Beware 2010MY XC60 Owners Manual IMPORTANT Error
 

After about a month of trying to get an answer & involving about 4 dealers & a totally useless Volvo technical support I have finally got to the bottom of a problem.

The MY10 XC60 price list, on the internet & hardcopy, shows the 4 wheeldrive 205hp to have a towball weight loading of 75kg.

The XC60 owners manual, whether downloaded or supplied with the car, shows the towball download limit is 90kg for the 4wd 205hp model.

Thus the same car noseweight limit is 75kg from one source & 90 kg from the other.

The Volvo product manager has now confirmed that the owners handbook is wrong and that the towball load for all manual XC60's is 75kg whilst for all automatics it is 90kg. This figure is legally enforcable if you are stopped or have an accident.

I am amazed at this as 75kg is very low for a 4x4 vehicle & precludes towing many caravans that would otherwise easily be towable.

I don't know what Volvo are going to do to inform owners but I can see that some owners who have relied on the handbook are towing illegally & are going to be very upset when they find out!

Similar problem with V70 2009 MY09


and the official responce as I complained and tried to return the car a week after i recieved it was its a brochure misprint and they will not allow a return

It came to notice when I collected my car i noticed the towbar I ordered and paid for was not fitted and I had to return a week later and believed this was because they were pushed for time as the new reg had just turned

The new towbar had a plate fitted to it giving max wieghts that hugely differed to the booklet ( max towable weight was 2000Kg)

when checked it was advised the V70 shouldnt tow anything over 1200Kg max and not the 1550kg the brochures etc said

so caravan has stood this year and im currently trying to sue Volvo for misleading me

Not looking very good so far im afraid despite trading standards informing them of the consumer laws of UK Volvo are adamant there terms and conditions disclaim all UK law
i kid you not I have the letters from Volvo UK here

I did recieve a voucher though for £250 not bad for 33K car we cant use

bloody hell!
 

Sale of goods act should put them straight.
Fit for purpose!
Do they not get it?
Reputations won over time by good product & customer service, are lost too quickly by failure to admit mistakes and rectify errors.
Simple economics!
Do you think Ford, having stolen all the good stuff from Volvo, now want to rubbish the brand so we'll all buy the Ford versions they've copied?

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/f...ummary/25741-3
at the bottom of the review it says "you might also like to see "XC60" ????????
I'm a conspiracy theorist based on knowledge and experience, not just paranoia.
I feel so sorry for you!

Jesus mate you have my full sympathies having to try and deal with VCUK following my experiences with them earlier in the year. ( http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...=faulty+volvos ). I just wonder how they can get away with treating customers like this and still expect to sell cars!!!

The response was amazingly awful. The technical help desk hadn't a clue, the dealers seemed to have no more information than the catalogue & no Volvo number to call for "special help". Eventually Technical just stopped contacting/ replying to me. Sort of makes you wonder about spending £25k with a company that cares for its customers so well.

DazzleV70R - what a mess. I am so sympathetic for your predicament.

Im sure there was a bit about the xc60 weights in either Practical caravan or the Caravan Club magazine iin the last 2 months or so. They had issued a correction over the nose weights somewhere. Cant find it at the moment. Sure ive got it somewhere. And to think they gave the XC60 towcar of the year.

I think there's someone on the forum that uses their XC60 to pull a horse box!! Definately cant see that working with a 75kg nose weight!!

I just had a look at the VCUK website and on there it states 1800kg max weight. The kerb weight is 1755kg so and 85% match is just under 1500kgs!! So if theyre saying its a printing error then theyre still printing it on the website for the new cars now.

Found the test article from Practical Caravan and its a D5 se geartronic, towing limit 2000kgs and nose weight of 90kgs and 85% figure of 1643kgs.

