SOS Button

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
Post Reply
User avatar
Notsure
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 4:23 pm

Post by Notsure »

Following on from 'squints' issue with the SOS button I thought I would have a chat with VOC and see if there was any way of testing it.

A very helpful chap said that if it was pushed you get through to the same people only they prioritise the SOS call and he was happy for me to push it to test it out, so I disconnected the call and ..........

Oh dear, pushed the button and it took approx 2 minutes before getting the classic 'you have dialled an incorrect number, please check and try again'
Tried once more, same again.
Didn't want to touch it anymore and thought I would contact the dealer on Monday, then heard a voice, Emergency services Police, Fire or Ambulance.
Apologised profusely but couldn't end the call my end, the end call red bar is greyed out.
Got out of the car locked the door and left for a few minutes, got back in to be greeted by a different voice, Emergency Services Police, Fire or Ambulance.
I noticed on the screen that the 'globe' indicating an internet connection had disappeared, so I took the modem out but still no change.

On the screen it is now showing 'Volvo on Call in standby Voice connection can be re-established'

Any ideas or pointers would be appreciated
Thanks
T4 R Design, Auto, Crystal White, Convenience Pack, Winter Pack, Rear Camera, Front Park Assist, Smartphone Integration, Tempa spare wheel and jack.

Snoop
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:29 pm

Post by Snoop »

The manual says

NOTE

The SOS button must only be used in the event of accident, illness or an external threat against the car and its passengers. The SOS function is only intended for emergency situations. Abuse may lead to supplementary charges
Dermottdog
Posts: 768
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:39 pm
Location: Orpington, Kent

Post by Dermottdog »

So, I too am following Squints woes. I wonder if the modem/connection/line has to disconnect and settle down before it redials. At work, our lift equipment would not perform an emergency dial out procedure properly if there was 2 lifts connected to the same line and the alarm was activated immediately one after the other. The dial out units were designated as a master and a slave (2 lifts, 1 line). So I’m thinking that if the VOC had been used, the SOS might not work immediately until it has fully disconnected? Just a thought.
R Design Pro T5 AWD in Crystal White. Convenience Pack, Front Parking and Apple Car. Couldn’t afford anything else!! Arriving late September 2019.
squint
Posts: 185
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 9:55 pm

Post by squint »

Snoop wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:36 pm The manual says

NOTE

The SOS button must only be used in the event of accident, illness or an external threat against the car and its passengers. The SOS function is only intended for emergency situations. Abuse may lead to supplementary charges
Snoop - the only reason I tested my SOS button was because I had so many faults with my car I decided to test it. Bearing in mind that in theory, if the button is pressed or if the airbags are inflated, the car should be able to contact the SOS centre who can then speak to the car and the car's location should also be transmitted to the SOS centre. In my case not only does the car not connect, the fault causes my phone to be frozen so that I can't make an outgoing call and ring 999 - the car does not ring the 999 but it's own SOS centre.


I have also asked the dealership and Volvo to consider testing another car to see if it is only my car and they have refused.

Volvo have now been aware if this for a few weeks. I have been told repeatedly that it is a network problem and that only my car is affected - which makes no sense to me. My car has now been at the dealership since 11/5/2020 - apparently it has been escalated to Sweden who can't fix it - and they have no idea when it may be fIxed . Volvo head office have been abysmal at keeping me informed of the situation. Last Thursday I said I wanted them to tell me by 1.00pm that day the reason if its a network problem the reason that only my car has been affected when I have been assured there is no problem showing on my car. I had no response. Yesterday, I actually had a call from Volvo technical who actually said "OTHER CARS MAY BE AFFECTED" - I asked him to confirm this in writing but he then backtracked and would not - the majority of my communications have been by email as proof of apologies etc..


I CONSIDER THIS TO BE A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM - I NOW ALSO CONSIDER VOLVO SHOULD NOW NOTIFY OWNERS OF A POSSIBLE PROBLEM.
Regretfully rejected R Design, Glacier Silver, T4 Auto FWD Convenience Pack, Front Park Assist,Power Glass Tilt & Slide,Smartphone Integration,Winter Pack, Mudflaps
User avatar
Moss
Posts: 222
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 8:52 pm
Location: Belgium & France

Post by Moss »

Notsure wrote: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:11 pm Following on from 'squints' issue with the SOS button I thought I would have a chat with VOC and see if there was any way of testing it.

A very helpful chap said that if it was pushed you get through to the same people only they prioritise the SOS call and he was happy for me to push it to test it out, so I disconnected the call and ..........

Oh dear, pushed the button and it took approx 2 minutes before getting the classic 'you have dialled an incorrect number, please check and try again'
Tried once more, same again.
Didn't want to touch it anymore and thought I would contact the dealer on Monday, then heard a voice, Emergency services Police, Fire or Ambulance.
Apologised profusely but couldn't end the call my end, the end call red bar is greyed out.
Got out of the car locked the door and left for a few minutes, got back in to be greeted by a different voice, Emergency Services Police, Fire or Ambulance.
I noticed on the screen that the 'globe' indicating an internet connection had disappeared, so I took the modem out but still no change.

