2011 VOLVO S40 headlights

01 Safety
Occupant safety 01
18
Volvo's concern for safety
Safety is Volvo's cornerstone. Our concern
dates back to 1927 when the first Volvo rolled
off the production line. Three-point seat belts
(a Volvo invention), safety cages, and energy-
absorbing impact zones were designed into
Volvo cars long before it was fashionable or
required by government regulation.
We will not compromise our commitment to
safety. We continue to seek out new safety
features and to refine those already in our cars.
You can help. We would appreciate hearing
your suggestions about improving automobile
safety. We also want to know if you ever have
a safety concern with your car. Call us in the
U.S. at: 1-800-458-1552 or in Canada at:
1-800-663-8255.
Occupant safety reminders
How safely you drive doesn't depend on how
old you are but rather on:
•How well you see.
•Your ability to concentrate.
•How quickly you make decisions under
stress to avoid an accident.
The following suggestions are intended to help
you cope with the ever changing traffic envi-
ronment.
•Never drink and drive.
•If you are taking any medication, consult
your physician about its potential effects
on your driving abilities.
•Take a driver-retraining course.
•Have your eyes checked regularly.
•Keep your windshield and headlights
clean.
•Replace wiper blades when they start to
leave streaks.
•Take into account the traffic, road, and
weather conditions, particularly with
regard to stopping distance.
Reporting safety defects in the U.S.
If you believe that your vehicle has a
defect which could cause a crash or
could cause injury or death, you
should immediately inform the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) in addition to
notifying Volvo Cars of North Amer-
ica, LLC. If NHTSA receives similar
complaints, it may open an investiga-
tion, and if it finds that a safety defect
exists in a group of vehicles, it may
order a recall and remedy campaign.However, NHTSA cannot become
involved in individual problems
between you, your retailer, or Volvo
Cars of North America, LLC. To con-
tact NHTSA, you may either call the
Auto Safety Hotline toll-free at
1-888-327-4236
(TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or write to:
NHTSA, U.S. Department of Trans-
portation, Washington D.C. 20590.
You can also obtain other information
about motor vehicle safety from:
http://www.safercar.gov
Volvo strongly recommends that if
your vehicle is covered under a serv-
ice campaign, safety or emission
recall or similar action, it should be
completed as soon as possible.
Please check with your local retailer
or Volvo Cars of North America, LLC
if your vehicle is covered under these
conditions.
NHTSA can be reached at:
Internet:

02 Instruments and controls
Lighting panel
02
66* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
Parking lights
G026415
Light switch
Thumb wheel for adjusting brightness of
instrument lighting
Daytime running lights
To unlock the fuel filler door
Rear fog light
Pos.Lighting
Daytime running lights off. High
beam flash only.
Parking lights
Daytime running lights. High
beams and high beam flash can
be used in this position.
The front and rear parking lights can be turned
on even when the ignition is switched off.

Turn switch (1) to the parking light position.
The license plate lights also illuminate when the
parking lights are switched on.
Headlights
1.
Turn the ignition key to position II.
2. The low beam headlights (daytime running
lights) illuminate automatically, except
when the light switch (1) is in the parking
light position
1.
NOTE
See page 69 for information on switching
between high and low beams.
Active Bending Lights (ABL)*
G026507
Lighting panel, vehicles with Active Bending head-
lights
When this function is activated, the headlight
beams adjust laterally to help light up a curve
according to movements of the steering wheel.
This function can be activated by turning the
lighting switch to the Active Bending Light
position (indicated by the arrow in the illustra-
tion). The indicator light
in the Active
Bending Light symbol will illuminate. The func-
tion can be deactivated by turning the lighting
switch counterclockwise to one of the other
lighting positions.
1On Canadian models, the daytime running lights will remain on with the light switch in this position.

02 Instruments and controls
Lighting panel
02

* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.67
G020789
Headlight pattern with ABL deactivated (left) and
activated (right)
NOTE
•This function can only be activated in
twilight or dark conditions, and only
when the vehicle is in motion.
•If the indicator light flashes, this indi-
cates a fault in the ABL system. A text
message will also be displayed.
Brake lights
The brake lights come on automatically when
the brakes are applied.
Fog lights
Front fog lights*The front fog lights can be used in combination
with either the headlights or the parking lights.
1.
Turn the ignition key to position II.
2. Press button (3) to turn on the front fog
lights.
An indicator light in the button illuminates when
the front fog lights are on.
Rear fog lightsThe rear fog lights are located in both taillight
clusters.
The rear fogs light will only function in combi-
nation with the high/low beam headlights or the
optional front fog lights.
1.
Turn the ignition key to position II.
2. Press button (5) to turn on the rear fog
lights.
An indicator light in the button illuminates when
the rear fog lights are on.
NOTE
The rear fog lights are considerably brighter
than the normal taillights 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).
Instrument panel lighting
The instrument panel lighting illuminates when
the ignition is in position II and the light
switch (1) is in either position
or .
NOTE
To make it easier to read the odometer, trip
odometer, clock, and ambient temperature,
these gauges illuminate when the vehicle is
unlocked and when the key has been
removed from the ignition switch. The light-
ing will go out when the vehicle is locked.
Move the thumb wheel (2) up to increase
brightness or down to decrease brightness.

