V60 Hybrid - Preconditioning
 

I've a 15 plate V60 that I have had for a couple of months now. As far as I can tell preconditioning works when its plugged into charge on both the in car timer and the remote app, but now when it is not plugged in.

From some reading up it appears that it might be an option that is required for it to work when it is not plugged in?

If it helps my key fob does not have a control for preconditioning on it.

All help most welcome

Yes, it is a cost option to allow untethered preconditioning, approx £300 I believe for a simple software update! I considered it briefly but decided I wouldn't use it enough to make it worthwhile.

I also think it's very confusing that the VOC app will allow you to set preconditioning when the car is not tethered, even though it is not supported.

Many thanks - one more question, can it be added retrospectively as a software update?

Yes, I believe it can be added by your dealer retrospectively. If you negotiate a good price, let me know :)

Yes it can be added. I think I was quoted something between £300 and £400

When I first got mine back in 2014, I was convinced that untethered preconditioning was working: We went to a restaurant one very cold evening in either December or January. Some time before leaving, I used the app to set the preconditioning. When we later walked out to the car park, my wife commented that all the car windscreens were iced up ... except ours.

For months after that, the only times I was using preconditioning was when the car was already plugged in so I didn't try untethered again until after a service or two, and then nothing happened. As I could hear relays click on and then off again when using the app, I reported it as a fault only to be told my car has never had that facility.

It's anecdotal evidence and, who knows, maybe car-sized micro climates exist, so I can't prove that it once worked, but I have a sneaking suspicion that something was "fixed" in one of the software upgrades done at a service.

I wondered that too although it never actually worked untethered on mind. However my understanding at the time of purchase was that this was a feature of the car. Not to be without a rather expensive softwaretweak.

I had it added to mine, quite miffed that its not standard.

it cost around £300 from memory, software part number is here

with pre heating from the fob, i'm not sure if this enables it, or you need a complete new key? To me its not clear if this is just a software update or a complete new key plus software

One thing tho, if you start remote pre con unplugged, then stop it, you can't enable it again until the car is started and turned off, quite annoying if you pre heat the car, then stop it as you don't need to go out then you can't pre heat later, I know, 1st world problems, but still!

Also, I believe if you use the fuel heater to preheat it also preheats the engine coolant, if its only pre heated from battery it only heats the cabin, the engine certainly feels smoother initially to me once pre heated. Might be in my head, and I might of imagined it, but trying to find the info from Volvo is quite hard imo

According to Volvo Customer Service it should work with the App untethered, but I've just gone back (again) asking them to clarify. Thanks for all the info so far.

Can you get that in writing from them? Then we can all go to our dealers for a free update :)