This was Volvo Uk responce on the fact the car was sold to me with speed dependant steering and was listed on the order form and on the brochures and website as fitted as standard

Its on Volvo letter headed paper im happy if questioned to photo copy this if needed and shows Volvos up yours attitude

This is a small part of a 2 page letter

We have investigated this issue at great length as you are aware.
Your vehicle is not a mis build, the speed dependant steering was available on the V70 R design and the T6AWD on both brochure and website.
Unfortunately this feature was only available on the V70 R design T6AWD (checked n checked in 2009 no such model available)
There was a product news bulletin sent to all Volvo dealerships on 11 Feb 2009 confirming this and as you ordered your vehicle on 25 February 2009 this should of been explained to you.

There are disclaimers on both website and brochure explaining product changes prices are subject to change.
The manufacture reserves the right to make changes to models at any time without notice to prices, colours, materials and specifications

I have been quoting the consumer goods act as not as described they simply laugh.
I have been told the BBC watchdog program is researching Volvo as it goes and Ive spoken to them over my experiances
Ive no contact number but this is where it will end up when a big company simply lie blatantly and refuse to be held to account.
Im laughing as the XC60 is now ieng advertised as tow car of the year by practical caravan magazine

Someones going to have egg on there face

My RRS has a 150kg nose weight and 3500kg max tow weight!! I fully feel for you with VCUK thumbing their nose at you as they did exactly the same with me over the shed they built that was sold to me!! I had months of fighting and after the umpteenth time that it went in to Arnold Clark in Aberdeen to get looked at for a low battery warning that nobody could find out why it happened I went and got rid of it. Decided life was too short to spend it arguing with a bunch of self important robots that have fresh batteries inserted in their backsides in the morning to make sure they spout the company line of "its nowt to do wi us!!"

Oh I wrote twice to Watchdog too and still never even got a reply so I wouldnt be holding your breath there......

You need to distinquish between what is legal and what is advisable.

The 85% figure is the advisable tow limit - a 1800KG kerbweight car is advised to tow a maximum of 1530KG. However, to that 1800KG you should add yourself, any passengers, luggage and also the nose weight. That could quite easily have the car at 2100KG - where upon 85% becomes 1785KG.

So on to the official numbers - since day 1 the new V70 has been rated with a 90KG nose weight and a tow limit of 1320KG (2.0 Bifuel) - through 1600/1800KG (2.5T) to 2000KG (D5 Auto/T6).

Then you get the issue with nose weights - 90KG is reasonably generous - especially if you are running a twin-axle (horsebox, caravan, car transporter).

I regularly run a 1900KG car transporter behind my HEICO mapped Sept 2007 V70 D5 (Phase 3) - and it is superb. I am towing within the cars documented capabilities. The car is comfortable doing so.

The V70 2.0D has a 1600/90 limit/nose manual or diesel.

In relation to the XC60 - this gets compilcated - but here is the list from the latest XC60 brochure. IMHO anyone ordering the diesels without the geartronic deserves their head read anyway :D

3.2 Auto - 1800/90 (braked tow limit/nose weight)
T6 Auto - 2000/90
2.4D Man - 1500/75
2.4D Auto - 1800/90
2.4D Man 4WD - 1800/75
2.4D Auto 4WD - 2000/90
D5 Man 4WD - 1800/75
D5 Auto 4WD - 2000/90

Yes the catalogue says all XC60 manuals are 75kg & all autos are 90kg BUT BUT BUT the owners manual says that the UK 4wd 205hp manual gearbox has a towing weight of 90 kg which it doesn't when they finally resolve the difference. Which will you have in 5 years time - the catalogue or the owners handbook & will any 2nd owners ever see the catalogue? All XC60 towbars are also stamped 90kg which is the max for any XC60 varient but not necessarily the one that the bar is attached to.

I agree about the XC60 towcar of the year bit. One dealer had one & a caravan outside with a big advertising board "towcar of the year" but then they didn't even know what the towbar weight meant.

Actually dealers/Volvo technical not knowing what "towball weight" meant has been a common problem. The number of times I have had to explain that it is not the same as trailer weight. One dealer actually asked me why I didn't want to discuss the colour, like all the rest of his customers, which he was happy to do!

