2003 VOLVO XC90
instructions and maintenance requirements/recommendations in this manual\
. We also urge you and your
passengers to wear seat belts at all times in this (or any other) auto\
mobile. And, of course, please do not operate
a vehicle if you may be affected by alcohol, medication or any impairmen\
t that could hinder your ability to
drive.
Your Volvo is designed to meet all applicable safety and emission standa\
rds, as evidenced by the certification
labels attached to the driver's door opening and on the left wheel housi\
ng in the engine compartment.
For further information please contact your retailer, or:
In the USA:
Volvo Cars of North America
Customer Relations
P.O. Box 914
Rockleigh, New Jersey 07647-0914
800-458-1552
In Canada:
Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd.
175 Gordon Baker Road
North York, Ontario M2H 2N7
800-663-8255
General information
Shiftlock
When your car is parked, the gear selector is locked in the (P)ark position. To release the selector from this
position, turn the ignition key to position II (or start the engine), \
depress the brake pedal, press the button on the
front side of the gear selector knob and move the selector from (P)ark\
.
Keylock (automatic transmission)
When you switch off the ignition, the gear selector must be in the (P)ark position before the key can be
removed from the ignition switch.
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
The ABS system in your car performs a self-diagnostic test when the vehi\
cle first reaches the speed of
approximately 12 mph (20 km/h). The brake pedal will pulsate several t\
imes and a sound may be audible from
the ABS control module. This is normal.
Fuel filler door
The fuel filler door, located on the right rear fender, is connected to \
your vehicle's central locking system.
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2003 VOLVO XC90
Press the button on the light switch panel (see page 31) when the car is at a standstill to unlock the fuel filler
door. Please note that the fuel filler door will remain unlocked until t\
he car begins to move forward. An audible
click will be heard when the fuel filler door relocks.
Fuel filler cap
After refueling, close the fuel filler cap by turning it clockwise until\
it clicks into place. If this cap is not closed
tightly or if the engine is running when the car is refueled, the Malfun\
ction Indicator Lamp ("Check Engine"
light) may indicate a fault.
Important information
Before you operate your vehicle for the first time, please familiarize y\
ourself with the new engine oil
consumption information on
page 84. You should also be familiar with the information in chapters one, two \
and eight of this manual.
Information contained in the balance of the manual is extremely useful a\
nd should be read after operating the
vehicle for the first time. The manual is structured so that it can be u\
sed for reference. For this reason, it should
be kept in the vehicle for ready access.
Do not export your Volvo to another country before investigating that co\
untry's applicable safety and exhaust
emission requirements. In some cases it may be difficult or impossible t\
o comply with these requirements.
Modifications to the emission control system(s) may render your Volvo \
not certifiable for legal operation in the
U.S., Canada and other countries.
All information, illustrations and specifications contained in this manu\
al are based on the latest product
information available at the time of publication. Please note that some \
vehicles may be equipped differently,
depending on special legal requirements. Optional equipment described in\
this manual may not be available in
all markets.
Volvo reserves the right to make model changes at any time, or to change\
specifications or design, without
notice and without incurring obligation.
CALIFORNIA Proposition 65 Warning
Engine exhaust, some of its constituents, and certain vehicle components\
contain or emit chemicals known
to the state of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other r\
eproductive harm. In addition, certain
fluids contained in vehicles and certain products of component wear cont\
ain or emit chemicals known to the
State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproduc\
tive harm.
Volvo and the environment
Volvo is committed to the well being of our customers. As a natural part\
of this commitment, we care about the
environment in which we all live. Caring for the environment means an ev\
eryday involvement in reducing our
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2003 VOLVO XC90
environmental impact.
Volvo's environmental activities are based on a holistic view, which mea\
ns we consider the overall
environmental impact of a product throughout its complete life cycle. In\
this context, design, production,
product use, and recycling are all important considerations.
In production, Volvo has partly or completely phased out several chemica\
ls including chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), lead chromates, naphtanates, asbestos, mercury and cadmium; an\
d reduced the amount of chemicals
used in our plants 50% since 1991.
Volvo was the first in the world to introduce into production a three-wa\
y catalytic converter with Lambda
Sond, now called oxygen sensor, in 1976. The current version of this hig\
hly efficient system reduces emissions
of harmful substances (CO, HC, NOx) from the exhaust pipe by approxima\
tely 95% and the search to eliminate
the remaining emissions continues. Volvo is the only automobile manufact\
urer to offer CFC-free retrofit kits
for the air conditioning system of all models as far back as the 1975 Vo\
lvo 240. Advanced electronic engine
controls, refined purification systems and cleaner fuels are bringing us\
closer to our goal.
