Stupid car

[faffi]

Had to fill the car since there was only 20 miles to go according to the computer, but the pump at the station had issues and I only got 5 litres into the tank after fiddling for a long time. Still, that was worth more than 50 additional miles, so I expected to be safe for now.

However, the tank gauge refused to acknowledge the small amount and the car computer now said there were --- miles left to empty. I expected this to soon rectify itself, but no. Not even stopping and starting the engine did anything.

Then, after 30 miles when the car originally expected to be running dry, the #&"&# car began to stutter like mad. And it wouldn't stop! Flooring it, driving it at lower or higher (if 2000 rpm can be said to be higher) - nothing would prevent the kangaroo ride. I felt like an idiot in the bouncing vehicle!

If it had happened during an attempt to pass a truck, the almost total loss of power could have been fatal! The crazyiness continued after stopping and starting as well. Lucklily, I only had 3 miles to drive to a petrol station, but what if I had to go the final 50 miles?

I don't know what imbecile who came up with the idea of cutting power in about 1 second cycles or decide that the car should acknowledge small amounts of fuel into it circuitry, but he should be sentenced to a life in chains. No, that's not harsh enough. He should instead be forced to drive the car for 100 miles in traffic when it believes it's running out of fuel.

Much better than messing with the engine would be a text in the display and a flashing lamp that said STOP FOR FUEL NOW. Plus the ability to understand small amounts of added fuel.

And finally, the biggest irony; even if I hadn't filled the 5 or so litres there would be at least 2 litres left.

[fenton_jd]

Its a blessing in disguse

If this engine runs out of fuel its right barstool to get it going again from personal experience!. Need a volvo hand primer tool (£70) or a generic hand primer + a second person to crank the engine while you pump!

Both my S40's didnt acknowledge small amounts of fuel and its a pain in the arse. Apparently brimming the tank "resets" the fuel level sensor, but in this day and age how much is a full tank??!

I've ran both a 2.0d and a T5 down to the point where the fuel needle doesnt move when you switch the car on and then it'll stutter.

I wouldnt bother putting any less than £15 (10+ litres) in when its that low or the car simply wont register it.

[faffi]

As I said, flashing lights or even a siren would be better than cutting power intermittedly. Also, it's the first car in 30 years I've been in that didn't register every drop of fuel.

[Daim]

There is a gauge in the car saying "empty". A light even comes on with a lot of range left (around 140 km range in my car - and that is a lot of petrol stations to drive past) before the engine will cut out. What much more do you want? You are calling the car "stupid" because YOU didn't tank up earlier?

Mate, not being nasty, but I think the "stupid" part was behind the wheel...

What would you have done, if the tank really was bone dry and the fuel pump (if lucky even high pressure diesel pump!) was running dry? I would assume you would even then have blamed Volvo for not fitting a sirene saying:

"Oi you stupid driver! I am bloody empty so fill my f**king tank now!"

Sorry, but I don't give Volvo any kind of blame - nor so that the car is stupid. Common sense tells you to tank up before the tank is empty. The petrol gauge isn't calibrated to be spot on, it is only a "random" instrument and measures - unlike older cars - every now and then. When you thrash the car, the gauge will drop. But if you then drive slower and calm for a while, it will raise again... It calculates from the last measurement adding consumption etc. and then shows what it thinks will be correct.

Actually funny to see... When you drive an LPG car with a gauge like that, you can drive for hundreds of miles/kilometers without using a drop of petrol, but the petrol gauge will be basically empty (on display).

[faffi]

1. Any and every fuel gauge should be perfectly calibrated and show the actual amount of fuel remaining. And even if it isn't perfectly calibrated, it should always show the same for whatever fuel is remaining. Having a "logical" fuel gauge makes no sense.

2. I want to be able to use up all the fuel in the tank, not 90% or even 98%, but 100%. If I know there is enough fuel left to bring me to the next waterhole, I want access to it. And if the tank holds 52 litres, why can I only fill 50 when the car is acting like a fool? If the think is programmed to need 2 litres of emergency kangaroo running, the tank should hold 54 litres out of which 52 is useful.

3. Sure, I could refuel when the warning light comes one. However, I dislike the experience because the fuel of Satan (tm Clarkson) is smelly and the pump handle usually greasy. Hence see point 2.

4. Cutting power is a potentially fatal issue - it should at least have a full-throttle override. And it happened with 7 litres in the tank because some idiot have told the car to be oblivious to small amounts added.

5. If I'm daft enough to actually run out of fuel, yes, I should be suffering the concequences.

[stevo83]

It would make sense if the car at least measured the fuel if you open the fuel cap. There is a cap sensor to do with the dpf fluid, so you'd think the car would pick up on it! What if you only have a tenner till payday? In todays world that's only a small amount of fuel!

[The Hooded Claw]

Originally Posted by faffi

1. Any and every fuel gauge should be perfectly calibrated and show the actual amount of fuel remaining. And even if it isn't perfectly calibrated, it should always show the same for whatever fuel is remaining. Having a "logical" fuel gauge makes no sense.