And they wonder why theyre in financial problems when the dealers dont even know what theyre trying to sell you!!!!!

The figures I quoted are for the MY2010 cars. HOWEVER they were also for the 163 and 185 and not the latest models.

I suspect the manual gearbox can't take more than 1800KG. Being that the gearbox is made by the people whose woeful copy of the Getrag auto appeared in lower spec Senators back in the late 80s - and who had a reputation of melting if you even showed it a towbar - I am surprised how tough the geartronic appears to be. I have clocked thousands of KM with 1900kg on the towbar - with no performance issues - cruising at a steady speed she manages over 30mpg. It is just the acceleration from rest where upon the fuel is dumped through the engine V8 style.

Cant say too much guys

in my case i have an 09 V70 and as ive said made a lot of noise since week 1 of owning it
Even sought both trading standards and solicitors letters and got nowhere

Did I mention watchdog the other day by the way?

Had a phone call yesterday im to return the car asap to supplying dealer and get my deposit back in full minus £500
All payments after this month have been halted and im now out of contract.

Im with Motability but until yesterday had no luck whatsoever so maybe others may get help later on.

Had a phone call from the watchdog team as last weekend I was at a caravan open day and one of the sponsers was there showing off the "TOWCAR OF THE YEAR" and they overheard my problems.

Now im a big lover of the UK

Yes we got crappy politicians / taxs etc but and ill always say this our legal system as stupid as it is will eventualy stand for the consumer against bullys with a lot of disclaimers.

Watchdog rung on monday and Tuesday ive been offered to return the car, I met someone with a similar car ( sad eh how you make friends in car parks lol) and hes also now returning hes.
I dont know what the program is about or when its on, I did hear it was a joint program running in conjunction with trading standards so shoddy service and customer relations should change soon with any luck.

The story is too big to be swept under the carpet, gaining towcar of the year when the economy for first time ever is driving thousands to start camping and therefore buy a car to tow is a factor

So those reading this and feeling a little low dont be, the UK when it is pushed into peoples faces wont stand huge companys misrepresenting things, blatantly misleading people with statements and claims and hiding behind terms and conditions and a wall of solicitors.
Im hoping Fords will now re evaluate the Volvo branding and how it cares about its customers
I used to rate volvo higher than BMW and Mercedes etc for quality and customer services
Lets hope one day ill return and those who are annoyed I wish you the luck I just got

But what are the facts??

What has been deliberately misrepresented?

I spent many hours pouring over the documentation trying to workout the best car for the job - and going for the D5

At this time Ken im unsure myself only time will tell

The letter i recieved from Volvo UK just stated anything on website and brochure etc is subject to change and the handbook is a misprint

Im told throughout the UK brochures on Volvos now have all been removed, if you want one they will post you one from head office

Could be nothing but its very cloak n daggery, no customer service, blatant reading of terms and conditions and blame pointed everywhere other than them is what I found.

In my case in writing they even blamed the finance company for not informing me the changes to the spec on my car!

Shame Volvo was a name you could realy trust i know of the problems with the V70 and shocked similar here in XC60
I know this is a Volvo website and we all love them or owners but lets face it these problems highlighted are significant
If the figures quoted in official documents are wrong then Volvo have a duty to inform anyone affected - notice they havent done this
Theres a big legal problem as well, if you bought the car to tow and gone by what is published where do you stand in event of an accident?
Stand up and tell the judge you might have a chance but Volvo should inform anyone who may be affected there are misprints etc (problem is most of the sales information even today brags the wrong information

Couldnt we as a respected forum be involved on behalf of members in getting to the bottom of these queries?
I noticed this is a sticky which is honourable but clearly something is wrong somewhere do we have to wait for sensationalist tv programes to bring it to light when here we see people having these problems)
Edited poor spelling Dv70

Yes unfortuantely you DO!! I finally gave up butting my head against a brick wall of buck passing and "its got nowt to do with me!" attitudes. Sales manager at the selling dealership point blank refused to take calls from my solcitor after the 1st call and he found out who he was!! Stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away as my solicitor said! Same with VCUK who werent really that bothered to be honest despite the fact that it was them that supplied the car in such a poor condition in the 1st place. You have more rights in this country if you buy a 300 quid washing machine thats faulty than if you buy a 30-40k car. Something must be wrong there surely?? In the end I lost about 6k altogether (4k on the car and another 2k on solicitors fees) just so I could feel safe in a car and enjoy driving again!!

