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.
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_00.htm (2 of 7)12/30/2006 \
4:18:48 PM
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
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_01a.htm (8 of 12)12/30/200\
6 4:18:49 PM
2003 VOLVO XC90
pg. 8 Safety
Airbags (Supplemental Restraint System) (contd)
WARNING!
If your vehicle has been subjected to flood conditions (e.g. soaked car\
peting/standing water on the
floor of the vehicle) or if your vehicle has become flood-damaged in an\
y way, do not attempt to start
the vehicle or put the key in the ignition before disconnecting the batt\
ery (see below). This may cause
airbag deployment which could result in personal injury. Have the vehicle towed to an authorized
Volvo retailer for repairs.
Automatic transmission:
Before attempting to tow the vehicle, use the following procedure to ove\
rride the shiftlock system to
move the gear selector to the neutral position.
l Switch off the ignition for at least 10 minutes and disconnect the batte\
ry
l Wait at least one minute
l Insert the key in the ignition and turn it to position II
l Press firmly on the brake pedal.
l Move the gear selector from (P)ark to the (N)eutral position.
There is no maintenance to perform on the SRS yourself. The month and ye\
ar shown on the decal on the
door pillar indicate when you should contact your Volvo retailer for spe\
cific servicing or replacement of
airbags and seat belt pretensioners. This maintenance must be performed \
by an authorized Volvo
retailer. Should you have any questions about the SRS system, please con\
tact your authorized Volvo
retailer or Volvo Customer Support: In the U.S.A In Canada:
Volvo Cars of North America Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd.
Customer Relations 175 Gordon Baker Road
P.O. Box 914 North York, Ontario M2H 2N7
Rockleigh, New Jersey 07647-0914 800-663-8255
800-458-1552
pg. 9 Safety
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_01a.htm (10 of 12)12/30/20\
06 4:18:49 PM
2003 VOLVO XC90
automatically prevent excessively high engines speeds. This will be noti\
ceable as a pronounced
unevenness in engine speed.
10. Gear and driving mode indicator
The currently selected driving mode is displayed here. If you use the op\
tional Geartronic function on the
automatic transmission, the currently selected gear will be displayed.
11. Ambient temperature gauge
This display indicates the air temperature outside your vehicle. A "snow\
flake" symbol in the text
window is displayed when the temperature is in the range of 23 -36° F\
(-5 -+2° C). Please note that this
symbol does not indicate a fault with your vehicle. At low speeds or whe\
n the vehicle is not moving, the
temperature readings may be slightly higher than the actual ambient temp\
erature.
12. Clock/set button
Turn the button to set the clock.
13. Fuel gauge
The fuel tank holds approximately 19 US gals (72 liters). When a warni\
ng light in the gauge comes on,
there are approximately 1.8 US gal. (8 liters) of fuel remaining in th\
e tank.
14. Indicator and warning symbols
pg. 25 Instruments and controls
Indicator and warning symbols
The indicator and warning symbols light up when you turn the ignition ke\
y to the driving position
(position II) before starting. This shows that the symbols are functio\
ning. When the engine starts, all
symbols go out. If the engine is not started within 5 seconds, all symbo\
ls except CHECK ENGINE and
go out. The symbol for the parking brake goes out when the parking brak\
e is released.
Warning symbol
in center of instrument panel
This symbol shines as a red or yellow light depending on the severity of\
the fault that has been detected.
Red symbol -Stop the vehicle as soon as possible in a suitable location and read th\
e message shown in
the text window.
Yellow symbol -Follow the instructions shown in the text window.
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_02a.htm (3 of 16)12/30/200\
6 4:18:52 PM
2003 VOLVO XC90
This button controls the optional rear seat air conditioning system on s\
even-seat models. See page 48 for
more information.
6. Temporarily disconnecting the alarm sensors (option)
See
page 81 for more details.
7. Not in use
8. 12 volt socket
This 12 volt socket can be used to plug in certain accessories such as c\
ellular telephones, etc. The
ignition key must be in position 1 (or higher) for the auxiliary socke\
t to function.