02 Instruments and controls
Left-side steering wheel lever
02

69 Lever positions
G026954
Turn signals, lane change position
Turn signals, position for normal turns
High beam flash
Toggle between high and low beams,
Home Safe lighting
Turn signals
When turning
Move the lever as far up or down as pos-
sible (to position 2) to start the turn signals.
The turn signals will be cancelled automatically
by the movement of the steering wheel, or the
lever can be returned to its initial position by
hand.
When changing lanesThe driver can automatically flash the turn sig-
nals 3 times by:
•Moving the turn signal lever up or down to
position 1 and releasing it.
•Moving the lever up or down to position 2
and immediately back to its original posi-
tion.
NOTE
•This automatic flashing sequence can
be interrupted by immediately moving
the lever in the opposite direction.
•If the turn signal indicator flashes faster
than normal, check for a burned-out
turn signal bulb.
High/low beam headlights
Continuous high beams1.
Turn the ignition key to position II.
2.
With the light switch (1) in position
,
see page 66, pull the turn signal lever
toward the steering wheel (position 4) to
toggle between high and low beams.
High beam flash1.
Turn the ignition key to position II.
2. Pull the turn signal lever to position 3. The
high beams will remain on until the lever is
released.
Home safe lightingWhen you leave your car at night, you can
make use of the home safe lighting function to
illuminate the area in front of the car.
1. Remove the key from the ignition switch.
2. Pull the direction indicator lever as far as
possible towards the steering wheel (to
position 4) and release it.
3. Exit the car and lock the doors.
The headlights and parking lights will illuminate
and remain on for 30
1, 60 or 90 seconds. The
time interval can be changed according to your
1Factory setting.

02 Instruments and controls
Right-side steering wheel lever
02

75 Windshield wipers
0
0
A
CB
G025419
Windshield/headlight washers
Rain sensor – on/of, see page 75
Thumb wheel
Windshield wipers offThe windshield wipers are off when
the lever is in position 0.
Manual wiper functionFrom position 0, move the lever
upward. The windshield wipers will
sweep one stroke at a time for as
long as the lever is held up.
Intermittent wiper functionWith the lever in this position, you
can set the wiper interval by mov-
ing the thumb wheel (C) upward to
increase wiper speed or down-
ward to decrease the speed.
Continuous wiper functionThe wipers operate at "normal"
speed.
High speed wiper function.
– Windshield washers
Pull the lever toward the steering wheel and
release it. The wipers will make 2–3 sweeps
across the windshield after the lever has been
released.
CAUTION
•Use ample washer fluid when washing
the windshield. The windshield should
be thoroughly wet when the wipers are
in operation.
•Before using the wipers, ice and snow
should be removed from the wind-
shield/rear window. Be sure the wiper
blades are not frozen in place.
Headlight washers (certain models)
When the lever has been pulled, high pressure
jets mounted in the bumper will spray the head-
lights.
The following applies to conserve washer fluid,
see page 66 for information on the light switch
positions:
Low/high beam headlights onThe headlights will be washed the first time the
windshield is washed. Thereafter, the head-
lights will only be washed once for every five
times the windshield is washed within a
10 minute period.
Parking lights onThe optional Active Bending Lights will be
washed once for every five times the wind-
shield is washed.
Normal halogen headlights will not be washed.

02 Instruments and controls
Mirrors
02
80* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
Rearview mirror
Day/night control
Normal position
Night position, reduces glare from follow-
ing traffic
Night positionTo reduce glare from the headlights of follow-
ing vehicles, use control (1) to switch between
the normal and night-driving positions.
Auto-dim function*An optional integrated sensor reacts to head-
lights from following traffic and automatically
reduces glare.
Rearview mirror with compass*
G029930
The upper right-hand corner of the rearview
mirror has an integrated display that shows the
compass direction toward which the car is
pointing. Eight different directions can be dis-
played:
N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W and NW. The
display shows your car's orientation with
respect to true north.
Calibrating the compass
G031045
The earth is divided into 15 magnetic zones.
The compass is initially set for the zone to
which the car was delivered, and should
always be adjusted if the car is driven to a new
magnetic zone. A "
C" will be displayed if cali-
bration becomes necessary.
To calibrate the compass:
1. Stop the car in a large, open area, away
from traffic.
2. Using a pen or similar object, hold the but-
ton (1) depressed for at least 6 sec-
onds. "
C" will be displayed.