Thanks to the attitude of VCUK and the dealership I'll never again step through the showroom door to buy either one of their cars or trucks EVER again. (2 tractor units cancelled as soon as possible after all this started and several friends vowing never to buy their trucks again too) Wish I could afford to alienate customers as easily as Volvo seem to be willing and quite happy to do.

Still missing the facts!!!!

Are you saying:

"Volvo literature stated that the towing limit of Model X was Ykg with a nose weight limit of Zkg. You bought the car based on these figures. When you read the handbook the numbers quoted were lower for your exact model?"

If so - state the numbers you were basing your decisions on.

A cars ability to tow (across any manufacturer) appears to be based on a number of factors.

1) Engine Performance - torque mores specifically. A chunky diesel or V8 will have a higher tow limit than a smaller petrol unit in the same model

2) Gearbox - more and more you are seeing modern automatics outperforming their manual cousins - assuming model and engine are equal

3) Drive - 4*4 gives extra weight and traction - both useful when towing.

4) Weight - the heavier the car the greater the tow limit.

Merc Estates from the late 80s onwards are all rated with limits of 2100KG - although UK specialist suggests that it only the 280, 300 and 320 that have the torque and power to be comfortable doing so.

Dodgyken,

who are you asking for "the facts"?

As far as the MY2010 XC60 is concerned I have given them - I thought - clearly.

XC60 pricelist either viewable on the Volvo website or available by post gives the XC60 205hp 4wd manual towball weight as 75kg.

XC60 owners manual either downloadable from the Volvo website or as supplied with the vehicle gives the towball weight as 90kg which Volvo now say is wrong.

Whether this matters depends on which document you have in your posession, which document you will still have in a couple of years time, which document goes with a second hand vehicle etc etc.

I am not saying that anything was deliberate but that a mistake has been made which has consequences. It was also one difficult job to get Volvo to even admit the difference.

I was asking Dazzler. But the latest web brochures are showing 90kg - which matches against those of the V70. I can't see any reason why a D5 XC60 would have a lower noseweight than a V70.

Something doesn't add up - especially when you have a look on the Ford site and see that the Mondeo has similar towing capabilities to the V70 (although there is no mention of noseweights). The Mondeo can only manage a 75kg roof rack (V70 100kg).

The latest Swiss brochures still state 90KG

Ken again ive no idea

Just came out of a solicitors office

I towed a 1400 kg max caravan to Spain
whilst over there an incident caused the caravan to be written off in my case
The insurance on the caravan has been invalidated as according to them I was towing more than reccomended by Volvo

Clearly my hand book and Volvos figures that were published showed this is not the case

In fact on my towbar fitted by volvo is a riveted plate of conformity showing the car it was fitted to can tow a max 2000Kg yet in a written responce from Volvo to my insurance company they accept the caravan was too heavy for the car

In UK this is a massive thing, dealers snubbing calls and refusing to comment
Volvo UK refusing to accept any liabilty or refusing to confirm actual manufactures guidelines

Ive a letter from VCUK stating its all misprints and its the dealers fault.
The dealers say they sell cars from the information given to them by VCUK

you can rack up thousands, im personaly at present down 5 grand and its that bad the finance company have agread to terminate the lease without penaltys in my case

I of course loose the private money I spent on accesories and packs I purchased.

So can any one stand up and state what car can tow what be in max, kerbwieght or nose wieght?

