XC90 wading depth

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Jayo70

I marked 850mm on a wall (RR Sport wading depth) and could see that I was never going to need that, but 450 seems a bit borderline for some of the flooding we get.
Thanks for the reply, JLR it is then.

I think you might need one of these :

[Pidgeonpost]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

The link above is for the V90 Cross Country, the rated depth of the XC90 is 450mm but that is "....at no more than walking speed" - i.e. without the bow wave coming through the grille and over the bonnet.

https://www.volvocars.com/lb/support...20water&page=0

Ah, beggin' yer pardon, my mistake. Even so, I'd be looking for another route rather than risking it. In our petrol Landy over-ambitious wading could lead to flooded ignition system if the mechanically driven cooling fan got submerged and began acting like a propeller.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Pidgeonpost

Ah, beggin' yer pardon, my mistake. Even so, I'd be looking for another route rather than risking it. In our petrol Landy over-ambitious wading could lead to flooded ignition system if the mechanically driven cooling fan got submerged and began acting like a propeller.

Yes I would agree, best course of action would, if possible, be not to take the risk.

The Mrs loves to watch the Rufford Ford and other videos on YouTube of lots of cars getting stuck, either by driving too fast or the water is just too deep anyway. They annoy the hell out of me as each one is likely a £5k-£50k insurance claim which we are all paying for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HHFXFN788

[Pidgeonpost]

Just watched a bit of this ^^^^^. Just what are some of those drivers on?!

[Frank Bullitt]

Christmas Eve, 2020

The water had subsided about 15cm, didn’t stop this Velour grinding to a halt.

IMG_2424.jpg

[Jayo70]

Originally Posted by TeamG

I’d be really wary about wading at 450mm in a domestic car. Still water is fine and most off-roading courses have much deeper still water that you’ll no doubt be familiar with from youtube videos and the like, but anything with flow can easily push a domestic car off-course and into trouble.

In a former life, I was a driver with the British Army and have personal experience of this going very wrong very quickly. And that’s with proper training, vehicles and recovery support. It’s amazing how powerful flowing water is on a vehicle that weighs 20 tonnes, let alone a 2.5 tonne SUV.

Oh I’m not talking about flowing water, what we get are essentially big puddles either end of our village. The council could and should sort them out but don’t, and since my wife followed other vehicles through one a couple of years back, and her car just stopped, she is nothing short of paranoid about driving through water.
I understand that 450mm is fairly deep water, but I don’t get why most manufacturers don’t think wading depth is a good selling point. Maybe only Land Rover consider themselves to make real off-roaders whilst Volvo, BMW etc know their cars are only for town.
The other option are double-cabbers like Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux but I don’t particularly want one of those.
Thanks for all the replies though, they were very informative.

[Simmy]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Yes I would agree, best course of action would, if possible, be not to take the risk.

The Mrs loves to watch the Rufford Ford and other videos on YouTube of lots of cars getting stuck, either by driving too fast or the water is just too deep anyway. They annoy the hell out of me as each one is likely a £5k-£50k insurance claim which we are all paying for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1HHFXFN788

insurance company's should watch these vids and refuse to pay out drivers who use no common sense and attempt to cross when the water is far too deep even for proper off road vehicles i cant believe that folk still attempt when both sides of the ford are littered with stranded failed cars. one of the main causes of failure is when the electronic hand brake applies its self because of water ingress bmw is a prime example of this but its the same fault on most modern cars even volvos

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by Jayo70

Thanks for all the replies though, they were very informative.

Please think long and hard before going the JLR route at the moment.

They aren't the most reliable, but their parts supply is in absolute turmoil with long or no ETAs for cars still under warranty.

I'd estimate at least another 6 months before the new Global DC is working acceptably.

[Jayo70]

Originally Posted by Simmy

insurance company's should watch these vids and refuse to pay out drivers who use no common sense and attempt to cross when the water is far too deep even for proper off road vehicles i cant believe that folk still attempt when both sides of the ford are littered with stranded failed cars. one of the main causes of failure is when the electronic hand brake applies its self because of water ingress bmw is a prime example of this but its the same fault on most modern cars even volvos

Absolutely agree. Who risks 50 grands worth of machinery just for the hell of it? Bonkers.

On a related note though, fascinating to watch how well Tesla do getting through there. In my simple way of thinking, electric and water just don’t go together, which concerned me because of the regular flooding near my home, and the supposed inevitability of us all being forced to go EV one day soon, but the fact that the battery is sealed and they have no air intake or exhaust pipe seems to make them a revelation through the drink.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Simmy

insurance company's should watch these vids and refuse to pay out drivers who use no common sense and attempt to cross when the water is far too deep even for proper off road vehicles i cant believe that folk still attempt when both sides of the ford are littered with stranded failed cars. one of the main causes of failure is when the electronic hand brake applies its self because of water ingress bmw is a prime example of this but its the same fault on most modern cars even volvos

They possibly do but the can't retrospectively cancel insurance - you have insurance to cover your liabilities and mistakes, however reckless they may be.