06 Starting and driving
Blind Spot Information System (BLIS)*
06
168* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
When does BLIS function
The system functions when your vehicle is
moving at speeds above 6 mph (10 km/h).
When you pass another vehicle:
The system reacts when you pass another
vehicle at a speed of up to 6 mph (10 km/h)
faster than that vehicle.
When you are passed by another vehicle:
The system reacts if your vehicle is passed by
another vehicle at a speed of up to 43 mph
(70 km/h) faster than your vehicle.
WARNING
•BLIS does not function in sharp curves.
•BLIS does not function when your vehi-
cle is backing up.
•If you are towing a wide trailer, this may
prevent the BLIS cameras from detect-
ing other vehicles in adjacent lanes.
How BLIS functions in daylight and
darkness
Daylight
BLIS reacts to the shape of surrounding vehi-
cles. The system is designed to help detect
motor vehicles such as cars, trucks, buses,
motorcycles, etc.
DarknessBLIS reacts to the headlights of surrounding
vehicles. In order to be detected by BLIS, a
vehicle in the blind area must have its head-
lights on. This means, for example, that the
system will not detect a trailer without head-
lights that is being towed behind a car or truck.
WARNING
•BLIS does not react to cyclists or
mopeds.
•BLIS does not react to vehicles that are
standing still.
•The BLIS cameras have the same limi-
tation as the human eye. In other words,
their "vision is impaired" by adverse
weather conditions such as heavy
snowfall, intense light directly into the
camera, dense fog, etc.
LimitationsIn certain situations, the BLIS indicator light(s)
may illuminate even when there are no other
vehicles in the area monitored by the system.
NOTE
If the BLIS indicator lights illuminate occa-
sionally even when there are no other vehi-
cles in the blind area, this does not indicate
a fault in the system.
In the event of a fault,
Blind spot syst.
Service required will be displayed.
The following are several examples of situa-
tions in which the BLIS indicator light(s) may
illuminate even when there are no other vehi-
cles in the area monitored by the system.
Light reflected from a wet road surface

08 Car care
Washing and cleaning the car
08
206* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
Washing the car
The following points should be kept in mind
when washing and cleaning the car:
•The car should be washed at regular inter-
vals since dirt, dust, insects and tar spots
adhere to the paint and may cause dam-
age. To help prevent corrosion, it is partic-
ularly important to wash the car frequently
in the wintertime when salt has been used
on the roads.
•Avoid washing your car in direct sunlight.
Doing so may cause detergents and wax
to dry out and become abrasive. To avoid
scratching, use lukewarm water to soften
the dirt before you wash with a soft
sponge, and plenty of sudsy water.
•Bird droppings: Remove from paintwork
as soon as possible. Otherwise the finish
may be permanently damaged.
•A detergent can be used to facilitate the
softening of dirt and oil.
•Dry the car with a clean chamois and
remember to clean the drain holes in the
doors and rocker panels.
•Tar spots can be removed with tar remover
after the car has been washed.
•A stiff-bristle brush and lukewarm soapy
water can be used to clean the wiper
blades. Frequent cleaning of the wind-
shield and wiper blades improves visibilityconsiderably and also helps prolong the
service life of the wiper blades.
•Wash off the dirt from the underside (wheel
housings, fenders, etc).
•In areas of high industrial fallout, more fre-
quent washing is recommended.
NOTE
When washing the car, remember to remove
dirt from the drain holes in the doors and
sills.
Exterior componentsVolvo recommends the use of special cleaning
products, available at your Volvo retailer, for
cleaning colored plastic, rubber, or ornamental
components such as chromed strips on the
exterior of your vehicle. The instructions for
using these products should be followed care-
fully. Solvents or stain removers should not be
used.
CAUTION
•Avoid waxing or polishing plastic or rub-
ber components
•Polishing chromed strips can wear
away or damage the surface
•Polishes containing abrasive sub-
stances should not be used
CAUTION
•During high pressure washing, the
spray mouthpiece must never be closer
to the vehicle than 13" (30 cm). Do not
spray into the locks.
•Dirt, snow, etc., on the headlights can
reduce lighting capacity considerably.
Clean the headlights regularly, for
example when refueling.
Special moonroof cautions:
•Always close the moonroof* and sun
shade before washing your vehicle.
•Never use wax on the rubber seals
around the moonroof.
•Never use abrasive cleaning agents on
the moonroof.
•