Yes, indeed. I ignore the "car is unlocked" notifications. This is still a joke of an app. And location? What location? lol

It doesn't help that AT&T's signal here is pathetically bad and we are in the 'burbs.

 

Falcon73,
Just received an overseas delivery of a 2021 XC90 T8 and the Volvo Car App is funky on reporting the Charged %. When I use the app to check the percentage, it tells me it's at 57% and then two minutes later, a text appears telling me the car is fully charged.
I chatted on the Volvo app this morning with several questions (predictive efficiency function addressed in the owner's manual, and not topping off the batteries) and was advised to limit the charging to 88% - much like iphones - but I have no way to determine at what percentage the batteries are charged because of the ineffectiveness of the Volvo app. Other than that........ Aggie Driver

 

Texas Aggie
If you do have a 2021 rather than the 2022 model, than rest easy. You and I have the last of the previous model w/ Sensus Nav & other features that operate flawlessly. Let the car do it's updates when it's here in the US and everything will be fine. The 2022 models are the start of Google integration and there seems to be some issues. I'm quite sure that Volvo is hard at work to fix them but between the initial design and whatever Google may have changed during the integration it's pretty FUBARE'd if you know what that means. In time they'll work out the issues, but if yours is a 2021 model, we're in good shape.

I love my T8 and wouldn't trade it for a 2022 even/Stephen at this moment in time.

Re: charging, just plug it in and let it be! The computers will determine the amount of charge and stop the charging cycle when they determine it's complete. At that point, the indicator in the dash should show 20-21 pure electric miles available. You'll see up to 100% on the gauge though it may only be 88 or so %. And get used to lots of 'clicks & clacks' and fans running at various times during the charging cycle. It won't matter whether you're using 120 or 220v, the only difference is whether it takes up to 2.5 or 6+ hours. I have a Level II power source in my garage for mine. An easy way to understand it is,you don't plug it into a charger, you plug it into a source of power. The charger is built into the car and will start and stop the charge cycle.

Enjoy the drive

 

Falcon, thanks for the info...provides some relief for me although I'm still nervous about shortening the life expectancy of those batteries...they are not cheap!! Should I be unplugging the cable when the app indicates charging is complete or can it be left plugged in all night?
We ordered through ODP back in March but Covid didn't cooperate and travel plans had to be postponed. My dream was to drive Svea in her home country before bringing her home but that didn't work out. She finally arrived in late October and while I joked I should've ordered a 2022 because she was already a year old, I'm hearing/reading about challenges posed by the 2022s. Regardless, we still have travel plans, without the car, for 2022 in Sweden. Maybe they can provide us with a Volvo loaner!

I do know FUBARE and can understand the Google challenges. Like you, I wouldn't trade my 2021 for a "newer" one. I did wonder about all the fans/clicks/clacks so it's comforting to know they're normal.

Now if we could just get a Volvo dealership closer than 250 miles! Aggie Driver

 

Do not worry about your batteries, the computers will take good care of managing the charging needs. Also don't worry about whether it's left plugged in or not. As I mentioned earlier, the computers take charge of that for you. Even if you leave for an extended period, you can leave it plugged in. That is only providing a power source to the charger which is in the car. The computers will turn it on and off (part of the clicks & clacks ) as needed. If you're gone for an extended period like several weeks or more w/o the car, just leave it plugged in. It won't overcharge. Your Volvo app has a manual you can read when you're not in the car. Open and in the space provided, just type 'Charging' and it will provide all related info.

Here's an interesting tip from the Navigation area regarding the most efficient way to travel. If you enter your home address into your NAV as a destination, then enter your destination as a waypoint, the computers will think of it as round trip and manage the gas engine along with the batteries and rear drive for the best possible efficiency for that route. They use all the info available including traffic, lights, elevation changes and stop lights in the calculations. This is my 5th hybrid and 2nd PHEV and the smartest car of the bunch.

Being retired and most of my daily driving is in my local area, the PHEV is ideal for me. The majority of my daily driving is totally electric from the rear electric motor. Here's an example of a recent screen shot from my app.

Some days I drive further just for enjoyment and to use gas so I can put some fresh in LOL

 

Falcon, first of all, thank you for sharing your knowledge, it is helpful indeed! If you have time, I have some additional questions (sorry) so here goes... I pretty much drive in the B gear 24/7. There are a + and - sign on either side of the B symbol in the instrument panel...what do those mean and are they of any help?

What are the actual benefits to the Hold and Charge functions? Is it more beneficial if one is driving in town or highway?

The Navigation assist you referenced is called the Predictive Efficiency function in my Owner's Manual (hard copy). And, as you indicated, it suggests making the turn-around destination a "way station" and your home the final destination to simulate a round trip. I finally how to select making a destination a way station - you have to select Itinerary first - and then the option pops up.
Still haven't figured out how to put my home as the final destination...when I try, it tells me to make an immediate U-turn! I'm dogged in learning how my car works.