After Volvo vehicles and parts have fulfilled their use, recycling is th\
e next critical step in completing the life
cycle. The metal content is about 75% of the total weight of a vehicle, \
which makes the vehicle among the most
recycled industrial products. In order to have efficient and well contro\
lled recycling, many Volvo variants have
printed dismantling manuals, indicating the weight and material of indiv\
idual components. For Volvo, all
homogeneous plastic parts weighing more than 1.7 oz. (50 grams) are ma\
rked with international symbols that
indicate how the component is to be sorted for recycling.
In addition to continuous environmental refinement of conventional gasol\
ine-powered internal combustion
engines, Volvo is actively looking at advanced technology alternative-fu\
el vehicles.
When you drive a Volvo, you become our partner in the work to lessen the\
car's impact on the environment.
To reduce your vehicle's environmental impact, you can:
l Maintain proper air pressure in your tires. Tests have shown decreased f\
uel economy with improperly
inflated tires.
l Follow the recommended maintenance schedule in your Warranty and Service\
Records Information booklet.
l Drive at a constant speed.
l See an authorized Volvo retailer as soon as possible for inspection if t\
he check engine (malfunction
indicator) lamp illuminates, or stays on after the vehicle has started.\
l Properly dispose of any vehicle-related waste such as used motor oil, us\
ed batteries, brake pads, etc.
l When cleaning your car, use Volvo's own car care products, all of which \
have systematically been adapted to
the environment.
For additional information regarding the environmental activities in whi\
ch Volvo Cars of North America, LLC.
and Volvo Car Corporation are involved, visit our Internet Home Page at:\
http://www.volvocars.com
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2003 VOLVO XC90
PremAir®
On the surface of the radiator in the engine compartment, there is a spe\
cial coating called PremAir®. PremAir®
works as a catalytic converter, converting most of the ground-level ozon\
e passing through the radiator into
oxygen, thereby reducing harmful ground-level ozone.
Instruments, switches and controls
Control panel in driver's door (controls 34-37)
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2003 VOLVO XC90
WARNING!
Children must never be allowed in the front passenger's seat. Volvo reco\
mmends that ALL occupants
(adults and children) shorter than 4 feet 7 inches (140 cm) be seate\
d in the back seat of any vehicle
with a front passenger-side airbag. See
page 20 for guidelines.
Occupants in the front passenger's seat must never sit on the edge of th\
e seat, sit leaning toward the
instrument panel or otherwise sit out of position. The occupant's back m\
ust be as upright as comfort
allows and be against the seat back with the seat belt properly fastened\
.
Feet must be on the floor, e.g. not on the dash, seat or out of the wind\
ow. No objects or accessory
equipment, e.g. dashboard covers, may be placed on, attached to, or inst\
alled near the SRS hatch (the
area above the glove compartment) or the area affected by airbag deploy\
ment (see illustration on
page
4).
There should be no loose articles, e.g. coffee cups, on the floor, seat \
or dashboard area. Never try to
open the SRS cover on the steering wheel or the passenger side dash. Thi\
s should only be done by an
authorized Volvo service technician.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury to the vehicle\
occupants.
Warning light in the instrument panel
A self-diagnostic system incorporated in the sensor monitors the SRS. Th\
is system does not, however,
monitor the Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) airbags. If a fault i\
s detected, the warning light will
illuminate. The light is included in the warning/indicator light cluster\
in the instrument panel. Normally,
the SRS warning lamp should light up when the ignition key is turned to \
positions I, II or III and should
go out after 7 seconds or when the engine is started. Check that this li\
ght is functioning properly every
time the vehicle is started.
The following items are monitored by the self-diagnostic system:
l Sensor unit
l Cable harness
l Gas generator
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2003 VOLVO XC90
WARNING!
If the SRS warning light stays on after the engine has started or if it \
comes on while you are driving,
drive the vehicle to the nearest authorized Volvo retailer for inspectio\
n as soon as possible.
pg. 7 Safety
When are the airbags deployed?
The information on this page pertains to SRS (front) airbags only. For\
information about Side Impact
Protection System (SIPS) airbags, please see
page 10. For Inflatable Curtain (IC) airbags, please see
page 12.
The SRS system is designed to deploy during certain frontal or front-ang\
ular collisions, impacts, or
decelerations, depending on the crash severity, angle, speed and object \
impacted. The SRS sensor is
designed to react to both the impact of the collision and the inertial f\
orces generated by it and to
determine if the intensity of the collision is sufficient for the seat b\
elt pretensioners or airbags to be
deployed.
