engine VOLVO XC90 2006 Owner's Manual
Page 120 of 254
119 Startinganddriving
AutomaticgearboxP–ParkSelectthispositionwhenyouwishtostart
theengineorparkthecar.
Thecarshouldbestationarywhenyouselect
P!
InP,thegearboxismechanicallyblocked.
Applytheparkingbrakewhenparking.R–ReverseThecarshouldbestationarywhenyou
selectR.
N–NeutralNistheneutralposition.Theenginecanbe
startedbutnogearisengaged.Applythe
parkingbrakewhenthecarisstationarywith
thegearselectorinN.D–DriveDisthenormaldrivingposition.Thecar
automaticallyshiftsbetweenthedifferent
gearsofthegearboxbasedonthelevelof
accelerationandspeed.Thecarshouldbe
stationarywhenselectingDfrompositionR.
GearselectorinhibitorThegearselectorcanalwaysbemovedfreely
betweenNandD
1.Otherpositionsare
lockedwithacatchthatisreleasedwiththe
inhibitorbuttononthegearselector.
Withonepressontheinhibitorbuttonyou
canmovetheleverforwardsorbackwards
betweenthegearpositions,N,RandP.
1.Inmodelswith4-speedautomatic
gearboxtheinhibitorbuttononthe
gearlevermustbepressed.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 121 of 254
120 StartinganddrivingAutomaticgearboxGearselectormanualpositionsManualpositions
Tomovefromtheautomaticdriving
positionDtoamanualposition,movethe
gearselectortotheleft.Togofrom
positionMANtotheautomaticdriving
positionD,movetheselectortotherightto
positionD.
Onthe4-speedautomaticgearbox,gears3
and4
1havetheLock-upfunction(locked
gears),whichprovidesbetterenginebraking
andlowerfuelconsumption.
Whiledriving
Manualgearpositionscanbeselectedat
anytimeduringyourtrip.Theengagedgearis
lockeduntilyouselectanothergear.Thecar
willonlyshiftifyouslowtoaverylowspeed.
Ifyoumovethegearselectortominus(–),the
cardownshiftsautomaticallyonegearata
timewhileenginebraking.Ifyoumovethe
gearselectortoplus(+),thecarupshiftsone
gearatatime.
Thirdgearisthehighestgearthatcanbe
usedwhenstarting.
W–Winter
TheWbuttonbythegear
selectorengagesanddisen-
gagesthewinter
programmeW.Thesymbol
Wisshowninthecombined
instrumentpanelwhenthe
winterprogrammeisactivated.
Thewinterprogrammestartsthegearboxin
3rdgearinordertomakeiteasiertopulloff
onslipperyroads.Whenthewinter
programmeisengaged,lowergearsare
activatedonlybykick-down.
TheWprogrammecanonlybeselectedin
positionD.
1.5thgearalsohaslock-uponthe
5-speedautomaticgearbox.
2ndand6thgearalsohavelock-up
onthe6-speedautomaticgearbox.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 123 of 254
122 StartinganddrivingBrakesystemBrakeservoIfthecarisrollingorisbeingtowedwiththe
engineturnedoff,thebrakepedalmustbe
pressedaboutfivetimesharderthanwhen
theengineisrunning.Ifthebrakepedalis
pressedwhentheengineisstarted,youwill
feelthepedaldrop.Thisisnormalanddueto
thebrakeservobecomingactive.Thismaybe
morenoticeableifthecarhasemergency
brakeassistance(EBA).
NOTE!Ifbrakingwiththeengineswitched
off,pressthebrakepedalsharplyonce,not
repeatedly.Brakecircuits
Thissymbollightsifabrakecircuitis
notworking.
