2009 VOLVO XC90 steering

Contents
4
00
00 IntroductionGeneral information.................................. 10
Volvo and the environment....................... 11
Important warnings................................... 13
01
01 SafetyOccupant safety........................................ 16
Seat belts.................................................. 18
Supplemental Restraint System............... 20
Front airbags............................................. 21
Occupant Weight Sensor.......................... 25
Side impact protection airbags................. 28
Volvo Inflatable Curtain............................. 29
Whiplash Protection System..................... 31
Child safety............................................... 33
Child restraint systems............................. 35
Infant seats............................................... 37
Convertible seats...................................... 39
Booster cushions...................................... 42
ISOFIX lower anchors............................... 43
Top tether anchors.................................... 45
Child restraint registration and recalls...... 46
Integrated booster cushion....................... 47
02
02 Instruments and controlsInstrument overview.................................. 52
Instrument panel....................................... 54
Information display................................... 58
Center console controls............................ 60
Steering wheel adjustment....................... 62
Lighting panel........................................... 63
Manually unlocking the fuel filler door...... 65
Left-side steering wheel lever................... 66
Right-side steering wheel lever................. 68
Hazard warning flashers........................... 70
Trip computer........................................... 71
Cruise control............................................ 73
12-volt sockets......................................... 75
Parking brake............................................ 76
Hood/tailgate............................................ 77
Power windows......................................... 78
Mirrors....................................................... 80
Power moonroof....................................... 83
HomeLink® Wireless Control System
(option)...................................................... 85

Contents
6
06
06 Starting and drivingGeneral information................................128
Fuel requirements................................... 129
Refueling................................................. 131
Starting the vehicle................................. 133
Ignition switch and steering wheel lock. . 135
Economical driving.................................. 136
Difficult driving conditions...................... 137
Automatic transmission..........................138
Jump starting.......................................... 141
All Wheel Drive (option)........................... 142
Brake system.......................................... 143
Stability system....................................... 145
Front/rear park assist (accessory/option) 147
Towing.................................................... 149
Towing a trailer....................................... 151
Detachable trailer hitch........................... 155
Load carriers (accessory)........................ 156
Cold weather precautions....................... 157
Before a long distance trip...................... 158
Blind Spot Information System...............159
07
07 Wheels and tiresGeneral information................................166
Tire inflation ............................................ 168
Tire inflation pressure tables – U.S. mod-
els............................................................ 170
Tire inflation pressure tables – Canadian
models.................................................... 171
Tire designations..................................... 172
Glossary of tire terminology.................... 174
Vehicle loading........................................ 175
Uniform Tire Quality Grading.................. 176
Snow chains, snow tires, studded tires. . 177
Temporary spare..................................... 178
Tire rotation............................................. 179
Changing wheels....................................180
Tire Sealing System ............................... 185
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) –
U.S. models only..................................... 190
08
08 Car careWashing and cleaning the vehicle.......... 194
Paint touch up......................................... 198

IntroductionVolvo and the environment
12
WARNING
Certain components of this vehicle such as
air bag modules, seat belt pretensioners,
adaptive steering columns, and button cell
batteries may contain Perchlorate material.
Special handling may apply for service or
vehicle end of life disposal.
See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/
perchlorate.

01 Safety
Seat belts
0119
WARNING
•
Never use a seat belt for more than one
occupant.
•
Never wear the shoulder portion of the
belt under the arm, behind the back or
otherwise out of position. Such use
could cause injury in the event of an
accident.
•
Seat belts lose much of their strength
when exposed to violent stretching and
should be replaced after any collision,
even if they appear to be undamaged.
•
Never repair the belt yourself; have this
work done by an authorized Volvo serv-
ice technician only.
•
Any device used to induce slack into the
shoulder belt portion of the three-point
belt system will have a detrimental
effect on the amount of protection avail-
able to you in the event of a collision.
•
The seat back should not be tilted too
far back. The shoulder belt must be taut
in order to function properly.
•
Do not use child safety seats or child
booster cushions/backrests in the front
passenger's seat. We also recommend
that children who have outgrown these
devices sit in the rear seat with the seat
belt properly fastened.
Seat belt use during pregnancy
G020105
The seat belt should always be worn during
pregnancy. But it is crucial that it be worn in the
correct way. The diagonal section should wrap
over the shoulder then be routed between the
breasts and to the side of the belly. The lap
section should lay flat over the thighs and as
low as possible under the belly. It must never
be allowed to ride upward. Remove all slack
from the belt and insure that it fits close to the
body without any twists.
As a pregnancy progresses, pregnant drivers
should adjust their seats and steering wheel
such that they can easily maintain control of the
vehicle as they drive (which means they must
be able to easily operate the foot pedals andsteering wheel). Within this context, they
should strive to position the seat with as large
a distance as possible between their belly and
the steering wheel.
Child seatsPlease see page 34 for information on secur-
ing child seats with the seat belts.Seat belt maintenanceCheck periodically that the seat belts are in
good condition. Use water and a mild deter-
gent for cleaning. Check seat belt mechanism
function as follows: attach the seat belt and pull
rapidly on the strap.

