Towing Weights of D4 FWD Manual 2015 version

[Westyman]

Originally Posted by volvorocks

In that case they should be called 'Volvo Dealer Care' to avoid confusion for us lowly end 'customers'...

Regards

Shall I contact "customer services" and tell them that!

[volvorocks]

Originally Posted by Westyman

Shall I contact "customer services" and tell them that!

Whatever floats your boat....lol....

Regards

[volvorocks]

Originally Posted by MikeIOW

I'd ask the Dealer to explain. He won't know, of course (why would he!), but hopefully he will chase up Volvo UK & find out why they changed it.

Originally Posted by MikeIOW

Let us know what the dealer tells you!

Originally Posted by wimorrison

Because you have to speak to dealer fir anything technical and sales staff for sales enquires.

Which leaves me at a loss as to what function they actually undertake for Volvo and why they are called customer care

Originally Posted by Flux

To be honest I think it's truly shocking. Getting the important things like towing limits right is really important. The fact that no one seems to be able to provide any clarity is staggering. Volvo customer contact centre should be closed down if they can't give advice to potential purchasers and owners....... and pass on the cost savings for customers. What function do they actually serve? It should renamed dealer contact centre and not publish the number so that no one else can call.

Customer contact centre can't answer your question so they refer you to the dealer who can't answer either - nowhere to go - apart from the merry-go-round!

Following on from this and an issue about NCAP with Audi, this is a snippet of a letter from Audi as to why Audi dealers tell customers their Audi R8 IS NCAP tested and has 5 stars when it is not and doesn't...!!!

In terms of strict liability, Audi UK are not responsible for representations made by its franchisees.

Should you continue to allege that Audi UK is responsible in this respect, we ask that you provide the legal basis for this allegation

Audi UK sell these vehicles to Independent retailers who are authorised by way of franchise agreement to operate within the Audi network. Consequently the retailers and dealerships which operate within the Audi network are entirely separate legal entities and accordingly distinct to Audi UK


The bit underlined is extremely annoying. It just makes you want to go the whole way with them......>>>>>>>>>

...............so is it the same with XC60, towing weights, dealers and VCUK?????

Regards

EDIT...oh and forgot to mention Audi also says the R8 is NCAP tested when you ring them up, even though it is not....!!! At least Lada and FSO were up front about their cars years ago (I had a Lada and an FSO....!!)

[TunnylaneTom]

Got a reply from Volvo UK via dealer.
Gross Train Weight = Gross Vehicle Weight (called Max total weight in MY15 spec brochure) + Max Towing Weight Braked
For MY15 this is 2300 + 1600 = 3900Kg
So we are 30Kg over legal. Ah well.

Mrs T now planning to go for the automatic whose GVW is 2330.
What a palaver it turned out for 30Kg! But legal means legal.

Thx to all for the very constructive replies. This is my first post here but I've no doubt I shall now be returning to enjoy future posts once the dreaded D4 AUTOMATIC arrives.

Tom

[volvorocks]

The 2300 will be the loaded weight of the car though, so it would be doubtful if you would be overweight?

[pmatthe1]

Hi All

being slightly related to this thread, I am hoping that someone could advise me on which car to purchase. I am torn between the 2015 XC60 D4 FWD SE Lux manual and the 2015 XC60 D4 AWD SE Lux manual.

As mentioned in this post and which seems to have been confirmed by Volvo the FWD has a towing capacity of 1600 and the AWD has a towing capacity of 1800. My caravan details are

Bailey Pageant Provence 2007

MTPLM - 1420 kg
MRO - 1205kg
Payload - 215kg

According to the car specs the max total weight of the FWD version is 2485 kg and the AWD version is 2505 kg.

Could someone please advise if I could tow my van with the FWD or would I need to get the AWD.

Thanks
Paul

[Craigy]

Your Max weight of the trailer is well below the Max towing capacity so yeah it should be fine. Obviously ensure that your gross train weight isn't too high (boot full of batteries or something).

[Woodmaster]

Sorry to raise an old thread, but I am pulling my hair out!

I have a My15 D4 181 fwd.
As pointed out in this thread the tow capacity fell 200kg from the previous year model despite the gross vehicle and gross train weight increasing by 200kg. It looks to me as if they have allocated more of the available train weight to the car instead of the trailer.
Having spoken to a Vosa inspector it is legal to tow a caravan that weighs less than the difference between gross train weight and the ACTUAL weight of the car, so in that sense I am ok towing above the towing capacity of the car.
I asked Volvo uk to explain why the same car suddenly changed but they just quote the figures in the book.

For ref my van MTPLM is uprated to 1800 although its actual is 1650.
The gross train weight is 4185 and the gross vehicle 2485. Loaded with usual stuff and people car on weighbridge is 2145 leaving a legal towable weight of 1940kg.

Licence restrictions don't come into play as I passed in 1975 and have been towing for many years. I guess I really want to know are there any mechanical changes to the car that reduced the tow capacity, or was it just juggling with figures to show the car as capable of having a greater carrying capacity, as I expect this affects more people ( and hence sales).

Sorry for all the maths!

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Woodmaster

Sorry to raise an old thread, but I am pulling my hair out!

I have a My15 D4 181 fwd.
As pointed out in this thread the tow capacity fell 200kg from the previous year model despite the gross vehicle and gross train weight increasing by 200kg. It looks to me as if they have allocated more of the available train weight to the car instead of the trailer.
Having spoken to a Vosa inspector it is legal to tow a caravan that weighs less than the difference between gross train weight and the ACTUAL weight of the car, so in that sense I am ok towing above the towing capacity of the car.
I asked Volvo uk to explain why the same car suddenly changed but they just quote the figures in the book.

For ref my van MTPLM is uprated to 1800 although its actual is 1650.
The gross train weight is 4185 and the gross vehicle 2485. Loaded with usual stuff and people car on weighbridge is 2145 leaving a legal towable weight of 1940kg.

Licence restrictions don't come into play as I passed in 1975 and have been towing for many years. I guess I really want to know are there any mechanical changes to the car that reduced the tow capacity, or was it just juggling with figures to show the car as capable of having a greater carrying capacity, as I expect this affects more people ( and hence sales).

Sorry for all the maths!

That's my understanding of how things are currently enforced by VOSA - i.e. they seem to look at the MAM only (i.e. trailer + car not greater than).

The maximum towing weight of a vehicle (except un-braked trailers which are limited to 750Kg) is generally set by most European manufacturers at the weight which the car can set off from rest on a 10% gradient. This is why some manufacturers quote different weights for the same cars with Auto, Manual and/or AWD. Why Volvo decided to drop it 200 Kg for a model year though I think is still a mystery....

That said though you still could be prosecuted for exceeding the plated towing capacity. Some VOSA inspectors are not the most experienced or best qualified to do that job and from what I've heard their approach can be inconsistent.

[Woodmaster]

The only plated figures are the gross train and gross vehicle weights.
The towing capacity is not I am told a prosecutable offence, unless the trailer is badly maintained etc.