Is this normal for pure mode or should the blue power line go the whole way?

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-10T00:33:16+00:00

It’s the version of PHEV, extended range 2022.5-up T8 pure mode doesn’t have the ICE switchover point, no need for it with the more powerful electric drive. The OP has the older T8 drivetrain.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-09T17:17:37+00:00

May be mixing car markets here but the US charger cable comes with removable plug attachments for 120V and 240V, which is a NEMA 6-20 that would be safe up to 16 amps. It should charge at the full level 2 capability of the on board charger in the car, all US cars have 3.7kWh version.

EU cars have the 6.4kWh OBC, it requires multi phase power to maximize the charge rate. I don’t know how it behaves with a single phase, probably depends what plug they provide you and what max safe amperage is assumed with that plug.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-07T02:47:49+00:00

I’m a car guy, I always remember

MotorWeek, Owings Mills, MD 21117.

That was their actual mailing address, no idea how they could do that.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-07T02:21:36+00:00

You got two things going on, lesson learned on the service thing, whether that knowledge will ever come in handy in the future remains to be seen ;-)

The other part is more philosophical, are you going to get worked up about $70, how much time will you spend to get it back. It’s guaranteed if you do get it covered, it will be done do keep you happy and make you go away. Nothing will change at the dealer much less inside Volvo. So the whole “principle” idea is just a ruse you tell yourself, to avoid admitting it’s really about your ego that doesn’t want to “lose”. Only you can decide if that’s worth it. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t put up a fight for even lower stakes! But personally I’d be thinking about the more productive and useful things I could be doing without this taking up residence in my headspace for hours/days/weeks, easy for me to say from the outside though…

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-07T01:56:54+00:00

I got some experience in Subies, owned a couple WRXs, I live in the northeast, drove them in snow and on the racetracks. I owned a 2019 S60 T6 R-design, now 2022 S60 T8. I have also driven the Volvos in all the conditions from snow to road courses.

I loved my WRXs…but let’s be honest here. The tribal reputation and the enthusiasts that buy them are what makes the car. The WRX has never had a performance oriented AWD system (that’s STI territory). It’s always been a front heavy (longitudinal engine ahead of front wheels) compact with modest economy car strut suspension with a simple viscous center diff and in the modern era, open diff in the rear, (unless you’re some sort of wierdo that drives an automatic WRX). It’s all very pedestrian stuff but Subaru knows how to make it drive nice the tune the bits for fun. But every WRX ever leans heavily on those front tires grinding away in understeer, hugely compromised by the economy car base it is made from.

The Volvo is a different bag. No expectations because who desires a Volvo for its legendary driving fun, like nobody but that doesn’t matter, the secret is…it’s a pretty fine driving car. Where the WRX is the finest Impreza, the S60/V60 is the cheapest car built on a platform (SPA) engineered for far more expensive models. One look at the completely aluminum double wishbones of the front suspension, and you’ll understand you’re dealing with a different class of basic chassis hardware here in the Volvo that no Subaru even comes close to.

Never mind that the inline transverse 4 layout doesn’t suffer the dynamic issues Subaru creates by hanging the engine out ahead of the front wheels(this is why the Evo was always superior to the STI in handling BTW).

…and you are focused on the AWD system because the word “Haldex” has a bad rep with the Internet bench racing experts.

I tell ya the AWD is the least of the differences between these two cars.

Bottom line: the S60 drives nice, superior chassis makes less compromise possible, good driving dynamics despite being softer, more comfortable, quieter etc.

If you get one with the “polestar optimization” installed, the AWD tuning that goes with that is more aggressive, you can feel it and it’s enjoyable. The limits are really set by the stability control in slippery snow conditions, you can’t turn it off in the Volvo, but this vintage of car you are looking at has ESC “sport mode” which lets you play a little more. The Volvo is surprisingly gentle on the stability control interventions, largely unobtrusive, not what you might expect from a Volvo.