These cars are tow cars of the year ffs and no one can actualy say what they can tow and put there name to it

SO its a serious problem, it must affect resale values and worse if your in an accident like I was you can find these figures you show was published are not endorsed or to be relied on

Volvo should put this matter to bed, they wont as so many will back there cars if they got wind, when BBC watchdog publish there story (if there is one) then things will become clear

But in UK there are no brochures any more, just websites with claims
and disclaimers stating the information on them are subject to change.
End of day its all down to manufactures reccomended guidelines, you cant work it out yourself dependent on weight of tow car etc

And currently the manufactures guidelines conflict with each other

Anyone remember something similar years ago with Land rover?

also Ford owned isnt it? how many bought big 4x4s and later found they couldnt tow that much lol
is this Volvos turn now

DazzleV70R

I think that there might be a confusion here. The weight plate that is attached to the towbar relates to the towbar and not the vehicle that it is attached to. Thus in the XC60 case the towbar will show 90kg noseweight because that is what it will have been tested to because SOME XC60's can cope with a 90kg noseweight.

For those XC60's that are 75kg noseweight limit it is still fine because the towbar is rated for more than the noseweight limit for the specific car to which it is fitted - but it does not change the noseweight limit for that specific car which remains at 75kg DESPITE the 90kg label on the towbar.

It is an obvious extra source of owner confusion when both your handbook and towbar are saying 90kg but the legal reality is 75kg!

DodgyKen
The latest UK XC60 broshure which I have just looked at shows the 75kg manual & 90kg automatic that I refer to throughout this topic & which Volvo say is correct. It is the owners handbook which is wrong.

Chris is 75kg for a manual the actual legal specification set by Volvo?

as so far despite a lot of mails no one anywhere will put there name on record
in fact if its a simple misprint why havent Volvo informed the owners after all thats simple to do

And why is the european specs diffrent from UK?

This isnt a new thing by the way these misprints have gone on for a fair while now

And how is a misprint in the XC60 handbook linked to misprints on the V70 range?
Why have all brochures been removed yet the website remains unchanged in many cases

Im also aware website disclaimers do stand up where a disclaimer in brochure and handbook dont
The dealers if pressed will only quote figures that are given now on the website, wont pick the phone up and ring there contacts

If its a string of genuine misprints thats cool, inform people etc but this isnt happening here in UK
Many are paying fortunes in solicitors trying to get a correct answer
In my case VCUK are now arrogant and rude even refusing to talk about this
In my case after 6 months my supplier of the vehicle has given up trying to get a definitive answer and ended the contract I know of a couple of others in my boat

The topic starter clearly at wits end after what seems similar encounters.
Im suprised so many of us are oblivious as it goes
Theres serious consequences as ive found out should your insurance be voided because of all this
Resale values and not to mention buying something unfit for the purpose should be a consideration
Im not going to be part of a hanging squad but something clearly is very wrong in a lot of areas
Customer service skills now to be fair has to be failing and a recall or at least a letter of informity should of been issued to owners of these cars informing them of the situation
Again the same cars in Europe remain unchanged, in fact newer models still carry the "misprints"

My question is where does genuine misprints and mistakes stop and blatant misrepresentation start?

Dazzle

Have I got the jist of this?

You leaseed a V70 thinking it had a 90kg noseweight, you then towed at that limit and had an accident which wrote your caravan off. When you claimed on your insurance they wrote to Volvo who then said "no it's 75kg noseweight" and your insurers voided your claim?

If this is right and your owners handbook stated 90kg, then any reasonable man would reasonably believe this to be true. In this case I would sue my insurer in small claims court (up to £5k) as you acted in good faith and could not have reasonably known of the misprint.

I would also be speaking to VOSA as clearly this is a safety issue and I would expect that VOSA should insist that VCUK sends an addendum page, to place in the handbook, to every registered keeper of the models affected.

Has anyone looked to see what limits are issued on Focus, Mondeo, and Kuga models as these are the counterparts using the same platforms? Noseweight should be dictated by chassis strength and axle limits as opposed to towing weights which rely on engine output, and train weight also.