Ifafaultshouldoccurinoneofthe
circuits,itisstillpossibletobrakethecar.The
brakepedalwilltravelfurtherandmayfeel
softerthannormal.Harderpressureonthe
pedalisneededtoproducethenormal
brakingeffect.Dampnesscanaffectbraking
characteristics
Brakecomponentsbecomewetwhenthecar
isdriveninheavyrain,throughpoolsofwater
orwhenthecariswashed.Thismayalter
brakepadfrictioncharacteristicssothat
thereisadelaybeforebrakingeffectis
noticed.
Pressthebrakepedallightlyfromtimetotime
ifdrivingforlongstretchesinrainorslushy
snow,aswellasaftersettingoffinverydamp
orcoldweather.Thiswarmsupthebraking
surfacesanddriesoffanywater.Itisalso
recommendedtodothisbeforeparkingthe
carforalongperiodinsuchweathercondi-
tions.
IfthebrakesareusedheavilyWhendrivingintheAlpsorotherroadswith
similarcharacteristics,thecar’sbrakesare
heavilyloadedevenifthebrakepedalisnot
beingdepressedespeciallyhard.
Becausespeedisoftenlow,thebrakesare
notcooledaseffectivelyaswhendrivingon
flatroadsathigherspeed.
Soasnottooverloadthebrakes,shiftdown
whendrivingdownhillinsteadofusingthe
footbrake.Usethesamegeardriving
downhillasyouwouldusedrivinguphill.Thisusingenginebrakingmoreefficientlyand
requiresthefootbrakeforonlybriefperiods.
Bearinmindthatdrivingwithatrailerputsan
additionalloadonthecar’sbrakes.
Anti-lockbrakingsystem(ABS)
Theanti-lockbrakingsystem(ABS)
preventsthewheelsfromlockingup
underbraking.
Thismeanstheabilitytosteeris
maintainedanditiseasiertoswervetoavoid
ahazard,forexample.
Aftertheenginehasbeenstarted,theABS
willperformabriefself-testataspeedof
about20km/h.Thiscanbefeltandheardas
pulsesinthebrakepedal.
TogetthemostoutoftheABS:
Pressbrakepedalwithfullforce.Pulses
willbefelt.
Steerthecarinthedirectionoftravel.Do
notreleasethepressureonthepedal.
PracticebrakingwiththeABSsystemina
traffic-freeareaandindifferentweather
conditions.
TheABSsymbollightsup:forabout
twosecondswhenthecarisstartedifthe
ABSisdisengagedduetoafault.
WARNING!
Thebrakeservoonlyworkswhenthe
engineisrunning.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 128 of 254
127 Startinganddriving
TowingandrecoveryDonotbumpstarttheengineIfyoubumpstartacarwithmanualgearbox,
thecatalyticconvertermaybedamaged.
Carswithautomaticgearboxcannotbebump
started.Useaboosterbatteryifthebatteryis
flat.IfthecarmustbetowedUnlockthesteeringwheellocksothatthe
carcanbesteered.
Keepinmindthehighestlegallypermis-
siblespeed.
Bearinmindthatthebrakeandpower
steeringservosdonotfunctionwhenthe
engineisoff.Approx.fivetimesmore
pressuremustbeexertedonthebrake
pedalandsteeringrequiresmuchmore
forcethanusual.
Drivegently.Keepthetowlinetautto
avoidunnecessaryjerking.
Forautomaticgearboxes
ThegearselectorshouldbeinpositionN.
Themaximumpermissiblespeedwhen
towingacarwithautomaticgearboxis
80km/h.
Onlytowwiththecarfacingforward.
Theenginecannotbebumpstarted.
"Jumpstarting",seepage129.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 130 of 254
129 Startinganddriving
StartassistanceStartingwithaboosterbatteryIfforsomereasonthebatteryinyourcaris
discharged,youcan"borrow"currentfroma
sparebatteryoranothercar’sbatterytostart
theengine.Alwayscheckthattheclampsare
securesothattherearenosparksduringthe
startattempt.
Toavoidtheriskofexplosion,werecommend
youdoexactlyasfollows.
–Turntheignitionkeytoposition0.
