XC70: Engine Engine temp and oil level

[Muzzyxc70]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

You need to check the engine oil with the ignition on but before you start the engine... if you have the owners manual it's on about page 330. You can down load the manual FOC from Volvo's website.

Very irritating that a manufacturer known for good instrumentation omits a temperature gauge... hotly debated on here as to whether you really need one or not, and yes the car will beep at you if things get too hot but you can diagnose a lot about an engine from the behavior of the temperature.

It would have cost them nothing to implement one on the multifunctional display via a software update.

Many thanks. I didn't realise there are 2 positions for the ignition key. Needed to put it into position 2. (holding the start/stop button without depressing the clutch)

[Clan]

Originally Posted by apersson850

It's indeed the bean counters that made the temperature gauge go away. But perhaps not in the way you think.

Volvo got too many complaints from people saying "the gauge is in the wrong position."
"No, it's in the green area."
"Yes, it's wrong, it's sometimes moving away from perfectly vertical/horizontal."
"Well, as long as it's in the green area, it's normal."
"No, it must be in that position. Fix it, but I will not pay, since it's wrong."

You may think that such daft drivers don't exist, but this was way too common in a large country, with many cars, where they also speak (sort of) English...

So the gauge disappeared. Now too many complained about that, so it's back again. But heavy filtered by software, to show exactly in the right spot, no matter what the temperature is.

No No , it costs no more when you have a digital dash and as I said previously, No one complains about volvo temperature gauges , volvo temperature gauges have been rock stable in the middle of the scale for the last 50 years what ever technology they use , bi metal thermal metal strip , moving coil and now digital screen .

[apersson850]

Originally Posted by Clan

No No , it costs no more when you have a digital dash...

Again, the cost is not the indicator itself, it's the customer's reactions to it that cause the cost.
Especially with diesels, when you coast, they drop in temperature, due to high air flow and no combustion in the engine. That alone may cause the gauge to move. At least they don't buy diesels over there.
And these gauges were not at all rock solid back when it was a mecahnical temperature gauge. Especially when you turned the engine off, the temperature rose, since the water pump stopped.
But after them becoming electric, more and more dampening has been added, to make the owners less agitated.

By the way, the gauge did come back on the TFT display. If you want it to. It depends on the mode you set the display to, if you see it or not.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by apersson850

.....That alone may cause the gauge to move. At least they don't buy diesels over there.
And these gauges were not at all rock solid back when it was a mecahnical temperature gauge. Especially when you turned the engine off, the temperature rose, since the water pump stopped.

And the temp gauge in my 2015 XC60 D5 with TFT does exactly that - my morning commute in the winter sees me do 2 or 3 miles during which the temperature gauge reaches 3/4 to mid, I then go down a long hill for about 1.5 miles where you drop 450 feet in height and the car is coasting - in the winter with the heater on this will see the temp gauge drop back off to half again.

The read out is not manipulated, not on any Volvo platform, having driven examples of most of them with leaking coolant and/or failed head gaskets and/or inop rad fans.

Whilst I would respect and agree with Clan's points on the stability of Volvo engines, there are still a lot of cars around with the Ford PSA 1.6 and 2.0D which are more prone to thermostat and head gasket issues.

[monkeh]

Originally Posted by Clan

No No , it costs no more when you have a digital dash and as I said previously, No one complains about volvo temperature gauges , volvo temperature gauges have been rock stable in the middle of the scale for the last 50 years what ever technology they use , bi metal thermal metal strip , moving coil and now digital screen .

Try a d24tic with a rotting head... That temperature gauge is like a rev counter!
Experience with a 1.6 PSA engine, non volvo car, is left idling with heater on full, you can drop the temperature down to minimal and have cold air blowing through the vents.
I used to have to prop the throttle onto 2000 rpm to keep her warm.
Then a long run in 1st gear on redline until I got all the sooty goodness out the back. Egr goo turns into a really good spark show when everything is red hot! It's like someone is welding in the exhaust!

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by monkeh

Egr goo turns into a really good spark show when everything is red hot! It's like someone is welding in the exhaust!

I once did a manual stationary re-gen on my mums C30 1.6D, made the mistake of the back end of the car overhanging my lovely lawn - left a 2 foot diameter circle of black fried grass.