NOTE: The auxiliary sockets can also be used for cigarette lighters, which are\
available as accessories
at your Volvo retailer.
pg. 30 Instruments and controls
Steering wheel adjustment
Steering wheel adjustment
Both the height and the reach of the steering wheel can be adjusted to a\
comfortable position for the
driver. Pull down the lever on the left of the steering column. Adjust t\
he steering wheel to a suitable
position and press the lever back into place to lock the steering wheel \
in the new position. Check that the
steering wheel is locked in the new position.
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_02a.htm (10 of 16)12/30/20\
06 4:18:52 PM
2003 VOLVO XC90
WARNING!
The Never adjust the steering wheel while
driving.
pg. 31 Instruments and controls
Lighting panel
A - Headlights and parking lights
All lighting off.
Models with daytime running lights:
Low beam headlights will automatically come on if the ignition key is in\
position II. Front and rear
parking lights, tail lights, side marker lights, and license plate light\
s will also be on. Volvo recommends
the use of daytime running lights. If, however, you would prefer to have\
these lights turned off (USA
only), please consult your Volvo retailer. Please note that the use of \
daytime running lights is mandatory
in Canada.
Parking lights on. The parking lights should be switched off when you leave the vehicle to \
help avoid battery drain.
Headlights, parking lights, license plate lights and instrument panel il\
lumination are on if the
ignition key is in position II.
If the headlight switch is in this position, all lights will go out when\
the ignition is switched off.
The headlight switch must be in this position before the high beams will\
function.
Switch from high to low beams and vice versa by pulling the turn signal \
switch lever on the left side of
steering column toward you.
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_02a.htm (11 of 16)12/30/20\
06 4:18:52 PM
2003 VOLVO XC90
B - Instrument lighting
Move the thumb wheel up to increase brightness or down to decrease brigh\
tness. There is also an
instrument panel illumination sensor (see illustration on
page 48) which automatically adjusts the level
of illumination. The symbols have maximum illumination in daylight (onl\
y the background lighting can
be adjusted). At night, both the symbol light and background lighting c\
an be adjusted.
C - Unlocking the fuel filler door
Press this button when the vehicle is at a standstill to unlock the fuel\
filler door. Please note that the fuel
filler door will remain unlocked until the vehicle begins to move forwar\
d. An audible click will be heard
when the fuel filler door relocks. See also
page 86.
NOTE: If the fuel filler door does not unlock after the button has been press\
ed, please see
page 32 for
information on manually unlocking this door.
D - Front fog lights
The front fog lights will function only in combination with the low beam\
headlights. The fog lights turn
off when the ignition is switched off. A light in the switch indicates w\
hen the front fog lights are on.
E - Rear fog light
The rear fog light is considerably brighter than the normal tail lights \
and should be used only when
conditions such as fog, rain, snow, smoke or dust reduce visibility for \
other vehicles to less than 500 ft
(150 meters).
A light in the switch indicates when the rear fog light is on.
The rear fog light will only function in combination with the high/low b\
eam headlights.
By design, there is one rear fog light only, located in the driver's sid\
e tail light cluster.
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_02a.htm (12 of 16)12/30/20\
06 4:18:52 PM
2003 VOLVO XC90
5. Pull down the insulating material (4) to access the fuel filler doo\
r motor (5).
6. Move the catch (6) rearward to unlock the fuel filler door lock, or\
move it forward to lock the filler
door.
pg. 33 Instruments and controls
Turn signals
1. Lane change
In maneuvers such as lane changing, the driver can flash the turn signal\
s by moving the turn signal lever
to the first stop and holding it there. The lever will return to the neu\
tral position when released.
2. Signal lever engaged for normal turns
3. High/low beam switch (headlights on).
Move the lever towards the steering wheel and release it.
Headlight flasher (headligts off).
Move the lever towards the steering wheel. The headlight high beam will \
be on until the lever is
released.
NOTE: If the turn signal indicator flashes faster than normal, check for a bur\
ned-out turn signal bulb.
Exterior courtesy lights
Home safe lighting
When you leave your vehicle at night, you can make use of the courtesy l\
ighting function:
l Remove the key from the ignition switch.
l Pull the turn signal lever towards the steering wheel (as when using th\
e headlight flasher function).
l Exit the vehicle and lock the doors.
file:///K|/ownersdocs/2003/2003_XC90/03xc90_02a.htm (14 of 16)12/30/20\
06 4:18:52 PM