Trailer Cable; Automatic Gearbox; Steep Gradients; Driving With A Trailer - Volvo XC70 Owner's Manual

05 During your journey

Driving with a trailer

General
If the towing bracket is mounted by Volvo,
then the car is delivered with the necessary
equipment for driving with a trailer.
• The car's towing bracket must be of an
approved type.
• If the towbar is retrofitted, check with your
Volvo dealer that the car is fully equipped
for driving with a trailer.
• Distribute the load on the trailer so that the
weight on the towing bracket complies
with the specified maximum towball load.
• Increase the tyre pressure to the recom-
mended pressure for a full load. For tyre
05
pressure label location, see page 214.
• Clean the towing bracket regularly and
grease the towball.
• Do not tow a heavy trailer when the car is
brand new. Wait until it has been driven at
least 1000 km.
• The brakes are loaded much more than
usual on long and steep downhill slopes.
Downshift to a lower gear and adjust your
speed.
• The engine is loaded more heavily than
usual when driving with a trailer.
• If the car is driven with a heavy load in a
hot climate, the engine may overheat. If
the temperature in the engine's cooling
system is too high the warning symbol is
174
illuminated and the information display
shows
High engine temp Stop safely.
Stop the car in a safe way and allow the
engine to run at idling speed for several
minutes and cool down.
If High engine temp Stop engine
ant level low, Stop engine then the engine
must be switched off after stopping the
car.
• The automatic gearbox has a built-in pro-
tection system that engages in the event
of overheating. If the temperature in the
gearbox is too high then the warning sym-
bol illuminates and the information display
shows Transmission hot Reduce speed
or
Transmission hot Stop safely
Follow the instructions and reduce speed
or stop the car in a safe way and allow the
engine to run at idling speed for several
minutes to enable the gearbox to cool
down.
In the event of overheating the car's air
conditioning may be temporarily switched
off.
• In the interests of safety, you should
restrict speed to 80 km/h, even if the laws
of certain countries allow for higher
speeds.
• Move the gear selector to position P when
parking an automatic car with a hitched
trailer. Always use the parking brake.
Block the wheels with chocks when park-
ing a car with hitched trailer on a hill.

Trailer cable

An adapter is required if the car's towing
bracket has 13 pin electrics and the trailer
has 7 pin electrics. Use an adapter cable
approved by Volvo. Make sure the cable
or Cool-
does not drag on the ground.
Direction indicators on trailer
A symbol in the combined instrument panel
flashes when the direction indicators are
used and the trailer is connected. If the sym-
bol flashes more quickly then one of the
lamps on the car or the trailer is broken, see
page 61.
.

Automatic gearbox

Parking on a hill
1. Activate the parking brake.
2. Move the gear selector to position P.
Starting on a hill
1. Move the gear selector to position D.
2. Release the parking brake.

Steep gradients

• Do not use a higher manual gear than the
engine can "handle". It is not always eco-
nomical to drive in high gears.
• Avoid driving with a trailer on inclines of
more than 15%.