08 Car Care; Cleaning - Volvo S40 Owner's Manual

08 Car care

Cleaning

Washing the car
Wash the car as soon as it becomes dirty. Use
car shampoo. Dirt and road salt can lead to
corrosion.
•
Do not park the car in direct sunlight.
Washing a car with hot paintwork can
cause permanent paintwork damage.
Wash the car in a car wash with waste
water separator.
•
Hose down the underbody thoroughly.
•
Wash using a sponge, car shampoo and
plenty of lukewarm water.
•
If the dirt is difficult to dislodge, wash the
car using a cold degreasing agent.
•
Dry the car using a clean, soft chamois or
a water scraper.
WARNING
Always have the engine cleaned by a work-
shop. There is a risk of fire if the engine is
hot.
IMPORTANT
Dirty headlamps have impaired functional-
ity. Clean them regularly, when refuelling for
example.
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NOTE
Outside lighting such as headlamps, fog
lamps and rear lamps may temporarily have
condensation on the inside of the lens. This
is a natural phenomenon, all outside lighting
is designed to withstand this. Condensation
is normally vented out of the lamp when it
has been switched on for a time.
Cleaning the wiper blades
Asphalt, dust and salt residue on wiper blades,
as well as insects, ice etc. on the windscreen,
impair the service life of wiper blades.
NOTE
Wash the wiper blades and windscreen reg-
ularly with lukewarm soap solution or car
shampoo.
Do not use any strong solvents.
Removing bird droppings
Wash away bird droppings from the paintwork
as soon as possible. Bird droppings contain
chemicals that affect and discolour paintwork
very quickly. This discoloration can only be
removed by a specialist.
Chromed wheels
IMPORTANT
Rim cleaning agents can cause stains on
chrome-plated wheels. Wash using a
sponge, car shampoo and plenty of luke-
warm water.
Automatic car washes
An automatic car wash is a simple and quick
way of washing the car, but it can never replace
a proper handwashing. The brushes of an auto-
matic car wash cannot reach everywhere.
IMPORTANT
Washing by hand is gentler to the paintwork
than an automatic car wash. Paintwork is
also more sensitive when it is new. For this
reason, handwashing is recommended dur-
ing the first few months with a new car.
High-pressure washing
When using high-pressure washing, use
sweeping movements and make sure that the
nozzle does not come closer than 30 cm to the
surface of the car (the distance applies to all
exterior parts).