packs. Dog guard and mud flaps added since.
Fun car - Mercedes SLC
Elvo57
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:14 pm

Post by Elvo57 »

Hello Gnomeface… similar car taste, but bet you never owned a Smart Roadster!
Had one from new for 11years… best car I ever owned.. only let down by the rusting underpinnings and water leaks. Had it re-mapped to 115BHP, which when you consider it only weighed 780Kg was not so shabby power / weight ratio wise. RWD, mid engine, turbo (which sat about 18 inches from your ears) and electric roof (retractable at 115 MPH).
I realised it would not last (reliability wise) ‘till my retirement (daily driver to work) so then bought a BMW Mini Cooper S Roadster… the worst car I ever bought. Soul less, torque steer, tram lining, rattles, squeaks, crashes, bangs, horrible ride, dash layout pants, perceived style, no substance. The Smart would have killed it (if I could only have dried it out).
Hence 8 months later back to Mercedes and an SLK 200 AMG auto. A nice smooth cruiser with a lot more fun and character than it is credited for just hiding underneath when requested.
I still think the MB 7 speed auto was better at selecting the right gear as you joined a roundabout, with less fuss, especially when manoeuvring at parking speeds. Yes, I know the Smart Roadster is credited for having the worst possible auto gearbox in the industry… but it was 100% predictable.. you always knew what it was going to do... and you knew it was going to do it at its’ own pace! See the reviews!


XC40 | First Edition | D4 AWD | Bursting Blue | 19" Continental Premium Contact 6 tyres | Ordered 14/03/18 | Delivered 11th October 2018 | UK.
Kipper
Posts: 45
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 7:47 pm

Post by Kipper »

I'll think I will stay out of this conversation, I am Mr staid old Volvo man. I enjoy my driving at a nice sedate pace!

Kipper
XC40 T4 Inscription Pro / Luminous Sand / Blond
Elvo57
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:14 pm

Post by Elvo57 »

Kipper...

Don't worry... I'm retired now... slippers permanently fitted (but no pipe). For info, SLKs can also happily do 'pipe and slippers' (that's why I liked it so much... and many reviewers do not)... but come with the option to... at the same time... get a little wind in your hair (if you are lucky enough to still be in possession of some). Ours also had the Air Scarf system... heat at neck level from the seats... not something you hear boy racers bragging about I think?
ChrisLF
Posts: 1346
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:21 am
Location: Heart of England

Post by ChrisLF »

I know we have gone off topic but don't think there will be much more to say until Volvo actually come up with a solution.

So I don't feel guilty at all in continuing to be off topic! :D

From the latest posts it's pretty clear that most of us enjoy our conventionally powered cars and we have been lucky to have lived through the time of some of the best car (and motorbikes of which I have a few) engines ever produced. Though only 4 cylinder, I love the two cars we are running at the moment and the intention is to run the TT for quite a few years - bought it in 2014 ready for my retirement, which I did earlier this year.

When we change the Volvo I guess we will be forced down the hybrid or electric route which will probably be Ok for that type of car, but no way do I want an electric sports car even though the performance will be good.

Stand out cars I've owned in recent years were an Audi A6 Avant (not bland! :D ) and a Skoda Yeti 2.0 diesel. Even though my mileage didn't justify it I wanted one last diesel before I retired and the Yeti was great.

I agree with the comments on electric vehicles and also with regard to self-driving ones which thankfully are unlikely to become reality in my lifetime - there are too many obstacles to be overcome with as mentioned the main one being the mixing of self-driving and not. A self-driving car will never get onto a mini-roundabout!

Chris
2023 B4 Plus Dark FWD in Silver Dawn. Tinted Rear Windows. Spare Wheel & Tow Bar dealer fitted.

Gone - 2019 T4 R-Design FWD in Bursting Blue. Winter & Convenience Packs, Power Seat, Front Park Assist, Rear Camera, Spare Wheel & Tow Bar.
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