In relation to the XC60 - this gets compilcated - but here is the list from the latest XC60 brochure. IMHO anyone ordering the diesels without the geartronic deserves their head read anyway :D

3.2 Auto - 1800/90 (braked tow limit/nose weight)
T6 Auto - 2000/90
2.4D Man - 1500/75
2.4D Auto - 1800/90
2.4D Man 4WD - 1800/75
2.4D Auto 4WD - 2000/90
D5 Man 4WD - 1800/75
D5 Auto 4WD - 2000/90

Yes the catalogue says all XC60 manuals are 75kg & all autos are 90kg BUT BUT BUT the owners manual says that the UK 4wd 205hp manual gearbox has a towing weight of 90 kg which it doesn't when they finally resolve the difference. Which will you have in 5 years time - the catalogue or the owners handbook & will any 2nd owners ever see the catalogue? All XC60 towbars are also stamped 90kg which is the max for any XC60 varient but not necessarily the one that the bar is attached to.

I agree about the XC60 towcar of the year bit. One dealer had one & a caravan outside with a big advertising board "towcar of the year" but then they didn't even know what the towbar weight meant.

Actually dealers/Volvo technical not knowing what "towball weight" meant has been a common problem. The number of times I have had to explain that it is not the same as trailer weight. One dealer actually asked me why I didn't want to discuss the colour, like all the rest of his customers, which he was happy to do!

And they wonder why theyre in financial problems when the dealers dont even know what theyre trying to sell you!!!!!

The figures I quoted are for the MY2010 cars. HOWEVER they were also for the 163 and 185 and not the latest models.

I suspect the manual gearbox can't take more than 1800KG. Being that the gearbox is made by the people whose woeful copy of the Getrag auto appeared in lower spec Senators back in the late 80s - and who had a reputation of melting if you even showed it a towbar - I am surprised how tough the geartronic appears to be. I have clocked thousands of KM with 1900kg on the towbar - with no performance issues - cruising at a steady speed she manages over 30mpg. It is just the acceleration from rest where upon the fuel is dumped through the engine V8 style.

Cant say too much guys

in my case i have an 09 V70 and as ive said made a lot of noise since week 1 of owning it
Even sought both trading standards and solicitors letters and got nowhere

Did I mention watchdog the other day by the way?

Had a phone call yesterday im to return the car asap to supplying dealer and get my deposit back in full minus £500
All payments after this month have been halted and im now out of contract.

Im with Motability but until yesterday had no luck whatsoever so maybe others may get help later on.

Had a phone call from the watchdog team as last weekend I was at a caravan open day and one of the sponsers was there showing off the "TOWCAR OF THE YEAR" and they overheard my problems.

Now im a big lover of the UK

Yes we got crappy politicians / taxs etc but and ill always say this our legal system as stupid as it is will eventualy stand for the consumer against bullys with a lot of disclaimers.

Watchdog rung on monday and Tuesday ive been offered to return the car, I met someone with a similar car ( sad eh how you make friends in car parks lol) and hes also now returning hes.
I dont know what the program is about or when its on, I did hear it was a joint program running in conjunction with trading standards so shoddy service and customer relations should change soon with any luck.

The story is too big to be swept under the carpet, gaining towcar of the year when the economy for first time ever is driving thousands to start camping and therefore buy a car to tow is a factor

So those reading this and feeling a little low dont be, the UK when it is pushed into peoples faces wont stand huge companys misrepresenting things, blatantly misleading people with statements and claims and hiding behind terms and conditions and a wall of solicitors.
Im hoping Fords will now re evaluate the Volvo branding and how it cares about its customers
I used to rate volvo higher than BMW and Mercedes etc for quality and customer services
Lets hope one day ill return and those who are annoyed I wish you the luck I just got

But what are the facts??

What has been deliberately misrepresented?

I spent many hours pouring over the documentation trying to workout the best car for the job - and going for the D5

At this time Ken im unsure myself only time will tell

The letter i recieved from Volvo UK just stated anything on website and brochure etc is subject to change and the handbook is a misprint

Im told throughout the UK brochures on Volvos now have all been removed, if you want one they will post you one from head office

Could be nothing but its very cloak n daggery, no customer service, blatant reading of terms and conditions and blame pointed everywhere other than them is what I found.

In my case in writing they even blamed the finance company for not informing me the changes to the spec on my car!

Shame Volvo was a name you could realy trust i know of the problems with the V70 and shocked similar here in XC60
I know this is a Volvo website and we all love them or owners but lets face it these problems highlighted are significant
If the figures quoted in official documents are wrong then Volvo have a duty to inform anyone affected - notice they havent done this
Theres a big legal problem as well, if you bought the car to tow and gone by what is published where do you stand in event of an accident?
Stand up and tell the judge you might have a chance but Volvo should inform anyone who may be affected there are misprints etc (problem is most of the sales information even today brags the wrong information

Couldnt we as a respected forum be involved on behalf of members in getting to the bottom of these queries?
I noticed this is a sticky which is honourable but clearly something is wrong somewhere do we have to wait for sensationalist tv programes to bring it to light when here we see people having these problems)
Edited poor spelling Dv70

Yes unfortuantely you DO!! I finally gave up butting my head against a brick wall of buck passing and "its got nowt to do with me!" attitudes. Sales manager at the selling dealership point blank refused to take calls from my solcitor after the 1st call and he found out who he was!! Stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away as my solicitor said! Same with VCUK who werent really that bothered to be honest despite the fact that it was them that supplied the car in such a poor condition in the 1st place. You have more rights in this country if you buy a 300 quid washing machine thats faulty than if you buy a 30-40k car. Something must be wrong there surely?? In the end I lost about 6k altogether (4k on the car and another 2k on solicitors fees) just so I could feel safe in a car and enjoy driving again!!

Thanks to the attitude of VCUK and the dealership I'll never again step through the showroom door to buy either one of their cars or trucks EVER again. (2 tractor units cancelled as soon as possible after all this started and several friends vowing never to buy their trucks again too) Wish I could afford to alienate customers as easily as Volvo seem to be willing and quite happy to do.

Still missing the facts!!!!

Are you saying:

"Volvo literature stated that the towing limit of Model X was Ykg with a nose weight limit of Zkg. You bought the car based on these figures. When you read the handbook the numbers quoted were lower for your exact model?"

If so - state the numbers you were basing your decisions on.

A cars ability to tow (across any manufacturer) appears to be based on a number of factors.

1) Engine Performance - torque mores specifically. A chunky diesel or V8 will have a higher tow limit than a smaller petrol unit in the same model

2) Gearbox - more and more you are seeing modern automatics outperforming their manual cousins - assuming model and engine are equal

3) Drive - 4*4 gives extra weight and traction - both useful when towing.

4) Weight - the heavier the car the greater the tow limit.

Merc Estates from the late 80s onwards are all rated with limits of 2100KG - although UK specialist suggests that it only the 280, 300 and 320 that have the torque and power to be comfortable doing so.

Dodgyken,

who are you asking for "the facts"?

As far as the MY2010 XC60 is concerned I have given them - I thought - clearly.

XC60 pricelist either viewable on the Volvo website or available by post gives the XC60 205hp 4wd manual towball weight as 75kg.

XC60 owners manual either downloadable from the Volvo website or as supplied with the vehicle gives the towball weight as 90kg which Volvo now say is wrong.

Whether this matters depends on which document you have in your posession, which document you will still have in a couple of years time, which document goes with a second hand vehicle etc etc.

I am not saying that anything was deliberate but that a mistake has been made which has consequences. It was also one difficult job to get Volvo to even admit the difference.