[UK] 2007/07 C70 II SE Geartronic advice sought
 

Hi all,

I'm a new member to this community and to the Volvo brand, so whilst my questions may seem elementary, I would much prefer to have 'real people' respond than just to take information at face value via the interweb, so please be gentle with me, and if contributors to this thread think it worthy, I'll be more than happy for any and all advice and information, so in no particular order, can you respond to the following:

1. Daytime running lights. Can this be turned off, and if so, what's the procedure? If they can, will they stay turned off or would it it be necessary to do whatever every time you drive the car? Is there a modified light switch block available so you don't have to mess about selecting which setting you need?

2. Service indicator message. Is there any way to turn this off or do you need to go to a Volvo garage and have them do it? If this info can be found online, what URL do I need?

3. Would it be financially viable to have the engine re-mapped for better fuel economy and/or possibly improving performance? I've done a very limited online search, and it seems that it could cost GBP £300 - £500 which if you do the mileage (I used to do 80,000+ miles per year) would make sense, but now I might do 2000 - 3000 miles per annum. I'm not completely ruling out the idea of having it done even with the low annual mileage, so if any other C70 II D5 Geartronic (2006 - 2013) owners have their engines re-mapped, I would like to know what they think by comparison?

I also understand that if any changes are made to a car that affects the BHP or other performance tweaks/changes that both the DVLA and your insurance company must be notified, otherwise should there be any reason to make an insurance claim, your policy will become null and void as it's a legal requirement to notify both of the tweaks and/or adjustments made. This I've taken at face value from online posts, so if anyone isn't aware who has had their engine re-mapped and/or other performance upgrades, I would advise owners to contact their insurance company and DVLA ASAP. I would think the V5C will need to be sent back to have the BHP and/or anything else changed on that document (sorry for the lengthy question and observation).

3. Is there a replacement for the 6 CD multi-changer whether a 3rd party make/model Sat-Nav with a flip-out screen and CD/radio, a direct like-for-like replacement or a single CD unit? Irrespective of whatever type is fitted, will there be any incompatibility issues or requirement to have the electronics re-calibrated? My 6 CD changer never worked from when I bought the car privately and I've had the car checked via the diagnostics which corrected all listed fault codes and corrected the front window operation when the doors were closed, but not the CD unit, thus it's a component failure.

I know you can connect to a phone or other device, but as it's an integral part of the car as supplied from new, as a component, what do other C70 owners think? If anyone had swapped their OEM unit for something else, can you advise of the make/model/type you've opted for, how you're finding it and whether you did the work yourself or had it fitted? I'm disabled now, so it would likely be a job that I wouldn't be able to tackle now.

4. Headlights (main/dipped/side). Can the standard bulbs be changed for Xenon types, and if so, what/where/which is required either as a straight swap or if additional regulators/wiring is needed and whether this is a DIY job or requires a garage to do the work? If anyone has had their lights changed, can you advise if it was worth doing (or not)?

If C70 owners have any additional advice, suggestions, recommendations however big or small, please feel free to post as it will all help.

TIA.

1) requires a software module downloaded from Volvo

2) Usually done thru Vida... think there is another way to do it pushing and holding various buttons and turnign the key, but don't have the formula on hand

3) most of the remaps I've seen/heard/read about squeeze a bit more power out of the engine without making much difference to mpg either way

3 again) it's problematic to replace the stereo, because of the integration of climate and entertainment controls/display. Any regular aftermarket unit will need surgery on the waterfall console (there's a bracket with two screws right behind the display whihc holds in steady at that end), and then you need to find a new home for the Infotanment module & display.

There's a unit from Bluepower which puts a disc player in the glovebox and a 7 inch color display replaces the CD slot and display. It's a bit of a kludge, quite dated itself at this point, a pain to install and far from cheap. They are supposed to be releasing a new Android based version of it soon... that's going to be downright expensive, and remains to be seen how good it will be. There's add-on units by Grom and Parrot that have their own godd and bad points.. searching around here you'll find reviews of all three.