–Ensurethattheboosterbatteryhas
12voltcurrent.
–Iftheboosterbatteryisinanothercar,
stoptheengineofthatcarandmakesure
thecarsarenottouching.
–Connecttheredcabletothepositive
terminal(1+)oftheboosterbatteryandtheredconnectioninyourcar’sengine
compartment(2+).
Connecttheclamptothecontactpoint
underasmallblackcoverwhichhasa
plussignonit.Thecoverisintegrated
withthefuseboxcover.
–Connectoneclampoftheblackcableto
thenegativeterminalofthebooster
battery(3–).
–Connecttheotherclampoftheblack
cabletotheliftingeyeonyourcar’s
engine(4–).
–Starttheengineofthe"donorcar".Let
theenginerunafewminutesataspeed
slightlyhigherthanidle1500rpm.
–Starttheengineofthecarwiththeflat
battery.
–Removetheclampsinreverseorder.NOTE!Donotremovetheclampsduringthe
startattempt;riskofsparkbuild-up.
12
34
WARNING!
Thebatterycangenerateoxyhydrogen
gas,whichishighlyexplosive.Onespark,
whichcanbegeneratedifyouconnectthe
jumpleadsincorrectly,issufficientto
makethebatteryexplode.
Thebatterycontainssulphuricacid,which
cancauseseriousburns.Iftheacid
comesintocontactwitheyes,skinor
clothing,flushwithlargequantitiesof
water.Ifacidsplashesintotheeyes,seek
medicalattentionimmediately.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 131 of 254
130 StartinganddrivingDrivingwithatrailerTheloadcapacityisaffectedbyextraacces-
soriesmountedonthecar,suchasatowbar,
theloadonthetowball(75kgwithtrailer
hitched),loadcarriersandspacebox,aswell
asthepassengers’combinedweight.The
loadcapacityofthecarisreducedbythe
numberofpassengersandtheirweight.
Thecar’stowingbracketmustbeofan
approvedtype.
IfthetowingbracketisfittedbyVolvo,the
carisdeliveredwiththenecessary
equipmenttodrivewithatrailer.Ifretro-
fitting,checkwithyourVolvodealerto
ensurethatthecarisfullyequippedto
drivewithatrailer.
Distributetheloadonthetrailersothat
theweightonthetowingbracketfollows
thespecifiedmaximumtowballload.
Increasetyrepressuretocorrespondto
thepressureforfullload.Seethetyre
pressuretable!Cleanthetowingbracketregularlyand
greasethetowball
1andallmovingparts
topreventunnecessarywear.
Donotdrivewithaheavytrailerwhen
yourcarisbrandnew!Waituntilithas
goneatleast1000km.
Thebrakesareloadedmuchmorethan
usualonlongandsteepdownhillslopes.
Downshifttoalowergearandadjustyour
speed.
Ifthecarisdrivenwithaheavyloadina
hotclimate,theengineandgearboxmay
overheat.Thetemperaturegaugeinthe
combinedinstrumentpanelgoesintothe
redzonewhenthecaroverheats.Stop
andlettheengineidleafewminutes.
Ifthecaroverheats,theairconditioning
systemcanbetemporarilyswitchedoff.
Thegearboxreactswithabuilt-in
protectionfunctionifthecaroverheats.
Seethemessageinthedisplay!
Theengineisloadedmoreheavilythan
usualwhendrivingwithatrailer.
Forreasonsofsafety,youshouldnot
drivefasterthan80km/h,evenifthelaws
ofcertaincountriespermithigherspeeds.Themaximumpermissibletrailerweight
foratrailerwithoutbrakesis750kg.
SelectpositionP(automaticgearbox)or
engageagear(manualgearbox)when
parkingwithatrailerandalwaysapplythe
parkingbrake.Ifyouareparkingona
steepincline,placechocksbehindthe
wheels.
TrailerweightsSeepage237forpermittedtrailerweights.
