Guys

I have a 2006 s60 and while everyone says the cars these days don't need to be warmed up, I think Volvo's do or mine does anyway. This morning it was 30 degrees cold and i took a quick ride to the store. I did not let it warm up, and as i was driving (2 minutes into the trip and throughot the 5-10 minute trip), i would get these mini hiccups, split second loss of power upon acceleration. it was very minor but i felt it. it happened a few times. On the trip back (the temp guage was higher) i had no problems or mini hiccups at all. I think volvo's need to be warmed up. I think i need to invest in a remote starter now.

 

I wouldn't think it would need to be warmed up.
But I live in the south and we normally don't have temps that low.

 

Strange... In Canada it's -5C here and still no need warm up... may rev a bit high but no warm up needed. next time see if your cooling fan is on... if it is on it may need a software upgrade to the ECM due to programming fault of theECT (coolant temp sensor)sensor range.

 

I had a software upgrade about a month ago. It does rev high on startup and then settles down within 2 minutes while in idle.

 

Strange.. do u know if there are any codes set in the engine control module system?

 

I just wanted to follw up on this. As i have confirmed with many other s60 owners, the vehicle revs higher for the first 2 minutes upon start up in cold weather to warm the engine quickly. it says the same in the owners manual. If you wait the two minutes for the revs to come back down before driving the vehicle their are no problems whatsoever. their is only an issue when i (or others) are impatient and drive the vehicle immediately after start up, you may feel a few hickups in the pickup or feel the auto change gears slower (but only for the first few minutes). I think volvo has confirmed that the vehicle should be warmed up for a few minutes before driving.

 

I'm in a warmer part of the country, but I only let mine warm up (~20 seconds) till the rpm's drop to about 1000. If you put it in gear before this point, the car lurches, which I figure isn't that good for it. I would recommend the same.

You are doing your car a disfavor if you let it warm up for 2 minutes. The excessive idling is putting alot of fuel in your crankcase. Volvos are suseptible tofuel dilutionanyway, this just makes it worse. Just because you can feel the shifting of the transmissionslightly in cold temperaturesdoes not mean anything.

You certainly don't want to take off and rev. the engine high either. Your oil is not warmed up enough to lubricate for that. Just take off and gradually increase speed until the engine is nicely warmed up. Of course, sometimes we don't have a choice if we live near the highway.

 

FWIW, I let it warm up for a couple, sometimes several miutes in the cold. Usually until I see the temp gauge move. Reason being I have a manual transmissin, andthe shifter is extremely notchy and can't be rushed in the cold. Others with R's have reported the same thing.

 

I'm new on the forum. Picked up a new S60 for the wife last night. In reading the owners manual, it specifically states that the car should be warmed up before driving. It doesn't state a time. it states until the temp gauge begins to move. Reason is that you don't want to spin the turbo until the oil is warmed flowing smoothly and doing it's job.

That doesn't address the fueling issue of the original post. I'd suggest the fueling issue is different from the warm up issue and should be addressed accordingly. Even if you ignore the warmup period, you should still get smooth fueling when cold.

 

Julies_s60, you may be correct that one does not have to do with the other, but "coincidentaly" the problem no longer exists after i let the car warm up a few minutes.

 

I can't find that in mine. It says to warm up the car as quickly as possible to avoid using excess fuel. You can't do that idling.

It also says that
"NOTE: On certain models, when the car is started, idle speed may be noticeably higher than normal for a short period, depending on the temperature of the engine. This has been done to help bring components in the emission control system to their normal operating temperature as quickly as possible, which enables them to function normally."

It also has
"Cold starts
When driving before the engine has reached its normal operating temperature, the transmission will shift up at a slightly higher engine speeds to heat the three-way catalytic converter as quickly as possible. " It can't do that idling.

It also has
"Bring the engine to normal operating temperature as soon as possible by driving with a light foot on the accelerator pedal for the first few minutes of operation. A cold engine uses more fuel and is subject to increased wear. "