4) quick and dirty fix for a slight improvement in Headlights is to attack some H9 bulbs with tin snips and a Dremel to make them fit in the H11 socket... theres videos on youtube showing exactly... adds some extra watts and a more compact filament means they do throw quite a bit more usable light down the road without dazzling oncoming drivers

As above apart from:

2. You can reset the first service due indicator via a procedure using the stalk / trip distance buttons but any subsequent service due indications have to be reset by a dealer (or VIDA). You can however still temporarily clear the message by pressing the end of the indicator stalk & you'd have to do that everytime you start the engine.

3. There are some quite big gains to be made power & torque wise with the D5 engine via remapping but it's not recommended with the Geartronic as that transmission can"t reliably handle the extra torque.

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

I can add information on some of these.

2) Service light: if it's saying 'book time for service' or 'time for regular service' then this procedure is what you want.

However if it's saying 'Engine system service required' then there is a fault somewhere. On a D5 the first place I'd look is the oil level: there should be a sticker on the engine cover or front slam panel showing a max level of about 2/3rds between MIN and MAX on the dipstick, but this is often missed by dealers who simply top it up before sale. If the oil is above that level (i.e. you can't see two full XX's on the dipstick), drain some out and the message will go away after a week or so of daily use. If that's not the issue, then you will need to get it scanned with Volvo's VIDA software to identify the codes reported.

3) Remap. Just to add to comments, you really don't want to increase the output on a Geartronic because the factory engine map is already torque-limited to 350Nm compared to the manual version's 400Nm, and is even further reduced in 1st, 2nd and 3rd to avoid straining the transmission. The 'box can't cope with what the engine is already capable of as standard, so any remap involving higher output will probably kill it. The box is also the reason you won't get much in the way of economy, it's rather inefficient.

4) Lights. You can look at HID replacement, but the best trade-off between cost and effectiveness will be i) to raise the beam level from its woefully low factory setting, and ii) to take the projectors out of the light units and clean then up. Both of these are really easy, thanks to the headlights coming out of the car just by taking out the one pin holding each of them in. There are various threads in this section of the forum giving you all the information you will need.

Best of luck with your new C70 and hope you get plenty of opportunity to enjoy it in the better weather. :thumbs_up:

Thanks for the prompt and useful info
 

Thanks to those who have taken their time to respond to my questions. I'll be asking about whether additional information I've since come across is accurate or not if other C70 2007/07 Series 2 D5 SE owners have done any of these tweaks and their findings, so please feel free to offer your advice, suggestions, how-to info and whatever else other C70 Series 2 owners think is relevant whether .PDF documents/guides/manuals to tips/tweaks/adjustments etc.

I really am asking elementary questions, but as I'm of an age who must be going through some mid-life crisis, I've always wanted to own a drop-top and my decision to change cars at my age might seem crazy especially as I bought my previous car new and had the 6th gear option incorporated (manual TDCi) estate which is far more sensible for pretty much every reason you can think of, but I do like 'heavy metal' full size cars, but when I say 'heavy metal' I don't mean the music genre but prestige car types such as Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and the like, but the C70 is literally made from 'heavy metal' and it seems that MPG is being reflected in terms of transmission type and weight of the car. Anyway, the front heated seats are toasty though I do miss the heated front windscreen on my previous wheels.

Service Indicator Reset
1. Press and hold trip odometer reset button
2. Turn ignition key to run position KPII
3. Wait 30 seconds or until service light begins blinking
4. Release Trip Odometer button
5. Turn ignition to off position

You are very likely to struggle to find a dealer that will perform the software update required to disable DRLs as it is now law that they exist on cars after 2011. Even if you got for a car pre-2011 a dealer is unlikely to oblige you.

If you're concerned about lights try to find a C70 with factory Xenons in the first place.

Hi,
If you do ever need any help with insurance for a re-map then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

Daytime Running Lights Software Download & Installation
 

This has me a little bit puzzled. Is there a URL where the software module you've mentioned can be downloaded from, and is there a 'how to' guide so the software can be integrated with the car in order to turn off the DRL?

On this forum, it says the code is: 30679690 but there's no mention about how this was applied. The URL provided is a USA site which I have no connection with in any shape or form and is simply for reference only.

Now there's a name I'm familiar with
 

Hello Dan,

Thanks for your post. I was a customer of yours for many years until a couple of years ago when I switched to another company. The year 1066 should be enough, but are the points made correct? If so, what's required by the insurance company or do they get their info from the DVLA directly?