01 SafetyFront airbags
01``21 The front airbag system
G020111
The front airbags supplement the three-point
seat belts. For these airbags to provide the
protection intended, seat belts must be worn
at all times.
The front airbag system includes gas genera-
tors surrounded by the airbags, and decelera-
tion sensors that activate the gas generators,
causing the airbags to be inflated with nitrogen
gas.
G031006
Location of the passenger's side front airbagAs the movement of the seats' occupants com-
presses the airbags, some of the gas is expel-
led at a controlled rate to provide better
cushioning. Both seat belt pretensioners also
deploy, minimizing seat belt slack. The entire
process, including inflation and deflation of the
airbags, takes approximately one fifth of a sec-
ond.
The location of the front airbags is indicated by
SRS AIRBAG embossed on the steering wheel
pad and above the glove compartment, and by
decals on both sun visors and on the front and
far right side of the dash.
•
The driver's side front airbag is folded and
located in the steering wheel hub.
•
The passenger's side front airbag is folded
behind a panel located above the glove
compartment.

01 SafetyFront airbags
0122
WARNING
•
The airbags in the vehicle are designed
to be a SUPPLEMENT to–not a replace-
ment for–the three-point seat belts. For
maximum protection, wear seat belts at
all times. Be aware that no system can
prevent all possible injuries that may
occur in an accident.
•
Never drive a vehicle with a steering
wheel-mounted airbag with your hands
on the steering wheel pad/airbag hous-
ing.
•
The front airbags are designed to help
prevent serious injury. Deployment
occurs very quickly and with consider-
able force. During normal deployment
and depending on variables such as
seating position, one may experience
abrasions, bruises, swellings, or other
injuries as a result from deployment of
one or both of the airbags.
•
When installing any accessory equip-
ment, make sure that the front airbag
system is not damaged. Any interfer-
ence in the system could cause mal-
function.
Front airbag deployment•
The front airbags are designed to deploy
during certain frontal or front-angular col-
lisions, impacts, or decelerations, depend-
ing on the crash severity, angle, speed and
object impacted. The airbags may also
deploy in certain non-frontal collisions
where rapid deceleration occurs.
•
The SRS sensors, which trigger the front
airbags, are designed to react to both the
impact of the collision and the inertial
forces generated by it, and to determine if
the intensity of the collision is sufficient for
the seat belt pretensioners and/or airbags
to be deployed.
However, not all frontal collisions activate the
front airbags.
•
If the collision involves a nonrigid object
(e.g., a snow drift or bush), or a rigid, fixed
object at a low speed, the front airbags will
not necessarily deploy.
•
Front airbags do not normally deploy in a
side impact collision, in a collision from the
rear or in a rollover situation.
•
The amount of damage to the bodywork
does not reliably indicate if the airbags
should have deployed or not.
NOTE
•
Deployment of front airbags occurs only
one time during an accident. In a colli-
sion where deployment occurs, the air-
bags and seat belt pretensioners acti-
vate. Some noise occurs and a small
amount of powder is released. The
release of the powder may appear as
smoke-like matter. This is a normal
characteristic and does not indicate fire.
•
Volvo's front airbags use special sen-
sors that are integrated with the front
seat buckles. The point at which the air-
bag deploys is determined by whether
or not the seat belt is being used, as well
as the severity of the collision.
•
Collisions can occur where only one of
the airbags deploys. If the impact is less
severe, but severe enough to present a
clear injury risk, the airbags are trig-
gered at partial capacity. If the impact is
more severe, the airbags are triggered
at full capacity.
Should you have questions about any compo-
nent in the SRS system, please contact a
trained and qualified Volvo service technician
or Volvo Customer Support:In the USAVolvo Cars of North America, LLC

01 SafetyFront airbags
01``23
Customer Care Center
P.O. Box 914 Rockleigh,
New Jersey 07647-0914
1-800-458-1552
www.volvocars.usIn CanadaVolvo Cars of Canada Corp.
National Customer Service
175 Gordon Baker Road
North York, Ontario M2H 2N7
1-800-663-8255
www.volvocanada.com
WARNING
•
Do not use child safety seats or child
booster cushions/backrests in the front
passenger's seat. We also recommend
that occupants under 4 feet 7 inches
(140 cm) in height who have outgrown
these devices sit in the rear seat with the
seat belt fastened.
•
Never drive with the airbags deployed.
The fact that they hang out can impair
the steering of your vehicle. Other
safety systems can also be damaged.
•
The smoke and dust formed when the
airbags are deployed can cause skin
and eye irritation in the event of pro-
longed exposure.
G032243
Airbag decal in the front passenger's door opening
G032934
Airbag decal on the outside of both sun visors

01 SafetyFront airbags
0124
G032525
Airbag decal on passenger's side dashboard
WARNING
•
Children must never be allowed in the
front passenger's seat. Volvo recom-
mends that ALL occupants (adults and
children) shorter than 4 feet 7 inches
(140 cm) be seated in the back seat of
any vehicle with a passenger-side front
airbag.
•
Occupants in the front passenger's seat
must never sit on the edge of the seat,
sit leaning toward the instrument panel
or otherwise sit out of position.
•
The occupant's back must 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 window.
WARNING
•
No objects or accessory equipment,
e.g. dashboard covers, may be placed
on, attached to, or installed near the air
bag hatch (the area above the glove
compartment) or the area affected by
airbag deployment.
•
There should be no loose articles, e.g.
coffee cups, on the floor, seat, or dash-
board area.
•
Never try to open the airbag cover on
the steering wheel or the passenger's
side dashboard. This should only be
done by a trained and qualified Volvo
service technician.
Failure to follow these instructions can
result in injury to the vehicle occupants.