If the airbags have been deployed, we recommend the following:
l Have the vehicle towed to an authorized Volvo retailer. Never drive with\
the airbags deployed.
l Have an authorized Volvo retailer replace the SRS system components.
l Use only new, Genuine Volvo Parts when replacing SRS components (airbag\
s, seat belts,
pretensioners, etc.).
When are the airbags NOT deployed?
Not all frontal collisions activate the SRS system. If the collision inv\
olves a nonrigid object (e.g., a snow
drift or bush), or a rigid, fixed object at a low speed, the SRS system\
will not necessarily deploy. Front
airbags do not normally deploy in a side impact collision, in a collisio\
n from the rear or in a rollover
situation. The amount of damage to the bodywork does not reliably indica\
te if the airbags should have
deployed or not.
Seat belts - the heart of the Volvo safety system
The heart of the Volvo safety system is the three-point seat belt (a Vo\
lvo invention)! In order for the
SRS system to provide the protection intended, seat belts must be worn a\
t all times by everyone in the
vehicle. The SRS system is a supplement to the seat belts.
WARNING!
Never drive with the airbags deployed. The fact that they hang out can i\
mpair the steering of your
vehicle. Other safety systems can also be damaged. The smoke and dust fo\
rmed when the airbags are
deployed can cause skin and eye irritation in the event of prolonged exp\
osure.
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2003 VOLVO XC90
WARNING!
The IC system is a supplement to the Side Impact Protection System. It i\
s not designed to deploy
during collisions from the front or rear of the vehicle. The Inflatable \
Curtains are designed to deploy
only during certain side-impact collisions, depending on the crash sever\
ity, angle, speed and impact.
The Inflatable Curtains are not designed to deploy in all side impact si\
tuations. Never try to open or
repair any components of the IC system. This should be done only by an a\
uthorized Volvo service
technician. In order for the IC to provide its best protection, both fro\
nt seat occupants and all
outboard rear seat occupants should sit in an upright position with the \
seat belt properly fastened;
adults using the seat belt and children using the proper child restraint\
system. Only adults should sit in
the front seats. Children must never be allowed in the front passenger s\
eat. See
page 20 for
guidelines. Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury to\
the vehicle occupants in an
accident.
When the backrest(s) in the rear seat(s) are folded down, the vehicl\
e should not be loaded to a level
higher than 2 inches (5 cm) below the upper edge of the side windows. \
Objects placed higher than
this level could impede the function of the Inflatable Curtain.
pg. 13 Safety
Roll-over Protection System
Volvo's Roll-over Protection System has been developed to help prevent t\
he vehicle from rolling over in
the event of sudden evasive maneuvers, skids, etc and to offer enhanced \
protection if a roll-over occurs.
The system works in two ways:
l The stabilizing system Roll Stability Control (RSC) acts to minimize b\
ody roll.
l The system provides additional protection with a reinforced body, Inflat\
able Curtains for all outboard
seating positions, and seat belt pretensioners for all seating positions\
.
RSC uses a gyro-sensor that registers the vehicle's angle of inclination\
and the speed at which this angle
changes. Using this information, the control module calculates the risk \
of a roll-over. If there is an
imminent roll-over risk, the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DS\
TC) system is activated, engine
speed is reduced, and the brakes are applied to one or more of the wheel\
s until the vehicle has regained
stability.
If a roll-over occurs, RSC triggers the seat belt pretensioners and then\
deploys the Inflatable Curtains
(which remain inflated for approximately 5 seconds). These curtains ar\
e designed to follow the contours
of the side windows so that they position themselves between the occupan\
ts' heads and the sides of the
vehicle.
pg. 14 Safety
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Instrument panel
1. Turn signal indicators - right - left
2. Text window
The text window displays information and warning messages.
3. Temperature gauge
The pointer should be approximately midway on the gauge when driving. Do not drive the vehicle if
the warning light is on. The text window will provide you with additional information. If the en\
gine
temperature remains high, check coolant level - see
page 127.
4. Trip odometer
The trip odometers are used for measuring shorter distances. The right-h\
and digit gives tenth of a mile/
kilometer. Press the button for more than 2 seconds to reset. Change bet\
ween trip odometers 1 and 2
using one short press on the button.
5. Odometer
6. Speedometer
7. Warning symbol
8. High beam indicator
9. Tachometer
The tachometer shows engine speed in thousands of revolutions per minute\
(rpm). Do not drive
continuously with the needle in the red area of the dial, which indicate\
s maximum allowable engine rpm
range. Instead, shift to a higher gear or slow the vehicle down. The eng\
ine management system will
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