2. I want to be able to use up all the fuel in the tank, not 90% or even 98%, but 100%. If I know there is enough fuel left to bring me to the next waterhole, I want access to it. And if the tank holds 52 litres, why can I only fill 50 when the car is acting like a fool? If the think is programmed to need 2 litres of emergency kangaroo running, the tank should hold 54 litres out of which 52 is useful.

3. Sure, I could refuel when the warning light comes one. However, I dislike the experience because the fuel of Satan (tm Clarkson) is smelly and the pump handle usually greasy. Hence see point 2.

4. Cutting power is a potentially fatal issue - it should at least have a full-throttle override. And it happened with 7 litres in the tank because some idiot have told the car to be oblivious to small amounts added.

5. If I'm daft enough to actually run out of fuel, yes, I should be suffering the concequences.

Question that i would THINK need to be addressed......

A. how do you know theres 7 Litres of fuel in the tank YES you put 5 Litres in it but how do you know said tank does NOT have X litres of SH!T in the bottom of it

B. you stated you can only get 50 litres of Fuel in the 52 Litre tank now to me THAT says theres AT LEAST 2 Litres of SH!T in there. & driving along with only 5 litres in your gonna stir said SH!T up & get it sucked into yer Engine Result = Kangarooing along & you lookin like a TOOL!!!

C. you "dislike" using a Diesel fuel pump Well carry a pair of Gloves then

D. You wanna use 100% of yer fuel ..... HELL MAN we all do, but we don't wanna use it ALL IN ONE GO!!! We use the "Final" 2 Litres MIXED with the other 50 Litres we just put in & so on & so on ...

E. best suggestion I have is to set yerself a Date when you wanna sell the car & then run it until it goes PUTT PUTT, Bang, Bang Fizzle Pop & stops at the side of the road then write out a FOR SALE sign Stick it in the front Window & GET THE BUS HOME

THEN YOU'LL BE ABSOLUTEY SURE YOU'VE USED 100% of the Fuel you've put in it ........Minus the 2 Litres of SH!TE in the tank (Assumin you aint cleaned it out beforehand)

[faffi]

Another thing that shows just how daft the computer is comes from the average consumption it displays that simply doesn't add up to the miles travelled. According to the consumption on the computer, I should have run "dry" 30 miles sooner. It shouldn't be so difficult in this modern era to make sure that the estimated mileage to empty correspond with the average consumption it lists.

[Lee '71]

I'm with Daim, if you are silly enough to let your car get so low on fuel you've no-one to blame but yourself. Why did you not simply go to another pump at the first garage????

As Fenton says it's such a pain in the arse to get the car going again I'd never let my V50 get that low. I very rarely let my car get so low as to put the light on, why chance it? You're also sucking up all the crap that sits in the bottom of the tank into your fuel system.

[faffi]

Originally Posted by The Hooded Claw

Question that i would THINK need to be addressed......

A. how do you know theres 7 Litres of fuel in the tank YES you put 5 Litres in it but how do you know said tank does NOT have X litres of SH!T in the bottom of it

B. you stated you can only get 50 litres of Fuel in the 52 Litre tank now to me THAT says theres AT LEAST 2 Litres of SH!T in there. & driving along with only 5 litres in your gonna stir said SH!T up & get it sucked into yer Engine Result = Kangarooing along & you lookin like a TOOL!!!

C. you "dislike" using a Diesel fuel pump Well carry a pair of Gloves then

D. You wanna use 100% of yer fuel ..... HELL MAN we all do, but we don't wanna use it ALL IN ONE GO!!! We use the "Final" 2 Litres MIXED with the other 50 Litres we just put in & so on & so on ...

E. best suggestion I have is to set yerself a Date when you wanna sell the car & then run it until it goes PUTT PUTT, Bang, Bang Fizzle Pop & stops at the side of the road then write out a FOR SALE sign Stick it in the front Window & GET THE BUS HOME

THEN YOU'LL BE ABSOLUTEY SURE YOU'VE USED 100% of the Fuel you've put in it ........Minus the 2 Litres of SH!TE in the tank (Assumin you aint cleaned it out beforehand)

Now wasn't that an intelligent post...

A and B: The car ALWAYS takes it fuel from the bottom of the tank. I do not know what crap you have in mind, but most of it (water, debris) will fall to the bottom of the tank and be the first thing to go to the engine despite the amount of fuel you're carrying.

Also, there are FILTERS to absorb the crap so that your engine will not get hurt.

And how would the car know the quality of the fuel?

Finally, the car is one year and 9000 miles old. If it's already that contaminated inside the tank, how do these things even run when 10 years old?

C: Most stations these days have one-time gloves at the pumps, but not this one where I were forced to refuel. Also, the ground is messy and you take the slick and the smell with you into the car even if hands are clean. But, yes, gloves help a lot.

D: Define "we".

E: Sigh...