V90 CC drive mode switch retrofit
 

Hi all,

I recently acquired a V90 cross country. It is an amazing car but to my great surprise the car doesn't have a drive mode switch. This is usually located just behind the engine start toggle and would allow me to select eco / dynamic / off road drive modes.

No doubt this missing feature is a quirk of the seemingly strange Irish new vehicle delivery system where we often get screwed with lower spec cars than our neighbours in the UK. You might be interested to learn that we import well over 100,000 secondhand cars per year from the UK into Ireland. Usually considerably more than the amount of new cars registered actually!

The drive mode switch wasn't a deal breaker and I'm glad I bought the car anyway but now I wonder could the switch be retrofitted and the car's software updated to match? It would be nice to have the sportier engine and gearbox characteristics offered by dynamic mode and I would love to have offroad mode considering it is a cross country. I am also very interested in getting the Polestar optimisation but would this be possible without the drive mode switch?

I looked at dozens of V90s online, mostly in the UK, before buying this one. They all had that drive mode selector switch. When I found the V90 CC I actually finally bought, it was the only V90 I had seen without the switch.

I did some further research afterwards and I managed to find maybe 2 or 3 other V90s for sale that don't have it but they are the most basic models. It's a little hard to believe that they sold this V90 cross country without the ability to select off road mode. Also it is D5 which is the highest power diesel so I would have assumed that the ability to select the dynamic/sporty mode would be standard!

I'm sure I can fit the switch easily enough but I wonder if the cars software can be updated to give me the driving mode options. Any ideas?

Wow, that's strange - my folks lived in Ireland for a number of years, the low spec weirdness was always very strange.

Have you had a look through the main Sensus screen to see if it is anywhere on the interface? Maybe its just the button that is lacking? Do you have the part in the car settings where you can customise the drive mode?

I suspect you have an actual ECO button somewhere on the bottom of the screen?

EDIT - Yup, even the owners manual seems to say it's an option; bummer!

You'll need a software update to make a switch work if you install it; probably more money than it's worth.

Oh ya I've checked all the menus but there's no drive mode customisation available. I have the eco mode button and the esc off button on the sensus screen but that's it. I thought maybe the esc off button would activate dynamic mode but it does not make any difference to the characteristics of the power train. It will be interesting to see what they will want to charge for the software update.

It must be a Irish thing as you already mentioned, even the Momentum trim in the UK gets the Drive Mode settings. Possibly you have the Cross Country rather than the Pro version of the Ireland market spec?

All's not lost though, looking at the Polestar page you car is suitable for the software.

https://engineered.polestar.com

https://engineered.polestar.com/ie/p...automatic-2019

Just something to be aware of - it may not be possible to update the software to add the driving modes. Unless something is available as a Volvo accessory (and I don't think adding driving modes is) then it tends not to be do-able.

Thanks for the replies. I have emailed the nearest dealership asking for info on both the polestar upgrade and the possibility of adding the drive mode switch. I will revert with info when I get replies. When I am told no by every dealership in Ireland and England I will accept it as true 😉

Polestar effects all drive modes (IMO), so you could have it, but I guess just for engine optimisation as you won't be able to get to polestar mode to give you the different gearbox/throttle sensitivity

Is it possible to access drive modes through the sensus centre display without using the drive mode switch?

no. not possible.

Only ECO mode.