On the screen it is now showing 'Volvo on Call in standby Voice connection can be re-established'

Any ideas or pointers would be appreciated
Thanks
As I understand it, in an emergency situation (or when the « E-button » is pressed) the E-Call system in a car automatically calls the local SOS centre via emergency number 112, « local » meaning the closest SOS centre from where the car is at the moment of calling.

Obviously, the system only works well when and if that local SOS centre is already equipped with the (rather expensive) E-Call technology. I doubt that this is always so, hence connection/disconnection problems which have little or nothing to do with the car (Volvo or any other car) but with the degree of technical readyness of some parts of the E-Call emergency centre network.

Now, that’s just how I understand it as someone who’s very far from an E-Call expert. Any company specialised in ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) will most certainly be able to help you much better.
squint
Posts: 185
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 9:55 pm

Post by squint »

Hi Moss
That’s a very reasonable explanation.

However, my car has now been at dealership since 11/5/20. Volvo - apparently it’s been escalated to Sweden - do not know the reason and have no idea when they will.
I had until last Friday also been assured only my car was affected. I kept asking why a network problem would only affect one car when all checks in the car show no reason for it but never received an explanation.
I can’t make outgoing calls on my own phone when SOS button is activated- which should also happen if airbags inflated.
Even if Volvo are blaming the network - I have no idea if the network is all of UK or separate areas - surely it could be fixed in less than a month?
I consider this to be a major safety problem.
I would have thought Volvo have a moral - I am waiting to find out if a legal - duty to inform all owners who may be potentially affected that they may not be able to use their phone to dial 999 if the situation arose.
Regretfully rejected R Design, Glacier Silver, T4 Auto FWD Convenience Pack, Front Park Assist,Power Glass Tilt & Slide,Smartphone Integration,Winter Pack, Mudflaps
User avatar
Notsure
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2020 4:23 pm

Post by Notsure »

Without wanting to get into the technicalities of why the SOS system is faulty, as it is way over my level of expertise, I agree whole heartedly with squint that this is a major safety issue that Volvo have a moral obligation to advise all owners of potentially affected cars of.
God forbid that we should ever need to use the button / service only to find out, when it’s too late, that it doesn’t work !!

Following on my story, I contacted the dealer who advised I contact Volvo assistance to get a tech to come out to the car with a view to recovering the vehicle and get it back to the dealers. This was not only to investigate the issue but , as a by product of the problem, I could not lock the car and also noticed that when I closed the door the ignition was still on and would not turn off at all.........I left the car on the drive and went indoors for half an hour.
Following my return to the vehicle it appeared to have ‘reset’ itself and it appeared that, apart from the SOS button that I didn’t want to touch, everything else were functioning as it should. I took the car for a test drive and it seemed ok.
For my convenience I cancelled the tech from Volvo assistance and arranged to take the car in to the dealer at the end of the coming week, hoping that I don’t need to push the SOS button in the meantime :!: :!:
I will keep you updated as to how things unfold
T4 R Design, Auto, Crystal White, Convenience Pack, Winter Pack, Rear Camera, Front Park Assist, Smartphone Integration, Tempa spare wheel and jack.
Dermottdog
Posts: 768
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:39 pm
Location: Orpington, Kent

Post by Dermottdog »

Your first post reported the the ‘end call’ was greyed out. Searching and found the wording below. Although for a different model, I’m sure this would apply to all. It would appear that the ‘end call’ Function will only be active for a short time, i.e if you’ve pressed it accidentally? Obviously, this doesn’t explain all the other stuff that went on.

F5FA00D3-9B47-462D-BE11-37614F0A4228.png

R Design Pro T5 AWD in Crystal White. Convenience Pack, Front Parking and Apple Car. Couldn’t afford anything else!! Arriving late September 2019.
squint
Posts: 185
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 9:55 pm

Post by squint »

I have tried mine 3 times - each time it was greyed out - the 3rd time I was at the dealership - it was greyed out. Even when call was connected after about 40 minutes it was greyed out - SOS operator asked me to end call - I couldn’t- he had to.
Regretfully rejected R Design, Glacier Silver, T4 Auto FWD Convenience Pack, Front Park Assist,Power Glass Tilt & Slide,Smartphone Integration,Winter Pack, Mudflaps
squint
Posts: 185
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 9:55 pm

Post by squint »

Dermottdog - may I suggest you are given a loan car - mine has been at dealership since 11/5/20 - they originally said they’d only need it for a few days. Also get them to cover the cost of reducing excess insurance- my dealership were charging me £12 per day till they offered to cover it. Also try and ensure the loan car doesn’t have faults like mine.

Even if Volvo have not done what you and I consider is the moral obligation to notify car owners who may be potentially affected with what we consider a major safety fault, they should have notified dealerships.
Regretfully rejected R Design, Glacier Silver, T4 Auto FWD Convenience Pack, Front Park Assist,Power Glass Tilt & Slide,Smartphone Integration,Winter Pack, Mudflaps
Post Reply