Volvo S60R AWD traction control problem

[Gareth]

I have had some scary moments in my S60R AWD (second hand 30,000 miles,
two years old). It acts like the road is greased over small cambers and
uneven surfaces. There is also a tendency for the car to roll from side
to side over bumps. I thought this car was going to be a bit grippier
than my old S40 T4 but it's frightening instead. On a grippy road it's
cornering is little short of amazing but camber changes on a wet road
are lethal. I have raised this with the dealer (Sturgess the main
dealer in Leicester.)The service manager took it out for a test and
said it was just the stiff suspension in the 'sport' setting and that I
should drive it in 'comfort' mode if I didn't like the feel in sport. I
thought this was rubbish and the car is frankly unsafe. I don't want to
get rid of the car as I otherwise really like it but does anyone know
what the problem might be, so that I can insist they sort it out?
Thanks a lot in advance for any advice

 

[Andrew Potter]

My thoughts are the tyres or suspension bushes may be worn. If the tyre
profile has changed through wear (i.e. wear in centre or wear at edges),
this could indicate overinflation (wear in centre) or underinflation (both
edges worn). Suspension bush problems can cause uneven tyre wear,
especially one edge only. All will cause vague handling & odd responses to
road camber changes as you've described.

Normal tyre wear also degrades the car feel. I have a V70 T5 with 18" BBS
wheels & all four tyres are around 3-4mm tread depth. I'm convinced the
feel of the car would benefit greatly with new tyres all round & it does
want to drift & wheelspin more than it did with newer tyres. I don't know
if tyre make has an effect, as I stayed with the standard Pirelli's, but
ensuring you have a good all-round match can rule-out a type mis-match.
Having an AWD may compound any mis-match/wear issue.

I would guess with the age & mileage, suspension bush wear is very unlikely.

I bought my V70 from Burgess & I believe they are good people to deal with,
so I would suggest that there is nothing to worry-about in that respect.

One thought on the 'sport' setting; word is that Ford deliberately made the
car feel firmer in this mode so the driver can feel the difference from
'comfort'. The strategy with 'sport' mode is priority to grip at the
expense of comfort, whereas 'comfort', unsurprisingly, does the opposite.
Here's where it gets interesting, though. 'Comfort' mode reverts to 'sport'
mode when the system detects grip-loss, thus 'comfort' mode is really a
'comfort/sport' mode! Therefore I think you can blame the Ford corporate
strategy for the 'sport' mode discomfort.

Hope you find a solution. Cheers,

Andy P.




----- Original Message -----
From: "Gareth" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: alt.autos.volvo
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2004 1:40 PM
Subject: Volvo S60R AWD traction control problem

 

[Stephen Henning]

I have had some scary moments in my S60R AWD (second hand 30,000 miles,
two years old). It acts like the road is greased over small cambers and
uneven surfaces. There is also a tendency for the car to roll from side
to side over bumps. I thought this car was going to be a bit grippier
than my old S40 T4 but it's frightening instead. On a grippy road it's
cornering is little short of amazing but camber changes on a wet road
are lethal. I have raised this with the dealer (Sturgess the main
dealer in Leicester.)The service manager took it out for a test and
said it was just the stiff suspension in the 'sport' setting and that I
should drive it in 'comfort' mode if I didn't like the feel in sport. I
thought this was rubbish and the car is frankly unsafe. I don't want to
get rid of the car as I otherwise really like it but does anyone know
what the problem might be, so that I can insist they sort it out?

I would guess your tires are trash. Some high performance tires are
trash in wet weather. I usually look for the best wet weather
performance and the dry weather performance will be plenty adequate.

Have you had a 4-wheel alignment check? It may have an alignment
problem also.

Traction control (TRACS) only works at very low speeds and is a very
crude way to get a car going from a dead stop in slippery conditions.
It does not manage the throttle. Mismanagement of the throttle will
destroy any improvement TRACS provides.

 

[kelmck]

Maybe this will shed some light on the subject - This is a quote from
the sticker on the window of a new S60R

"Volvo R Concept models come standard with an Ultra High Performance
tire and wheel combination designed to provide maximum dry pavement
performance with consideration for hydroplaining resistance. As such,
they may be more susceptible to road hazard damage and depending on
driving conditions, may achieve a tread life of less than 20,000 miles.
Even with the R's Advanced AWD system, these tires are not designed for
winter driving, and should be replaced with winter tires when weather
conditions dictate." The new Rs are shipping with Pirelli P Zero Rosso
235/40ZR 18. (at least this one has those on it).

Maybe this will help. I hope so. Kelly. http://2005Volvo.com