newbie service manual question
Thread Starter
|
Junior Member
Joined: May 2025
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: New England
newbie service manual question
First, my apologies for the long question.
Recently I purchased a 2013 Volvo S60 T5 FWD and, as I usually do when I get another auto, I purchased an owners' manual and a service manual. My first problem is that the service manual borders on useless - some partially colored photos, extremely litte dialogue and seems written for some one who already knows a heck of a lot about this car. Am I missing something? Perusing the forum, I have discovered many posts related to the VIDA software program which seems to be the "go to" reference for service although seems prone to creating its own problems with respect to installation and pairing with the DICE hardware. BUT, nether my laptop nor desktop computers pass the pre-requiste specs for download and installing VIDA. So my question: is the VIDA software really so useful that I should not hesitate to spend a few hundred dollars upgrading my PC, plus enduring whatever installation grief I may run into, plus the cost of the subscription to VIDA, plus the cost of the DICE hardware at some point, all to properly maintain this car? My fear is that I'll go down that route and wind up with an expensive software package not much more useful than the printed manual I already own.
Please advise!
Recently I purchased a 2013 Volvo S60 T5 FWD and, as I usually do when I get another auto, I purchased an owners' manual and a service manual. My first problem is that the service manual borders on useless - some partially colored photos, extremely litte dialogue and seems written for some one who already knows a heck of a lot about this car. Am I missing something? Perusing the forum, I have discovered many posts related to the VIDA software program which seems to be the "go to" reference for service although seems prone to creating its own problems with respect to installation and pairing with the DICE hardware. BUT, nether my laptop nor desktop computers pass the pre-requiste specs for download and installing VIDA. So my question: is the VIDA software really so useful that I should not hesitate to spend a few hundred dollars upgrading my PC, plus enduring whatever installation grief I may run into, plus the cost of the subscription to VIDA, plus the cost of the DICE hardware at some point, all to properly maintain this car? My fear is that I'll go down that route and wind up with an expensive software package not much more useful than the printed manual I already own.
Please advise!
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 5,113
Likes: 676
From: GA
1. So my question: is the VIDA software really so useful that I should not hesitate to spend a few hundred dollars upgrading my PC, plus enduring whatever installation grief I may run into,
2. plus the cost of the subscription to VIDA,
3. plus the cost of the DICE hardware at some point, all to properly maintain this car?
4. My fear is that I'll go down that route and wind up with an expensive software package not much more useful than the printed manual I already own.
2. plus the cost of the subscription to VIDA,
3. plus the cost of the DICE hardware at some point, all to properly maintain this car?
4. My fear is that I'll go down that route and wind up with an expensive software package not much more useful than the printed manual I already own.
2. That is the proper way to use Vida. Buy a subscription at volvotechinfo.com (if you are in north america)
3. A dice unit or compatible j2534 cable is needed to interface with the car (to pull codes and stuff) If you want to use a Vida subscription for downloads, (you probably won't) you will need a "compatible" Dice unit. Most "clone" (cheaper) Dice are not compatible with a subscription. There are sometimes workarounds for that problem using Vdash. A factory Dice unit is about $600 and these folks sell a compatible j2534 cable. https://hiltontuning.com/what-is-vroomflash-j2534/
4. The stolen and hacked to work subscription free 2014d is easily found for free on the internet. One place is volvodiag.com
If you want the best service/repair/diagnostic info - Use Vida. (Or possibly an expensive scan tool and an alldata subscription.)
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
