06 Starting and driving
Before a long distance trip
06
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It is always worthwhile to have your vehicle checked by a trained and qualified Volvoservice technician before driving long dis-tances. Your retailer or service technician willalso be able to supply you with bulbs, fuses,spark plugs and wiper blades for your use inthe event that problems occur. As a minimum, the following items should be checked before any long trip:• Check that engine runs smoothly and that fuel consumption is normal.
• Check for fuel, oil, and fluid leakage.
• Check transmission oil level 1
.
• Check condition of drive belts.
• Check state of the battery's charge.
• Examine tires carefully (the spare tire aswell), and replace those that are worn.Check tire pressures.
• The brakes, front wheel alignment, andsteering gear should be checked by atrained and qualified Volvo service techni-cian only.
• Check all lights, including high beams.
• Reflective warning triangles are legallyrequired in some states/provinces. •
Have a word with your Volvo retailer ifyou intend to drive in countries where itmay be difficult to obtain the correct fuel.
• Consider your destination. If you will bedriving through an area where snow or iceare likely to occur, consider snow tires.
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To prevent injury from contact with hot surfaces, do not inspect your vehicle’s transmission fluid yourself. Have your vehicle’s transmission fluid level inspected by a qualified Volvo service techni- cian.
07 Wheels and tires
General information
07
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quent high loading conditions or Ultra Violet (U.V) exposure can accelerate the aging proc- ess. The temporary spare
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should also be
replaced at 6-year intervals, even if it has never been used. A tire's age can be determined by the DOT stamp on the sidewall (see the illustration). A tire with e.g., visible cracks or discoloration should be replaced immediately.
Tread wear indicator
G020323
The tires have wear indicator strips running across or parallel to the tread. The letters TWI
are printed on the side of the tire. When approximately 1/16" (1.6 mm) is left on thetread, these strips become visible and indi-cate that the tire should be replaced. Tireswith less than 1/16" (1.6 mm) tread offer verypoor traction. When replacing worn tires, it is recommended that the tire be identical in type (radial) andsize as the one being replaced. Using a tire ofthe same make (manufacturer) will preventalteration of the driving characteristics of thevehicle.
Improving tire economy
•
Maintain correct tire pressure (see the inflation pressure table on page 183).
• Drive smoothly: avoid fast starts, hardbraking and tire screeching.
• Tire wear increases with speed.
• Correct front wheel alignment is veryimportant.
• Unbalanced wheels impair tire economyand driving comfort.
• Tires must maintain the same direction ofrotation throughout their lifetime.
• When replacing tires, the tires with themost tread should be mounted on therear wheels to reduce the chance of over-steer during hard braking. •
Hitting curbs or potholes can damage thetires and/or wheels permanently.
Summer and winter tires
G020325
The arrows shows the direction of rotation of the tire
• When switching between summer and winter tires, mark the tires to indicatewhere they were mounted on the car,e.g., LF = left front, RR = right rear
• Tires with tread designed to roll in onlyone direction are marked with an arrowon the sidewall.
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Option or accessory on some models