You almost got it bang on Cumbria although in my case to be fair will be slightly diffrent to others in the fact im disabled so the car is leased via motability leasing and insured through them as well underwritten by RSA

This has gone on for months now and solicitors in my case have made very very little progress as Volvo wont share anything unless firstly the solicitor actualy obtains an order to do so

The poor lady at motability actualy cried other day shes worked constantly to gain an answer and to liase with insurance company only to constantly hit brick walls

In my case it stepped up after a reseacher for watchdog spoke firstly to me then to motability and Volvo
within 24 hours ive been offered a full refund of deposit and a new car from VW bieng super rushed through to replace my V70 normaly a 12 week wait im told to expect it in 2 - 3 weeks

I was going to say nothing and not contribute to this thread after all clearly 99% of us dont want to read this and after all im ok jack as they say

Then i felt for original poster and the others also affected by this, I remember the phone calls of hostility from VCUK
I remember the smarmy dealer who sold me the car now no longer returning my calls
I still paying for solicitors costs, everyone who knows my case states im not in the wrong I done everything a member of public can do yet im paying HP on a caravan that been written off and still Volvo can and have written informing the insurance I was over wieght yet wont reply to me actual figures

Not bieng mean i applaud the mods who made this sticky and wish like everyone the topic will go away, but it wont unless Volvo after a year of snubbing everyone actualy lay this dog to rest.

Its an extremely serious issue, just say you kill someone in an incident and find your insurance invalid
Im told ignorance is no defence in UK law, im also told showing the judge the documents you believe to be accurate at the time but later proved wrong is also no defence

Its down to us to almost daily observe any changes in regulations

Simply UK versions do not hold a stand up in court or VOSA reccomendation, the figures out there at present are way below european specs

Sorry someone is ****ing on our backs and telling us its raining, maybe Volvo do know there customers better than we think
Tell them nothing and treat them ignorantly and like fools we will (because we have) got away with it

A car is the 2nd biggest purchase we make in our lifes after our houses yet I wonder if you buy a £300 oven that burns all food after a misprint in the settings how long wed keep it
30K on a car and we ignore the issues thats ok i respect that but i do wonder why more are not shocked and i offer a pint to those who have gone through what i have with Volvo and wish them all the best

As I understand it 75kg is the legal maximum towball load for a UK spec MANUAL XC60. The Volvo product manager, I am told, got this definitively from Volvo.

Why the UK might be unique I have no idea. I had not realized that it was.

I can't see this relates directly to the V70 at all except that if they regularily get it wrong it might just tell us something about the care they take in preparing documentation.

The brochures have not been removed - they are still on the UK web site & they will send you one if asked. They are no longer held in dealers to save waste - well that is what a dealer told me anyway

I agree that Volvo should contact owners to tell them of the mistake. As I posted this the very day that both Volvo & I found out I think they might need a little time. They will argue, I guess, that it was the catalogue that sold the vehicle & that it is correct. The handbook only comes into play once you already own an XC60 so the 90kg in the handbook could not have influenced your buying decision. As it is available on the website I am not so sure.

If Volvo consistently get towing weights wrong I am amazed as they used to be the standard caravan towcar although this is no longer true.

I am so sorry for the problems that Dazzle70vr is having. Unfortunately it probably takes a disabled person & motability for this to get any priority.
I will be very interested to hear what comes out of a Watchdog item.

Dazzle - can you clarify the following:

1) What model of Volvo do you have? Model/Gearbox/Engine?
2) What is stated nose/max tow weight?
3) What were you towing (nose + weight) at the time of the accident?

There are a couple of V70s whose max tow weight is <1400KG:
2.0 manual/auto - 1320
1.6D manual/auto - 1200
2.0F manual - 1320
2.0F auto - 1000!!!!

The 2.0D is stated as 1600KG with a nose weight of 90KG

mine is a 2.0D R design manual

Motability im told have replaced a couple of v70s recently after reading the V70 forum as it goes.