NOTE!Thestatedmaximumpermittedtrailer
weightsarethosepermittedbyVolvo.
Nationalvehicleregulationscanfurtherlimit
trailerweightsandspeeds.Towbarscanbe
certifiedforhighertowingweightsthanthe
carcanactuallytow.
WARNING!
Thecar’sdrivingcharacteristicschange
dependingonhowheavilyitisloadedand
howtheloadisdistributed.
1.Doesnotapplytoballhitchwith
vibrationdamper.
WARNING!
Followthestatedrecommendationsfor
trailerweights.Otherwise,therigmaybe
difficulttocontrolduringevasive
manoeuvresandbraking.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 132 of 254
131 Startinganddriving
DrivingwithatrailerDrivingwithtrailerandautomatic
gearboxWhenparkingonhills,youshouldapplythe
parkingbrakebeforemovingthegear
selectortothePposition.Whenyoustarton
ahill,youshouldfirstputthegearselectorin
thedrivepositionandthenreleasethe
parkingbrake.
Selectalowgearinthegearboxwhen
drivingonsteepinclinesorwhendriving
slowly.Thispreventsthegearboxfrom
upshifting.Thegearboxoilwillbecooler.
Donotuseahighermanualgearthanthe
enginecan"handle".Itisnotalways
economicaltodriveinhighgears.
Avoiddrivingwithtrailerandautomatic
gearboxoninclinesexceeding15%.
NOTE!Anautomaticgearboxoilcoolerfor
trailertowingisrequiredforanumberof
models.
ConsultyourVolvodealerforinformation
regardingyourcar’sspecificationsifthe
towbarhasbeeninstalledafterpurchase.
Assistedstartingwithatrailer
CarsequippedwithaV8enginehavean
integratedfunctionwhichreducestheriskof
significantjerkingandwheelspinwhen
startingwithatrailerhitchedtothecar.
ActivatingToactivate,thecablesfromthetrailermust
beconnectedtothetrailersocketwhichis
fittedbesidethetowbar,seepage132.DeactivatingUnplugthecablesfromtheelectricalsocket.
NOTE!Thefunctionisalsoactivatedwhen
anyotherelectricalequipmentispluggedinto
thetrailersocket,andthecarthenaccel-
eratesmoregentlywhenpullingaway.
Levelling(optiononcarsseating
five,standardoncarsseating
seven)Ifyourcarisequippedwithautomatic
levelling,therearsuspensionalwaysretains
thecorrectrideheightregardlessofload.
Whenthecarisstationary,therear
suspensionsinks.Thisiscompletelynormal.
Whenstartingwithaload,thelevelis
pumpedupafteracertaindistance.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 146 of 254
145 Startinganddriving
BLIS(BlindSpotInformationSystem)–optionSwitchingoffandreactivatingBLIS
BLISisactivatedautomaticallyeachtime
theignitionisswitchedon.Theindicator
lampsinthedoorpanelsflashthreetimes
whentheignitionisswitchedon.
Thesystemcanbeswitchedoffby
pressingtheBLISbuttonintheswitch
panelinthecentreconsole(seeillus-
trationabove).TheLEDinthebutton
goesoutwhenthesystemisswitchedoff
andatextmessageisshowninthe
displayinthedashboard.
BLIScanbereactivatedbypressingthe
button.AnLEDinthebuttonthencomes
on,anewtextmessageisshowninthe
displayandtheindicatorlampsinthedoorpanelsflashthreetimes.Pressthe
READbutton,seepage47,toclearthe
textmessage.
Themessagesaboveareonlyshownifthe
ignitionkeyisinpositionII(oriftheengineis
running)andBLISisactive(i.e.ifthedriver
hasnotswitchedoffthesystem).