The Tires pamphlet that came with the car suggests making an initial tire rotation at 3,000K and then the traditional "every 10,000K miles" rotation. When I asked the dealership about that, they said they would only honor the 10,000K rotations. I'd like to follow the reference material recommendation with the Pirellis.

I have used the all the available Manuals in some form or fashion...in the App, the car's info screen, and my hard copy. I quit using the Chat on Volvo USA's website as no one could ever answer my questions. Even though it may be the same site, the Chat on the Volvo app itself has been more helpful...although no one could tell me about the Predictive Efficiency function...you are the first.

Thanks again for all the input! Great to have a mentor. Aggie

 

Not sure how you got Falcon, my name is Jim. See signature

Hold and Charge functions; Hold is to hang onto the remaining battery charge to use for example when returning into your neighborhood and you want to sneak in LOL. Charge function; If say your battery is on the low side and you want to charge it while driving on the highway, you can do that. It takes quite a few miles but you'll slowly see the charge line progress toward full. My take on that and the way I drive is just let the computers take over and you'll have a normal 'Hybrid' use until you plug it in again.

You should probably stay 'OUT' of the 'B' gear for normal driving. Its primary use is for braking such as when coming down a mountain grade. Using it all the time could possibly rev the engine to RPM's not conducive for long life or mileage. Just use 'D'.

If you want to rotate your tires at 3,000 miles, you can. It won't hurt anything except your pocket book. That recommendation is from the tire manufacturer, not Volvo. Your choice!
Re: tires. It's winter and if you check your pressures, you'll probably find them about 5 lbs lower than when it was warmer if they started at the correct pressure. I'd check them. The onboard TPI only knows if one tire is rotating slower than the others (due to less pressure). It doesn't actually read tire pressure (which would be better), just counts rotation of wheels and can spot one rotating slower. Better than nothing I guess.

Whenever you're bored, it's a good time to read the manual connected to your phone app . Most of this is in there.

Happy motoring.

 

I was scratching my head too, but in any event here's what I do re charging.

1. On the Subaru PHEV, I charge it to 100% every night if we used it that day. I leave it plugged in until we need to drive it again. There's no rush to unplug it.
2. On our BEV's, I charge them to 80 or 90% depending on the need. Once again, no need to unplug until you are ready to drive them.

Agreed on B mode. We don't use it on the Subaru. It doesn't seem to increase regen at all, it just does engine braking from what I could tell. We only use D for city driving.

 

My apologies Jim. Thank you for the guidance. Have a great Thanksgiving!

 

You as well. Eat lots of bird and drink lots of wine LOL.
There is plenty to be thankful for.

 

Cruiter or Jim M,

Unsure which posted the image of their 2021 XC60 Watson 2 On Call App. I have a 2022 XC60 Recharge and my On Call App does not have that those data points: Performance; Charging information; Distance etc. Is this app functioanlity varying from year to year?

- Thanks

 

Cruiter is just my Volvo forum name. Jim M is my 1st name and last initial and Watson2 is for my 2nd car named Watson (due to all the computers and it's 'smartness').
To answer your question, yes and yes. The app does change due to manufacturing changes from year to year (my 2021 has the 'Sensus' Navigation system) and is set for android phones tho' it also has Apple car play. Also mine is for the 2021 XC60 T8 recharge.
From reading this forum, some of the features I have, are not ready for 'prime time' yet on the '22 model versions but will appear down the road in an upgrade.
I have sympathy for those of you with the '22 model year. Our Volvo's are really great cars and I have no regrets whatsoever with mine. I'm sure Volvo didn't plan on this many things not being 'prime time' ready on the newer "Google" engineered models. I'm hopeful these issues are cleared up soon for all of you with the '22 models. And I'm grateful that all of the 'smartness' in my '21 vintage works as advertised. It does well everything yours is supposed to do. And there is no 'lag' in it's Nav operations.

 

Dogblue - Writing to let you know you are not alone. I purchased a 2022 XC40 Recharge last week and I have found the app to be flaky. For the first few days, I could remote start the car, lock/unlock it, but the battery charge percentage was flaky. Then yesterday, the app stopped communicating with my car entirely and even with forgetting the vehicle and repairing, hard restarts of my iphone, etc, nothing has fixed the problem. It shows my car but I have no functionality within it. I have a feeling they are actively working on something at the moment. I have a 2016 XC90 and the app's functionality is flawless - get the other two icons (location and vehicle) and the associated stats just like in Jim's image. Here's to hoping they figure out all the bugs for the 2022s soon!

 

As far as I can tell, it is necessary to be in "B" mode in order to drive the Volvo in manual gear shift mode (comparable to Tiptronic). That's what + and - indicates (shift up= right, shift down= left). You return to fully automatic shifting by pulling back on the shift lever (changes from B -> D).

 

Yep, you have it correct. All of that info is in the digital manual plus a lot of interesting stuff I might not have even known about LOL. If you put the manual on your phone or tablet and take it to bed with you, I can guarantee it will put you to sleep w/o medication