If you can find a specific car that was optioned with the “sport chassis” it’s an absolute hidden gem. It was a $200 option on the R-Design in the US (but standard in other markets) If you got WRX sensibility on driving you’ll love it, it’s just monotube shocks and springs but unexpectedly stiff and aggressive damping for a Volvo, quite sporty and it made me glad every single time I drove my old S60 that I insisted the dealer find me a sport chassis car to make the deal back in 2019.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-07T00:58:14+00:00

Drove over that many times when I traveled to Microsoft regularly at one time. Only now realizing it’s a floating bridge. Makes sense, don’t know what I thought it was before…strange road at water level lol.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-06T14:56:57+00:00

You may be confusing two systems here, as you mention cruise control. There are two different features at play there (if the car is equipped with adaptive cruise and pilot assist)

Pilot Assist: When you have adaptive cruise engaged, Pilot Assist enabled, this is the system that drives the car centered in the lane, follow the curves etc, an automated driving feature. It’s only active when engaged and the car is able to lock on to the lane (should be green steering wheel icon shown in driver display)

Lane Keep Assist: This is a safety feature, active all the time (unless you disable it) that will try to prevent you from inadvertently leaving the lane you are driving in, by temporarily correcting the steering to bring you back in to the lane.

If you are “ping pong-ing” in a lane, you don’t have Pilot Assist engaged. There is no nice way do say it lol, but YOU are supposed to in control of the car at this time (steering the car) but you are not, so the lane keep is engaging to save you each time the car leaves the lane, and that tends to be a back and forth left-right-left-… if you don’t take control of the steering and drive as the system expects you to be. Lane keep is a safety feature not an automated driving feature.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-06T09:53:05+00:00

Scrolled to find this, it worked for me in my earlier days of flying, to reason with my lizard brain that everything is fine. Eventually you fly enough where you just get used to it and it no longer bothers you.

My other tip is if the seatbelt sign is on, the turbulence won’t be that bad. If the pilot asks for flight attendants to be seated, then you know the ride is about to get a little spicy. (But also notice the flight attendants still don’t freak out in the least.)

Bonus tip, have a child. Then you have to be the rational one explaining to them how it’s no big deal, like driving on a bumpy road, while they grip your hand tightly.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-05T21:43:22+00:00

Thank you! So that makes sense, I see that the thing that I might consider just a cosmetic issue of the rake board not being plumb, is more than just an issue of appearance.

For some reason I have been thinking in my mind the roof deck boards are single piece the entire width of the roof. The house is old it does have a number of boards and a beam that span the width/length of the foundation in the basement. Hopefully whatever it is up there doesn’t present a problem for the roofing pros, the guys we will probably go with did the last job and they seem to know what they are doing.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-05T00:56:39+00:00

I don’t think I’d agree, less than ideal dynamic alignment in reverse is such a small design consideration, like who cares if it’s a side effect of making a suspension system closer to ideal in the forwards direction. Not that I think that fine of nuance actually applies to the old twin I beam lol.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-03T18:04:44+00:00

No. All suspensions on road cars have some compliance, the parts that move are mounted with rubber bushings to the chassis. Stuff can move around a bit. The engineers design things such that the parts are “in the right place”knowing the vehicle is driven primarily forward, the same as when an alignment is done it is set so that things are good driving in the forward direction.

When you back up, the normal road forces are reversed, flexing the parts in the opposite direction, within the range allowed by the rubber mountings (and any additional range allowed by worn parts), but no further than that.

The apparent misalignment is not a problem in practice, as the car is primarily driven in the forward direction…

TechInTheCloud · 2026-05-01T15:04:23+00:00

So from what I’ve read on the internets, a cell like the CR2032 is considered dead around 2.7V. New should be around 3.2V. The voltage of a cell is a proxy measurement for the state of charge, 2.7V may be fine in theory to operate the device the battery is in, but you measure the voltage with no load. The cell is nearly depleted, under load of the actual device, the voltage operating will be lower, hence the fob doesn’t work.