In my case the supplying dealer has been amazing towards me, its not there fault and they have always gone out of the way to help me in any way they can and ill stand and argue that point in no way is this the dealership fault

As for the brochures bieng recalled back at end of April yep this could be a green reason lol

Im happy now to let things go as they are, ive known of issues myself since April and anyone who brave enough who knows can testify these issues pre date when I knew ( one of there get out of **** clauses quoted to me internal memos were flying around last xmas time and they informed the dealerships on february 12 2009 and as I ordered my car on 25 Feb 2009 I was according to them aware of misprint issues)

Lifes far too short to worry about things, let solicitors etc sort it all out or a judge to finaly have final say

Just some on here feel despondant at the fact Volvo isnt listening and who cares and felt it right to say someone does care and more to point someone is doing something

Dazzler - What is the specific reason why your caravan insurance won't pay out?

1400KG is clearly not overweight for a V70 - UNLESS Volvo have responded believing your car is a 2.0 petrol OR they have responded believing the caravan was unbraked.

Additionally - even the V50 is rated at being able to tow 1500KG.

Your situation seems to be very odd indeed.

trust me and whatch this space

If you have your service handbook and live in Uk get it out and read thoroughly from page 54

Its all to do with Volvo assist
read the terms and conditions and then ring VCUK
ask them if RAC appoint a contractor and they destroy your property where do you stand

Whats not in there... another misprint is Volvo and RAC have a agreament that RAC are not responsible for damage etc caused by anyone they appoint to come out to you on behalf of Volvo
And RAC use a lot of contractors

Volvo UK will when asked agrea this is a disclaimer although not published and unless you pay a solicitor to fight this in court then you wont get anywhere
In my case yes the caravan was totaly destroyed but not by me but the RACC who forgot to tie the caravan down

It was Volvo UK who confirmed firstly that caravan shouldnt be on the car and now the hidden missprinted disclaimers
Anyone laughing still? trust me im just the tip of the ice berg of the genuine customers who have hit Volvos hidden terms and conditions

Your ok once your car hits over 1 year unless you carry on with the Volvo assist package
As said in my case ive appointed a solicitor who is creaming me badly by sending letter after letter
I have participated my case in the watchdog program and know of others also doing so
There is a whistle blower giving an insiders view which when revealed will make a spanish time share company look honest

Dazzle reading thru your last post is this just the rac deal with volvo for the 1st year ?
I ask because I am an rac member and have been for years and am now a bit concerned if this is normal rac policy as I would hate to think that if we broke down in one of our cars that they would have the same attitude re that or our caravan . Because I am already an rac member I will not be using the volvo assistance on my new car anyway .

Ive no idea on that Gilbert but dont worry too much my case is extremely unusual and im not wishing to scaremonger just make people a little more aware

In my case I can say its only for the Volvo assist package which is for first year but many continue with it

Its not visable that RAC are not responsible for actions of its agents but write or call Volvo Uk

I have a disclaimer in writing on RAC headed notepaer from a senior manager stating this
And confirmation today from Volvo Uk this is actualy a fact

RAC parent company is American a land where disclaimers and liability clauses have been around for decades
Volvo also now have similar parentage
If you break down or have problems and call Volvo assist here or in europe and RAC appoint a contractor who is un insured and not worth pursuing down the legal route then tough any damage is down to you
Your insurance wont cover you in all cases as its your responsibility to ensure the agents are adequately covered

Volvo Uk will defend this disclaimer despite the terms of it even bieng published
So its not just the brochures that were misprinted
its not just the handbooks misprinted
its also the service booklets misprinted

Any ideas who prints Volvos material lol

Why don't you answer the question??

What SPECIFICALLY is the reason why your insurance will not pay for the caravan? What SPECIFICALLY did Volvo say about your towings capability which invalidated the insurance?

I'm sorry for getting annoyed - but I have asked in every single one of my posts and you haven't answered.

