2012 VOLVO XC90 headlights

01 Safety
Occupant safety 01
18
Volvo's concern for safety
Safety is the Volvo 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 vehicles 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 vehicles. You can
help. We would appreciate hearing your sug-
gestions about improving automobile safety.
We also want to know if you ever have a safety
concern with your vehicle. Call us in the U.S.
at: 800-458-1552 or in Canada at:
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 tips listed below are suggestions 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.
•Never send text messages while driving.
•Refrain from using or minimize the use of a
cell phone while driving.
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.

02 Instruments and controls
Instrument overview
02
* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.57
Headlights/Parking lights
Panel vents
Display
Temperature gauge
Odometer/Trip odometer/Cruise control
indicator
Speedometer
Turn signal indicator lights
Tachometer
Ambient temperature gauge, clock, gear
indicator
Fuel gauge
Indicator and warning symbols
Panel vents
Glove compartment
Hazard warning flashers
Audio system
Climate system controls
Windshield wiper/washer lever
Audio control buttons in steering wheel
Instrument panel
Horn
Cruise control buttons in steering wheel
Turn signals, High/low beams, READ-but-
ton
Parking brake pedal
Parking brake release handle
Reading lights
Courtesy light
Moonroof control*
Seat belt reminder
Rearview mirror
Control panel in the driver's door
G029570
Central locking button
Lockout switch for rear seat power win-
dows
Power window controls
Door mirror controls

02 Instruments and controls
Center console buttons
02
64* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
G026944
Active Bending Lights*The beams of these headlights
adjust laterally to help light up a
curve according to movements
of the steering wheel when the
vehicle is turning. This function
is activated automatically when
the engine is started and can be deactivated/
reactivated by pressing the button. The indica-
tor light in the button is on when the function is
activated, also see page 67.Rear seat air conditioning*This button controls the
optional rear seat air condition-
ing system.Folding door mirrors*Press the button and release it
to fold the door mirrors in or
out. On certain models, when
the button is pressed, there
may be a long pause before the
mirrors move. Pressing the but-
ton again during this pause may erase your first
button press. If this happens, wait ten seconds
and press the button one more time.
The mirrors cannot be adjusted during the first
ten seconds after they have been folded out.

02 Instruments and controls
Lighting panel
02

* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.67
Headlight/parking light switch
Front fog lights
Rear fog light
Instrument panel lighting
Fuel filler door unlock button
Parking lights
The front and rear parking lights can be turned
on even when the ignition is switched off.

Turn switch (1) to 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 position
1.
For information on switching between high and
low beams, see page 70.
NOTE
Active Bending Lights*: Turn the headlight
switch to position 0 to activate a daylight
sensor, which automatically switches the
low beams on or off, depending on ambient
light conditions. When driving in daylight,
the headlights will switch off and the day-
time running lights will come on. In dark-
ness, the daytime running lights will switch
off and the Active Bending Lights will switch
on.
G020789
Headlight pattern with the Active Bending Light
function deactivated (left) and activated (right)
1On Canadian models, the daytime running lights will remain on with the light switch in this position.

02 Instruments and controls
Lighting panel
02
68* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.
Active Bending Lights (ABL)*
When this function is activated, the headlight
beams adjust laterally to help light up a curve
according to movements of the steering wheel
(see the right-pointing beam in the illustration).
The ABL function is activated automatically
when the engine is started and can be deacti-
vated/reactivated by pressing the button in the
center console (see page 64.
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 (2) to turn on the front fog
lights.
An indicator light in the button illuminates when
the front fog lights are on.
Rear fog lightThe single rear fog light is located in the driver's
side of the vehicle.
The rear fog 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 (3) to turn on the rear fog light.
An indicator light in the button illuminates when
the rear fog light is on.
NOTE
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).
Instrument panel lighting
The instrument panel lighting illuminates when
the ignition key is in position II and the light
switch (1) is in either position
or .

Move the thumb wheel (4) up to increase
brightness or down to decrease bright-
ness.
Unlocking the fuel filler door
Press button (5) when the vehicle is at a stand-
still to unlock the fuel filler door. Please note
that the fuel filler door will remain unlocked until
the vehicle begins to move forward. An audible
click will be heard when the fuel filler door
relocks.
NOTE
If the fuel filler door does not unlock after the
button has been pressed, drive the vehicle
at a speed of at least 5 mph (8 km/h), stop
the vehicle, and press the button again.
For information on unlocking the fuel filler door
manually, see page 69.

02 Instruments and controls
Left-side steering wheel lever
02
70
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 turningMove the lever as far up or down as possible
(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 in position
, (see
page 67) pull the turn signal lever toward
the steering wheel 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 leaving your vehicle at night, home safe
lighting can illuminate the area in front of the
vehicle.
1. Remove the key from the ignition switch.
2. Pull the turn signal lever as far as possible
toward the steering wheel and release it.
3. Exit the vehicle 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 by a trained and
qualified Volvo service technician.
1Factory setting

02 Instruments and controls
Right-side steering wheel lever
02

71 Windshield wipers
G026953
Thumb wheel
Rain sensor on/off
Windshield wipers offIf the lever is in the 0 position and
you move it upwards, the wipers
will sweep one stroke at a time for
as long as you hold the lever up.
Single sweep positionMove the lever slightly upward
from the 0 position for one sweep
of the wipers. The lever returns
automatically to 0 when released.
Intermittent wiper functionWith the lever in this position, you
can set the wiper interval by twist-
ing the control ring (1) upward to
increase wiper speed or down-
ward to decrease the speed.
Windshield washer/headlight washer
(certain models)
When the lever is pulled to wash the wind-
shield, high pressure jets mounted in the
bumper will spray the headlights.
CAUTION
•Use ample washer fluid when washing
the windshield to avoid scratching the
glass. The windshield should be thor-
oughly wet when the wipers are in oper-
ation.
•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.
•To conserve washer fluid in driving condi-
tions where the windshield washers are
used frequently, the headlights will only be
washed once for every five times the wind-
shield is washed within a 10-minute period.
•A short pull on the lever will wash the wind-
shield only.
•When approximately 1 US quart (1 liter)
remains in the washer fluid reservoir, the
headlights will not be washed when the
lever is pulled to conserve washer fluid for
the windshield.
Continuous wiper functionTop arrow: normal speed
Bottom arrows: higher speed

02 Instruments and controls
Mirrors
02

* Option/accessory, for more information, see Introduction.83 Rearview mirror
G026660
To reduce glare from the headlights of follow-
ing vehicles, use the control to switch between
the normal and night-driving positions.
Normal position
Night position, reduces glare from follow-
ing headlights
Autodim function*The autodim function reacts to headlights from
following traffic and automatically reduces
glare.
NOTE
This function is automatically switched off
when the gear selector is placed in the
Reverse position.
Rearview mirror with compass*
G026965
The upper left-hand corner of the rearview mir-
ror 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.
If the compass is activated, it will be displayed
automatically when the ignition is in postilion IIor when the engine is running. The compass
can be switched off or on by pressing the inset
button on the rear side of the mirror (see the
inset illustration). This can be done with
straightened paperclip or similar object. The
button is recessed approximately 1 in. (2.5 cm)
in the mirror.
G026409
Magnetic zonesThe 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. To do so:
1.
Switch the ignition to position II.