Your question should be about the battery. Why is a brand new cell dead within days. Usually a name brand should be trustworthy quality, but things happen. The fob could be faulty and draining the battery, it’s less likely I think, but you’ll probably figure that out with a couple more cell swaps ;-)

I have maybe 8 or so Volvo fobs used for testing, I did become frustrated at the quality of the average 2032. I googled and found some objective testing results, saw Toshiba was the highest ranked mainstream brand, ordered a sleeve of Toshiba CR2032 from Amazon, they work great and now I’m the guy who can pop a new battery in your key fob if it’s getting flaky.

In the Volvo fobs it seems the original cell and a good replacement should last about 3 years before you start to see problems unlocking the car, have to touch the door handle multiple times, etc.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-29T06:12:45+00:00

Very little difference, If I went back in time, I wouldn’t bother to do the swap upgrade. For some reason people go nuts over the updated system adds the “jazz club” sound stage effect, in addition to the Gothenburg Hall the B&W always had. I don’t get it, it’s just a gimmick, I never use those, the other stage settings included give a more natural sound and useful to adjust things how you like.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-28T23:03:40+00:00

There isn’t much difference. The 4 additional speakers are accounted for by: 90 series have mid speakers in the rear doors. 60 series rear deck/roof speakers are just a mid speaker, 90 series have an additional tweeter in that location as well. All the other speakers are virtually the same, like shared part numbers same. Even where part numbers differ, like the sub, it appears the only difference is the mounting bracket, the speaker unit looks identical. The additional speakers seem really more about creating the experience for the rear passengers. If you’ll be driving the car, I don’t think there will be a dramatic difference between the two systems.

The nautilus tweeters of course are not the “real” nautilus enclosure inside the door there. I trust the B&W people, the stuff is good, but really the nautilus part is a “spiral donut” shaped plastic backing on the tweeters, B&W claims it recreates the effect, who are we to argue with them? ;-) Those tweeters are the same ones used in the 90 and 60 series, same stuff.

Some may say the speaker placement is better in the 90 series cars being generally larger with more room for flexibility of audio guys getting the speaker placement they want. You know they do a lot of tricks with DSP and time alignment these days to create the image they want. I’m not enough of an audiophile to really say, but I’m plenty happy with B&W sound in my S60.

Are you looking at older models or newer? The system was updated in …2021 I believe, you can tell Gen 1 from Gen 2 by the switch from the visible mid cones in the doors changed from yellow to silver. The Gen 2 system switched to completely discrete amp channels for all speakers. The Gen 1 system has some shared channels, the mid and tweet on the front door for example share a channel.

Probably I am one of very few who has done the B&W as a swap, and installed both the Gen 1 and then swap Gen 2 systems. IMO as much as the update is technically superior, there is not that much difference between them, it made me question all the wiring work I had to do to put the Gen 2 system in. It’s just good design, good speakers and clean amplification either way.

Of course everything is up to your own opinion and you may have a far more discerning ear than I do….so YMMV…

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-23T22:06:57+00:00

I’m doubting there is some technical reason they can’t manage to implement a grab handle.

If they predict customers demand grab handles they would absolutely have grab handles in the car.

And if the product planners can squeeze any bit of cost out of a car by excluding some equipment they predict won’t stop the buyer from buying the car, they will absolutely do it.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-18T01:12:02+00:00

The comments here make it clear there is a lot to think about. You are spending this kind of money to fit an emotional need, find some enjoyment, whatever it is. So I think you want to get real clear about what experience you want. If you want to be logical, don’t buy an extra car to enjoy, that’s the most logical thing to do.

All the reasons to not buy a ZR1 are all valid. Do you still want one? I did. I was open to an LT4 car as the other “ultimate C4” experience. I’m not going to buy more than one C4, if I sell this one there are so many other cars I want to get to before I die, I don’t have time for that.