BLISsystemmessages
System
statusTextinthedisplay
BLISnot
functioningBLIND-SPOTSYST
SERVICEREQUIRED
Right-hand
camera
blockedBLIND-SPOTSYSTR
CAMERABLOCKED
Left-hand
camera
blockedBLIND-SPOTSYSTL
CAMERABLOCKED
Bothcameras
blockedBLIND-SPOTSYST
CAMERASBLOCKED
BLISsystem
offBLIND-SPOTINFO
SYSTEMOFF
BLISsystem
onBLIND-SPOTINFO
SYSTEMON
BLISfunction
reducedBLISFUNCTION
REDUCED
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 150 of 254
149 Wheelsandtyres
GeneralTyreswithtreadwearindicatorsTreadwearindicatorsarenarrowtreadless
bandsacrossthewidthofthetread.Onthe
sideofthetyrearethelettersTWI(tread
wearindicator).Whenonly1.6mmoftread
remains,thisbandisclearlyvisible.Change
thetyresassoonaspossible.Rememberthat
tyreswithlittletreaddepthprovideverypoor
gripinrainandsnow.WintertyresVolvorecommendswintertyreswith
particulardimensions.Thesearestatedon
thetyrepressurelabel,seepage151forits
location.Thetyredimensionsaredependentontheenginevariant.Whendrivingonwinter
tyres,thesemustbefittedtoallfourwheels.
NOTE!AskaVolvodealerwhichrimandtyre
typesaremostsuitable.
StuddedtyresStuddedwintertyresshouldberuningently
for500-1000kmsothestudssettleproperly
intothetyre.Thisgivesthetyre,and
especiallythestuds,alongerlifespan.
NOTE!Thelegalprovisionsfortheuseof
studdedtyresvaryfromcountrytocountry.
Treaddepth
Roadconditionswithice,slushandlow
temperaturesplaceconsiderablyhigher
demandsontyresthansummerconditions.It
isthereforenotrecommendedtodriveon
wintertyresthathaveatreaddepthofless
thanfourmillimetres.
Snowchains
Snowchainsmayonlybeusedonthefront
wheels.Thisalsoappliestoall-wheel-drive
cars.
Neverdrivefasterthan50km/hwithsnow
chains.Avoiddrivingonbaregroundasthis
wearsoutboththesnowchainsandtyres.
Neverusequick-fitsnowchainsasthespace
betweenthebrakedisksandthewheelsis
toosmall.
IMPORTANT!UseVolvogenuinesnowchainsorequiv-
alentchainsdesignedforthecarmodel,
andtyreandrimdimensions.Consultan
authorisedVolvoworkshop.
ProCarManuals.com 
Page 159 of 254
158 WheelsandtyresEmergencypuncturerepairInflatingtyresSetupthewarningtriangleifatyremustbe
inflatedinanareaclosetotraffic.
–Ensurethattheorangeswitch(2)isin
position0andtakeoutthelead(5)and
airhose(4)fromtheside
compartment(3).
–Screwtheairhose’svalveconnectionto
thebottomofthethreadonthetyre’sair
valve.
–Connectthelead(5)tooneofthecar’s
12Vsockets.
–Starttheengine.Thecarmustbeina
well-ventilatedplace.–Startthecompressorbyflickingthe
switch(2)topositionI.
–Pumpupthetyretothepressure
specifiedonthetyrepressurelabel.
–Turnoffthecompressor,theswitch(2)
shouldbeinposition0.Detachtheair
hoseandunplugthelead.Replacethe
valve’sdustcap.
–Putthelead(5)andairhose(4)intothe
sidecompartment(3).
–Putthepuncturerepairkitbackunderthe
floorinthecargoarea.
–Thecompressorshouldnotrunformore
thantenminutesatatime.Letitcool
afterwardsasthereisariskof
overheating.–Objectswithavolumeofupto50litres
canbepumpedupwiththecompressor.
WARNING!
Inhalingcarexhaustfumescanresultin
dangertolife.Neverleavetheengine
runninginsealedareasorareasthatlack
sufficientventilation.
ProCarManuals.com