"This" being... the bat sh*t crazy operation sequence of the fuel fill door latching procedure. What were they thinking? I'm sure it must have sounded like a good idea at the time. And who coupled it with such a flimsy hinge spring system?

Sorry, only 1600 miles on my new-to-me '07 XC90. Next rant might focus on hood strut failure rate.

 

What's so crazy about it? Press the button, it unlocks. Pretty simple.

 

ES67... you describe the UN-latching process, which is as straight forward as it gets. I'm talking about the LATCHING process that involves moving 4900lb of Swedish design wizardry at 10 mph in DRIVE till it locks up. There had to be a motive.

 

I still don't see it as wizardry. You drove to the gas station, right? So you pull away and it locks.

 

He, he... yeah, I did. But why make it latch contingent with driving off? It just seems all so very too, too IMO. (Perhaps a simple solenoid latch that releases the door on actuation, and spring latches when you push the door closed is just too pedestrian.)


If the spring wasn't broken on the door, and it closed up tight, it indeed wouldn't be an issue, so perhaps the real problem is the failed design of that on an otherwise pretty decent platform. I'm not going to go into the GM tranny now. That seems to be an elephant too large to even recognize.

 

So what is wrong when It doesn't latch? Mine doesn't. I think the hinge is broken, it seems fine where I can not tell if its broken. Then every once in a while I cannot open the fuel door, and i have to go and press the button to open it.

Thanks
Tobie

 

Maybe it's just a good example of a company adding silly features to a vehicle so that the ownership experience is degraded. Or maybe it's a case of people who shop for a car not realizing how much they don't want the included features. In both cases neither group knows how to stop.


CEM failure is now a common form of vehicle total financial loss. What was wrong with having a fusebox and some switches to turn things on? Fortunately my house still doesn't have a CEM.

 

I love it. Nice take. I doubt I'd have turned away from the purchase had I been aware of this oddity, but it just strikes me as being totally alien to my experience. Fact is, I didn't know it worked that way till I ran across the part in the manual where it was explained. I thought it odd at the time and when it came to my first fill up and found the broken door hinge spring, well... apparently I've over reacted! :-)