New Volvo S60 2.5L Turbo. Features I hate.

1. Does not play my CD-Rs. For an expensive car it should, since even
my $20 CD player plays them. Dont they make CD-Rs in Sweden? I guess
the theory is you should not be bootlegin CDs. Even if they are your
own.

2. Cup holders suck. For a safety first car, trying to pull your
coffee out of cup holder could cause an accident. What kind of drinks
do they make in Sweden? Dont they have Starbucks yet? I guess the
theory is you shouldnt drink and drive.

3. Doors dont lock automatically when car is in motion or drive. On
all other cars I owned they did this. (Even german). I guess they
figure no one will grab you while stopped at the red light. Guess
what. It happens all the time in America. They should make this
programmable.

4. Radio is hard to use. They skimped on buttons for station keys.
There is only a wheel, which is a pain to use and dangerous since you
have to look at what station you are turning to.

5. Could use a little more room/pockets for things. I dont know why
the side door pockets are so shallow. Space is tight.

6. The way the a/c works is confusing. I think dual a/c zones is
useless feature for a small compartment of a car. I have to keep
setting two thermostats. Wish there was a way to turn passenger off.

7. Back seats should have more leg room. But who cares. I aint in high
school anymore and kids are grown.

I have a few other tiny ones, not worth getting into.

Still the car has a very comfortable ride and feels stable and solid.
I like the leather and that automatic wiper rain detector is cool.

 

Your CD player should play CD-R's my friends 2001 V70 plays them, and I
believe RW's. Take this issue up with the dealer

Cup Holders - they don't drink in their cars much in Europe... You should
see some of the interesting designs in other Euro cars - in my Golf the cup
holder completely blocks the radio! And the rear cup holders can't hold
anything more then a small can... Our Volvo doesn't have cup holders, so
it's bottles only for us.

Doors locking - I believe this is a dealer programmable option, on my
friends V70 the doors lock.

Your radio - that could be a definate pain in the ass!!! I think all radios
should have discrete buttons, that's a big oversight, i'd have to get rid of
a car like that.... I use my preset buttons all the time.

Door Pockets - they big enough for maps? Volvo's used to have huge door
pockets... I guess you'll be left to holding on the essential maps - do you
have seatback pockets? You can hold a lot of stuff in them usually.

Climate - Isn't it a set it and forget it style system still? The V70 i'm
used to has manual temp dials for each zone... leave em at 22C and you're
good to go. - I think my 960 has a great setup, Leave everything at AUT
(automatic) and set your temps.... Cabin gets quite comfortable... I guess
dual zone is good if you like it cold, but maybe your significant other
likes it a little warmer.

Legroom.... Try sitting in back of a Golf/Jetta... you'll think your S60 has
plenty then ;-).

 

My S60 now plays CD-Rs no problem, but I had to get the radio HU-803
replaced under warranty as it was skipping on a load of CDs, both orginal
and CD-Rs. I'd go back to the dealer and get it replaced.

I find the a/c great, once set to auto and the right temp it adjusts itslef
and controls the fan speed/vents, no need to change the temp at all.

My cup holder in an older S60 broke, but I just used it as a phone holder.

 

With that list of hates, why did you buy it in the first place ?

It seems that the S60 is a step backwards from the V70, which has none
of the features you hate. Plays CD-R with no trouble, has plenty of
rear legroom, storage pockets aplenty, great sound system (need I go on ?)

 

Wife bought an S-60 10 days ago.

Haven't tried the CD-R's yet.

Cup holder could definitely cause a wrist sprain and is poorly placed.

Doors not locking made me cranky too. Here in Lancaster, PA - recently voted
the 4th best place to live in America, we've had 4 cases of carjacking this
year where a guy opens the door at a stoplight and drags the unsuspecting
driver (usually female) out of the car and takes off. Since I've been
driving my Bonneville SSEi for 4 years with the auto locks I just plain
forget. And even when I remember I find the locking button too small and
poorly placed. Since you have to constantly manually lock the doors you
would think they could have made the button larger..

I agree with you on the dual-zone thing. What a joke. I guess auto makers
ran out of realistic gimmicks to sell cars. My SSEi has it too and I always
felt that if I set my side at 70 deg. and my wife sets hers at 76 deg., then
the whole freakin' car is gonna be 73 deg. What a joke.

