STARTING AND DRIVING
458
Winter driving
It is important to check the vehicle before drivingin cold/snowy conditions to make sure it can bedriven safely.
Before the cold season arrives:
Make sure the engine coolant contains 50%antifreeze. This mixture helps protect theengine from frost erosion down toapprox. -35 °C (-31 °F). Do not mix differenttypes of antifreeze as this could pose ahealth risk.
Keep the fuel tank well filled to prevent con-densation from forming.
Check the viscosity of the engine oil. Oil withlow viscosity (thinner oil) improves cold-weather starting and reduces fuel consump-tion when driving with a cold engine.
CAUTION
Low-viscosity oil should not be used with harddriving or in hot weather.
Check the condition and charge level of thestart battery. Cold weather places greaterdemands on the start battery and reduces itscapacity.
Use washer fluid containing antifreeze tohelp prevent ice from forming in the washerfluid reservoir.
Slippery driving conditions
For optimal traction and roadholding, Volvo rec-ommends using snow tires on all wheels when-ever there is a risk of snow or ice on the road.
NOTE
Certain countries require use of winter tiresby law. Not all countries permit the use ofstudded tires.
Practice driving on slippery surfaces under con-trolled conditions to learn how the vehicle reacts.
Related information
Snow tires (p. 563)
Snow chains (p. 563)
Braking on salted roads (p. 433)
Braking on wet roads (p. 433)
Filling washer fluid (p. 635)
Start battery (p. 601)
Replacing windshield wiper blades (p. 633)
Refilling coolant (p. 599)
Driving through standing water
Driving the vehicle through a deep pool of stand-ing water on a water-covered roadway is calledfording. This must be done with great caution.
To prevent damage to the vehicle when drivingthrough water (e.g. on flooded roads):
Do not drive in water higher than the floor ofthe vehicle. If possible, check the depth ofthe water at its deepest point before drivingthrough it. Be particularly careful when driv-ing through flowing water.
Do not drive faster than walking speed.
Do not stop the vehicle in the water. Drivecarefully forward or back the vehicle out ofthe water.
Remember that waves created by passingvehicles could cause the water level to riseabove the vehicle's floor level.
Avoid driving through salt water to help avoidthe risk of corrosion.
MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE
597
Engine oil
For the recommended service intervals and war-ranties to be applied, an approved engine oilmust be used.
Volvo recommends:
If the engine oil is not checked regularly and thelevel becomes low, this could cause seriousengine damage.
CAUTION
To satisfy the requirements for the engine'sservice intervals, all engines are factory-filledwith a specially adapted synthetic engine oil.Great care has been put into the choice of oil,with consideration given to service life, starta-bility, fuel consumption and environmentalimpact.
For the recommended service intervals toapply, an approved engine oil must be used.Only use the prescribed oil grade to top off orchange the oil. Otherwise, there is a risk ofthe vehicle's service life, startability, fuel con-sumption and environmental impact beingaffected.
Failure to use engine oil of the prescribedgrade and viscosity could cause damage toengine-related components. Volvo Car Corpo-ration disclaims warranty liability for such typeof damage.
Volvo recommends entrusting oil changes toan authorized Volvo workshop.
Volvo uses different systems to warn if the oillevel is too low/high or the oil pressure is low. Onengine variants with an oil pressure sensor, a
warning symbol is displayed in the instrument
panel when oil pressure is low . On engine
variants with an oil level sensor, the warn-ing symbol in the instrument panel and displaymessages are used to alert the driver. Someengine variants have both systems. Contact aVolvo retailer for more information.
Change the engine oil and oil filter according tothe schedule specified in the Warranty and Main-tenance Records Information booklet. Oils of ahigher grade than that specified may be used. Ifthe vehicle is driven in adverse conditions, Volvorecommends using an oil with a higher gradethan that specified.
Related information
Checking and filling engine oil (p. 598)
Engine oil specifications (p. 646)
SPECIFICATIONS
646
Engine oil specifications
Fully synthetic engine oil of at leastACEA A5/B5 must be used. Lower oil gradesmay not offer the same fuel economy, engineperformance or engine protection.
Volvo recommends:
General
See the Service and warranty booklet for infor-mation about oil change intervals.
NOTE
This vehicle is delivered from the factory withsynthetic oil.
Do not use oil additives.
Oil viscosity
The wrong oil viscosity can shorten engine serv-ice life during normal use. SAE 5W-30 providesgood fuel economy and engine protection. Seethe viscosity chart.
Viscosity chart
Extreme driving conditions
Volvo's VCC RBS0-2AE/SAE 0W20 oil is recom-mended for extreme conditions.
Oil volume
The oil volume for the engine is:
Liter (approx)5.6
US qts (approx)5.9
Related information
Type designations (p. 638)
Checking and filling engine oil (p. 598)
Engine oil (p. 597)
