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XC70 Dipped Beam Performance - Downright Dangerous

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Replies : 92

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View Poll Results: XC70 Dipped Beam Performance
Great - no problem 25 22.32%
Not bad - ok for me 17 15.18%
Could be better 51 45.54%
Downright Dangerous 19 16.96%
Voters: 112. You may not vote on this poll

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Old Dec 19th, 2011, 02:06   #11
t5_monkey
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dips are terrible on the S40 until you upgrade them with better bulbs...
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Old Jan 6th, 2012, 23:22   #12
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The dips on my 2012 v70 (active xenon) are fantastic. Main beam is good too. Shame the main isn't xenon as well though. That would be awesome.
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Old Jan 13th, 2012, 09:10   #13
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Originally Posted by clivea View Post
I have an Xc70 MY10 and found the halogen dipped lights terible. I thought that volvo had traded light output for life given that the dipped beams fom the day running lights. I have now fitted Osram Nightbreaker+ bulbs which have improved the winter driving immensley. Why Volvo did not fit LED day runners is a puzzle.
would you happen to know how much to service XC 70 D5 at volvo dealer for 2 yr service?
thanks and regards
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Old Jan 13th, 2012, 12:45   #14
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Originally Posted by David195612 View Post
would you happen to know how much to service XC 70 D5 at volvo dealer for 2 yr service?
thanks and regards
My old XC70 D5 was due it's 2nd year service (just before I sold it) and I was quoted £440....!!!!! I asked if that was there best price and he said he'd give me a 25% discount.

The 1st year service was quoted at £350, before I haggled 25% off.
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Old Jan 18th, 2012, 17:58   #15
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Default dipped beam

i have a 2007 m/y xc70/se,i love the car but the dipped beam is awful,even with it adjusted to the high position,i always drive at night with the spot/fog lamps(or whatever you want to call them) on as well,i have been looking at some nightbreakers which are supposed to give 90% more light than the std bulbs,i also looked at some 100w bulbs but believe they are for competition use.

david ref the service costs,
i contacted my local main stealer in kent,he said it would be £450 ish!!would not haggle so stuff them,i will be using an independent(tivoli motors) in hastings,volvo specialists for over 20 years with all the kit,quoted £200 inc c/car for same service as main stealer.
cheers all
sandy

Last edited by rnlisg; Jan 18th, 2012 at 18:08. Reason: addition
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Old Jan 20th, 2012, 00:56   #16
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Originally Posted by rnlisg View Post
i have a 2007 m/y xc70/se,i love the car but the dipped beam is awful,even with it adjusted to the high position,i always drive at night with the spot/fog lamps(or whatever you want to call them) on as well,i have been looking at some nightbreakers which are supposed to give 90% more light than the std bulbs,i also looked at some 100w bulbs but believe they are for competition use.

david ref the service costs,
i contacted my local main stealer in kent,he said it would be £450 ish!!would not haggle so stuff them,i will be using an independent(tivoli motors) in hastings,volvo specialists for over 20 years with all the kit,quoted £200 inc c/car for same service as main stealer.
cheers all
sandy
Fog lamps are for use when it's foggy and only with sidelights on. The fog lights on the XC70 are very good when used in this manner. Visibility without horrendous glare from the fog.

Their use in any other conditions is illegal, and for good reason. They dazzle oncoming traffic and quite frankly, they're a pain in the arse.

Now, apart from the illegality of using them, they're actually pointless in anything other than really foggy weather and provide absolutely no extra additional visibility - they light up the road right in front of the car, at low level to get under the fog as much as possible.

Find a dark car park, stick sidelights only on, switch front fog lights on then switch on the dipped beam and watch how the light from the front fogs disappears from the area in front of your car - you'll lose a foot of light right where the road disappears from view under the bonnet, but you'll not lose any light from the far end of the dipped beam (unless your dipped beam lights are seriously out of adjustment).

The use of 90/100 bulbs is of dubious legality - it's possibly, thanks to EU law, not illegal as 90/100s are legal in Germany and under EU law, that should make them legal in the UK but there's a whole heap of new legislation on its way to make pretty much any modification to headlights otherwise in accordance with manufacturers specifications illegal, including not having headlight wash mechanisms in combination with upgraded headlights.

The absolute downside of fitting higher powered bulbs is you run the risk of burning out the wiring by pulling additional current and generating additional heat that's capable of cracking the lens covers and making bits of the headlight mechanism (adjusters etc) more prone to cracking.

I'd go with getting the headlights aligned first at an MoT centre and then fitting the highest quality bulbs in the traditional 55/60w range.
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Old Jan 27th, 2012, 23:07   #17
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Originally Posted by wyerd View Post
I've had the 2012 XC70 for 3 months now and I can say that the dipped beam headlights are absolutely terrible, in fact I consider them dangerous.

On these dark, raining winter nights, where there are no street lights where I live in the countryside, they give out no more light than a pedestrian with a torch! Many a time when there's a car on the other side of the road, it's by pure guesswork that I actually managed to stay on the road.

The dealer says that they are setup correctly, but comparing them with our Merc, the beam is set too low. They're the active bending round corner auto height adjust type, so I'm not sure if they can be adjusted manually.

What are your thoughts on the XC70 lights? What can I do so I can see more of the road on dipped beam without buying a pair of night vision goggles?

Thanks.
In the summer months we spend a lot of time in North Wales and I drive down when I finnish work at 4am, I could not believe how bad the xenons are going down dark country lanes. When you flick to full beam its as if some ones switched the lights on!
Complained to the dealers and got the usual they all do that sir?

Brian.
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Old Jan 28th, 2012, 20:15   #18
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Thank god for that . . .
compaired to my old Granada which where the frog head lights

My XC70 lights are bloody crap compaired to them and my old 1986 XR4x4 I must admitt i to find the dipped lights bloody crap and was thinking of up grading but to what ?

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Old Feb 2nd, 2012, 23:29   #19
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Default Active Xenons

I do a lot of night driving and I had my Active Xenons adjusted by dealer within days of geting car to give better distance illumination. Because of auto levelling I am not sure it is a user adjustment, they did mine with software adjustment on computer. I certainly have no complaints with light performance on dip or main.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 20:32   #20
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I've had Volvos for years and the lights have always been poor. That was until I bought an '06 XC70 with (passive) xenons. Pretty good; got the dealer to adjust them up as far as he dare (helps to have a good relationship with the service department). Excellent.

Sadly my latest has conventional lamps - even so they are "adequate". Mains are good but dipped - poor, but usable.

My take is if you're unhappy with the dipped lights, either tweak them yourself (not an hugely good idea, unless you've got a good target area) or get the dealer / indy to adjust them to the maximum legal level.

My own opinion is that the new style (2008+) lights are much better than the older models. I guess it's a matter of adjustment. Volvo tend to be a bit "conservative".
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