The car does feel taut and has an incredible torque curve. All 236 ft-lbs.
are available at only 1500 rpm's.


Lee

 

I'm curious. Do you think that the S60, or your GM-mobile for that
matter, has bulletproof glass? Or is your car worth the risk that
resisting a thief presents?

 

Since none of the carjackings I cited involved a gun, I'm not sure what your
point is. If someone approaches your car and attempts to get in do you just
get out and say, "Here you go!" Besides, how do you know he wouldn't shoot
you anyway? I'm not willing to concede that the scumbag just wants my car,
and you can't change your reaction after the fact. Plus, giving up my car
with my 7-year old daughter strapped in the back seat wouldn't be the right
move now, would it.

Lee

 

I snipped everything.
Most of the mentioned things are simple adjustments or features.

Don`t feed the trolls.

Jürgen

 

"

This is programmable. Ask your salesman. A small hint: S60: order-Nr.: 8637
412-1 This locks the doors, if the speed exceeds 7km/h

 

Will this apply to my 2004 V70?
Please excuse my ignorance, this is my first Volvo.
TIA
CK

 

The V70 has a different order number. But yes, there is an "upgrade" for
this functionality.

Regards

Jürgen

 

You know I asked my salesman on the phone and he said no. Two things
if I could get I would be happy.

1) The auto-locks and 2) The CD playing my CD-Rs. Are you sure about
the lock thing?

The other complaints is a matter of getting used. Like extra pockets,
they did add kangaroo type pockets on the front seats which I think is
nice. Also the leg room in back I dont care as much and the cup
holders, well I will just have to drink less coffee.

Thanks for the help.

 

Yes, because someone who wants to steal your car wouldn't find a way
around a locked door (like a gun, or breaking the window, etc).

I'm not convinced that locking the car doors will do anything other than
impede access by emergency personnel and make it more difficult to exit
the car in an emergency.

 

I'm not convinced that locking the car doors will do anything other than

Volvos, like many cars, allow you to open the door from the inside without
having to unlock it. As far as impeding EMS personnel, if you're injured to
the point that you can't unlock or open you're own door, then either the
door will be jammed and unopenable or the window will have been shattered
during the impact.

It's a personal choice...and I'll keep my doors locked.

Lee

 

"> You know I asked my salesman on the phone and he said no. Two things

1. automatic lock of doors: at least here in europe you can get them.
Knowing that the american specs are a little bit different (in general much
better....) I can not imagine that this is not available. It is a part of
the big Accessories catalogue. Any official VOILVO shop has one... Maybe
your salesman is too lazy to look at it. For the S60, coming with pricelist
30.04.2004 here in germany this automatic locking of doors can be ordered
for 15 euros, incl. Tax, 12,93 without tax. Maybe your salesman thinks: boy
for that 8 (anything concerning with cars is cheap in the states) bucks I`m
not willing to move my a***
(good example for price-differences: the S60r costs some 54.000 euros in
germany...the face-lifted S60T5 41.000)

2. my 605 plays my self-burned CDs and CD RW without any troubles. But I
heared that there are some incompatibilities with some CD "burners". I have
no idea. Mine works fine.

3. pockets: here in germany all S60-variants (140hp, 170 hp, 180hp, 210,
260, 300, 130hp diesel, 163hp diesel, Bi-fuel) come with pockets in front of
the seats. Front and rear seats. And there are pockets in the backside of
the front seats. There are 2 cupholders in the dashboard, one extra beside
the radio can be ordered for 60 euros (std in USA), and for the rear armrest
another 2 for 100 euros (std in the states). So I can`t understand
complaining about that.

Jürgen

 

I had the dealer install the software patch to lock the S60 Volvo
doors automatically. Cost about $55

I also added the extra cup holder on dashboard. Cost $80.

The CD-R I will have to experiment. I believe I will have to use high
quality CD-Rs.

I am a little happier now.

Thanks for your help.

 

FYI I can play 20p (UK) cheap CD-Rs burnt at x8 no problem. With the first
HU-803 (before replacing it under warranty) it skipped on some of these and
also some original CDs.