Ken so far I have given more than enough information to identify myself

If your concerned and live in Uk write to Volvo UK for confirmation on what you can tow and get this in writing.
If you ring them and ask then ask them to put this in writing they will not entertain you
They will only give you written confirmation if you write to them directly.

Ask them the towing capacity
Ask them if you use RAC if you have a problem under Volvo assist and a contractor destroys your vehicle who is responsible, what happens if the sub contractor is unable or unwilling to cover any damage

When you get these answers ask them two further things on breakdown side

Why do the terms and conditions only get given to you when the car is delivered as its in the service boklet and then ask them why the right of disclaimer of claiming against either Volvo or RAC is not in the exclusions yet should something happen both Volvo and RAC will fire off this disclaimer possibly making your insurance invalid after all every insurance company will wriggle out of a claim, if they discover you handed your property to someone else who then damaged it they will insist you go after them

Its not rocket science Ken, the office of fair trading are currently investigating along with TV shows etc

Many people have lost huge sums chasing problems and getting nowhere

Clearly there are more terms and conditions and a lot of them unpublished but will be quoted in the event of a problem
If you ask your supplying dealer at best they will print off websit specs, these are heavily disclaimered and for that reason will not stand in a court if you have a problem
Notice the guarded responce you may get
In your booklet is UK customer help number, give them a ring see for yourself

I have bounced a PM back to you.

As I said from the start, something is not quite right here. In terms of what you are saying there isn't just a small discrepancy but a massive one - which just doesn't add up in terms of what they (Volvo) would be stating.

I can understand a small misprint - EG 1600KG for all 2.0D - when the manual will only tow 1500KG.

Response from Volvo Cars
 

I have just been emailed this response from Volvo Cars and they have asked me to put it on the forum:

Volvo Owners Club Towing Statement
25th September 2009


As a result of the recent confusion on this forum, we welcome the opportunity to clarify the XC60 towball weights.

We confirm that the maximum towball weights for the XC60 are as follows:

MY10
T6 AWD Geartronic – 90 KG
2.4D FWD DRIVe Manual – 75 KG
2.4D FWD Geartronic – 90 KG
D5 AWD Manual – 90 KG
D5 AWD Geartronic – 90KG

MY09
T6 AWD Geartronic – 90 KG
2.4D AWD Manual – 75 KG
2.4D AWD Geartronic – 90 KG
D5 AWD Manual – 75 KG
D5 AWD Geartronic – 90KG


We trust that as the pricelist error highlighted in this post quoted a figure under the maximum permissible weight, none of our XC60 drivers would be towing illegally based on this information.

We are very sorry if any of the forum members did not receive the standard of service expected from our Customer Relations team and we apologise for any confusion caused. We will, of course, be updating all of our literature accordingly over the coming weeks.

We note that Dazzlev70r has a different issue unrelated to the XC60 towing figures. From the information supplied on this forum, we believe we are already in contact with this customer and will do our utmost to assist with his concerns.

If you have any remaining queries regarding towing weights, please contact our Customer Relations Team on 0845 7564636.

Volvo Customer Relations

Kind regards

Chris Wickers

Wow the power of the forum

Id like in my case to confirm today I spoke to Volvo Uk and the lady certainly was extremely helpfull and has asked in my case for it to be re investigated

I have had an internal letter sent to me which shows in my case I am not the liar depicted previously and clearly there are issues

Massive hand to those who are both reading and listening and man enough to correct something not right

As they say anyone can make a mistake, its how the company react to its customers that makes a normal company a great company
Fingers crossed eh guys

WOW. This is even more strange! The information that the Volvo UK product manager gave me via the dealer in Redditch is differenmt to what they are saying here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

The info supplied to me was that the price list was correct & the manual was wrong BUT the information here from apparantly the same source is that the manual is correct & the Price List wrong.


LONG LIVE TOTAL CONFUSION.

Chris Wickers:
I am going to send you my email address in a private message. Would you please forward to me a copy of the email from Volvo as this matters to me.