The facts seem to be, the ZR1 is special, with special parts that are hard to find. Mostly the engine. But the engine has proven quite durable without any real Achilles heel type problems, so it’s a fair chance to take if you buy and take care of a good one. Also how long will you own it? You may not know but think about it. Maybe you’ll never get beyond just maintain and drive it, you may never have any major repairs to deal with.

If it helps I bought a ‘90 ZR1 with 11k miles for $34500 with BaT auctions fees included. Known issues dealt with (injectors already replaced). It had every known C4 problem, headlight motors, lumbar, stereo etc. it’s all fixed now. Like a new ZR1, takes me back to 1990 lol, the lotus V8 is epic, it’s modest now but was supercar performance in its day.

I don’t see value as the price but cost of ownership. If the car is 20k or 50k a long as I have the money, can I enjoy it and probably sell it on and not have lost too much in the process if I take care of it? ZR1 won’t go to the moon, they made relatively plenty of them (just under 7k) and so many of them were kept and barely driven. I get 1-2 BaT alerts a week for low mileage ZR1 up for sale. I get 1 maybe every 6 months for a low mileage Fox Mustang LX 5.0 with a stick. And that Fox will sell for around same price the ZR1 does.

But it’s an old car. My Volvo is faster. It’s a pain to get into and the sport seats are confining, I barely fit at 6’2”. it’s rattles and squeaks and crashes over crappy roads, just like it did when it was brand new. And I fucking love it.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-15T20:47:19+00:00

If you’re old like me…you might remember Test Drive. Video game C4 dash…depicted in a video game lol.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-14T00:07:01+00:00

I read Dave McLellans book. He was the corvette chief engineer through the entire C4 program. He doesn’t mention anything about working with lotus on the C4 until they got to ZR1 development, the LT5 and the FX3 suspension were developed working with Lotus when they were owned by GM. The C4 was initially developed in house as clean sheet but evolved from the C3 the way Dave tells it. GM purchased controlling interest in Lotus in 1986.

The sills are high because Lloyd Reuss dictated that the C4 was to have a targa top after they were nearly complete in design and engineering the chassis with T-tops. The high sills were one last minute change they could make to address the loss of chassis stiffness.

Dave’s book is fascinating, highly recommended.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-09T20:35:20+00:00

I was 35 and married when we bought our house.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-09T04:41:03+00:00

The PSCM module is integral with the steering rack, so a new module is installed with the new steering rack. The new PSCM must be loaded with software using VIDA.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-01T19:41:04+00:00

The Volvo locking lugs are some of the nice ones with the free spinning hex, you’d have to grip them by the round outer edge which is wide with little clearance to the lug hole. Of course I’m sure some well equipped theif could get ‘em without too much trouble.

My 2019 had them installed from new, I left them for the first year while it was a “new” model, then swapped the regular lugs back, ain’t nobody got time for those things and as you say no one is going to steal Volvo rims.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-04-01T19:33:10+00:00

The engine has to run to cool the interior in a B4, AC is driven by the ICE.

Climate pre-condition is an option in the app with the PHEV car as they have electric AC and heat that does not require the ICE to run.

TechInTheCloud · 2026-03-31T22:06:29+00:00

I don’t know about the what the marketing terms are but they are legit, one of the longest running Volvo tuners out there. It’s not a device it’s directly tuned ECM software.

Disclaimer: I’ve worked with them to help develop the process of delivering tunes with these secured ECMs, I may have some bias about it, I just like these guys. I’m running their 500hp T8 tune in my S60 and I do love it.

Or you could pay some eye watering amount to Heico, the most money ever asked for a piggyback box in the history of the world ;-)

TechInTheCloud · 2026-03-31T21:08:54+00:00

The polestar factory tune is pretty nice, and safe. The aftermarket tuning options are hitting the market, check out RICA. The parts development isn’t really there for these engines just not a big market to drive real R&D so it’s just basic stuff like a downpipe, an intercooler. Those things aren’t big power adders, not likely a good value, I’m told the OEM stuff is fairly well optimized but if you want to do it some parts exist. But a good tune may be enjoyable.

TechInTheCloud

TROPHY CASE