My XC60 has been a Swedish sauna since buying it 5 years ago and I've finally discovered why after exhaustively testing the heating system: Fresh air is being sucked from under the bonnet behind the firewall behind the engine. The thermal insulation on this firewall has peeled back, allowing the engine to heat the air being sucked in to the car.
So I can easily fix the insulation issue with some heat-proof duct tape, but I have a question:
is it normal for the cabin air intake to look like this?
(note that this flap [correctly] closes when "recirculate" is selected)
Is something missing here (another duct to somewhere else)? Or do all XC60's suck "fresh" cabin air from this portal so close to the engine? If this is normal then it is a real design flaw...
FYI the motor is the 305bhp T6, so generates plenty of heat in a relatively small space.
Apart from that, a wonderful mountain car here in Peru - regularly taken up to 5000m altitude, where it can pull up long Altiplano hills >140kmh! I've installed Brembo brakes for the long descents, and MOOG suspension bushes as the Volvo ones keep breaking.