First off, our 2010 Volvo XC60 proved itself the perfect road trip vehicle for a short vacay in the mountains. Not only was it comfy inside for four passengers and all their gear but that turbo really helped us take mountain passes and slow drivers with ease, even with a packed car. Fun stuff.
In any case, on the way back to L.A. after a fuel stop we noticed the above message on the dash. It worried us. Not knowing off-hand how to retrieve the message we RTFM and saw that there was a handy "Read" button on the left steering wheel stalk.
Read what the car wanted to tell us after the jump...
Wuuut? You don't say? I have no idea why the Volvo chose to point this out to us, considering that the left and rear belts have been in use since the beginning of the weekend. (See here for demo.) We didn't do anything at the fuel stop except gas up, stretch our legs and get back in the car. Any guesses why it would do this?
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 14,004 miles
v_d says:
09:47 AM, 03/22/10
It's 'no' not 'know'. ::) Come on, I mean, you guys write for a living.
caroscuro says:
09:53 AM, 03/22/10
OK. I've had my morning cuppa. S'all good now. Usually people get it wrong in reverse. "I no what you mean."
carguy622 says:
09:56 AM, 03/22/10
I have no idea why it would say that unless there was nobody sitting in the seats and the belts were buckled, but I really like those gauges.
brn says:
10:01 AM, 03/22/10
Yippe. The Nanny Car.
phybenz says:
10:12 AM, 03/22/10
My only guess would be that maybe your headrests weren't properly raised to protect for passengers sitting in the back seat?
e90_m3 says:
10:18 AM, 03/22/10
What's next, a car telling you to have a cup of coffee if you've driven for 2 hours straight?
Oh wait....
benson2175 says:
11:35 AM, 03/22/10
Maybe just so your kids can be extra safe you're supposed to replace the rear seat-belts after every use.
dph1 says:
11:47 AM, 03/22/10
It seems sort of like a safety audit in case you wanted to know rear seatbelt usage . . .
srlracing says:
12:31 PM, 03/22/10
I'm going to take the cynical route and guess in case you have two unwanted passengers?
zcalvert says:
12:36 PM, 03/22/10
were you really taking those pictures at whatever speed the volvo is traveling at 2400 rpm?
the nice big, blue "D" in the display sort of calls you out as well.
caroscuro says:
01:08 PM, 03/22/10
phybenz,
Those rear passengers were there all weekend and it was only driving back that that message appeared.
benson2175 and dph1,
I guess. So you don't have to turn your head and look back there?
zcalvert,
Nope. I was the passenger/photographer.
epbrown says:
01:09 PM, 03/22/10
@zcalvert: the angle of the shot makes it seem to me whoever took the picture was in the passenger seat, not driving. NIce attempt at tattle-taling, though; my kid sisters would be proud. :)
brn says:
01:27 PM, 03/22/10
"were you really taking those pictures at whatever speed the volvo is traveling at 2400 rpm?"
Both the car and zcalvert are Nannies.
caroscuro says:
01:39 PM, 03/22/10
epbrown & brn,
LOL
zcalvert says:
02:00 PM, 03/22/10
alright, alright... i admit it, it was kinda douchey. my apologies.
i hang my head in shame.
calhon says:
05:27 PM, 03/22/10
Caroline, here's what I think happened.
The message ("left and right rear seat belts used") first appeared when your rear seat passengers buckled up. The purpose is to indicate to the driver if the rear passenger(s) are properly secured. (There's also a message and audible signal if a passenger unbuckles while the vehicle is in motion.) The message stays on for only 6 seconds, so you might have missed it. However, it remains stored in the car's memory until you erase it.
The car will indicate if there are any stored messages, which is what you noticed after your fuel stop.
m89 says:
07:26 PM, 03/22/10
My guess is that it tells you if the belts were used incase kids in the backseat didn't buckle their seatbelts like they said they did. Although, I'm sure if they didn't, the tattle-tale Volvo would've freaked out shortly after the commute began.
These irritating little messages from the car remind me of the 1980s Chryslers that talked to you. Amusing at first, but irritating after a while.
cr_driver says:
11:22 AM, 03/23/10
This was so funny.....LOL
cheslin says:
11:34 AM, 03/23/10
It's mainly to let you know that someone sitting in the back seat is indeed buckled up. You can also spin the little wheel on the turn indicator stalk to change the display to trip computer/mileage functions, or a blank display.