How to Save Money on Volvo Maintenance
Archive for September, 2011
Volvo Express Service:Want a Quick Oil Change, Get Service-While-You Wait
Sep 29th
Express service, no appointment necessary — takes one hour or less.
At our Volvo dealership Express Service is available between 8 a.m and 11 a.m., and depending on availability, Express Service is also available between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Many of our customers want a quick oil change because they are going out of town or short on time. A basic oil change — change your oil & filter only, will cost you $49.95 plus tax.
Very often, bewildered customer call us when they get a message on their dash like, “bulb failure position light” –meaning one of your tail lights is out, or “check stop lamp“– meaning that when you step on the brakes, the car warns you that a brake light is out. Just make sure you get all tail light bulbs changed or all brake lights changed, because you don’t want to see the same message a week or so later when the other bulb also burns out, always change bulbs in pairs — saves you time.
Other Services covered under Express Service include:
- Basic Oil Change — Oil & Filter change.
- Check your brakes for wear.
- Check your Tires –for tread wear, low tire pressure and fix flat tires.
- Change worn out wiper blades.
- Check you battery — recharge if necessary or install new battery.
- Change exterior light bulbs.
- Replace burned out cigarette lighter fuse – 12 volt accessory fuse for ipod, GPS (navigation) and phone charger.
- Free WiFi and Free coffee to recharge you while you wait in our comfortable waiting rooms.
Tip – Remember this, always change your bulbs in pairs. Saves you time, and you can also prevent a traffic ticket.
Washington DC Volvo Service Appointments – How To Drop Off Your Volvo After Regular Business Hours
Sep 20th
Our Blue Volvo Drop off Box, located next to the main doors is there for your convinience, so please use it if you can.
Time starved Washington DC customers can simply drop off their Volvo’s before we open or after we close for the day. Thus, you can beat the crushing morning commute or the equally brutal evening rush hour.
Many of our customers are mothers who have to drop off their children to school and then rush to the dealership to drop off the Volvo and somehow make it to work on time.
Drop off Instructions as provided on the envelope
- Write your order directly onto the envelope provided.
- Park you Volvo on the right side of the service lane.
- Lock your Volvo in our service lane.
- Place your keys in the envelope.
- Fill in your names, address, email and best contact telephone number you can be reached at.
- Fill in vehicle identifying information: Vin #, make & model, year, color, and license plate #.
- Check or explain work desired; repair or regular maintenance.
- Check Engine light — you will be charged a fee of $112 for diagnostics ( one labor hour).
- Don’t forget to SIGN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ENVELOPE.
- Drop envelope WITH KEYS INSIDE into the mail slot. Don’t foget to keep home keys or other keys you may need during the day
Tire Tips – How To Find Out if Your Tires Are Legally Worn Out
Sep 14th
How to tell a worn out tire
According to most states’ laws, tires are legally worn out when they have worn down to 2/32″ of remaining tread depth.
To help warn drivers that their tires have reached that point, tires sold in North America are required to have indicators molded into their tread design called “wear bars” which run across their tread pattern from their outside shoulder to inside shoulder.
Wear bars are designed to visually connect the elements of the tire’s tread pattern and warn drivers when their tires no longer meet minimum tread depth requirements.
Replace your tires the minute you feel there are no longer safe to drive on.
Under normal driving conditions, a set of tires should last you up to 40,000 miles. Depending on how you drive, some tires could very well last longer than that or even shorter.
Like everything else in life, tires have a lifespan.
Factors affecting tire lifespan include:
- Storage, tires not mounted on rims should be stored on their sides or standing upright.
- Temperature, Ultra Violet (U.V) exposure can accelerate the aging process.
- Surface of roads driven on.
- How aggressive you drive, tire wear increases with speed.
- Unbalanced wheels impair tire economy and driving comfort.
- Tires must maintain the same direction of rotation throughout their lifetime.
- Punctures, perforated tires require a patch or plug.
Hitting curbs or potholes can damage the tires and/or wheels permanently. Sidewall damage to tires, such as buldges cannot be fixed and in this case you will have to purchase a replacement tire.
TIP – Tires are legally worn out when the tread wear indicator bars start to show. But you do not have to wait until you see the tread wear bars before you purchase new tires, use sound judgement because tires are a major safety concern.
Volvo Tire Pressure Warning Light (Part 2) -TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM SERVICE REQUIRED
Sep 1st
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
If a fault occurs in the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), the tire pressure warning light will flash for approximately 1 minute on start up and the warning lamp will remain illuminated after the flash sequence.
Contact your Volvo service center as soon as possible to have the sensor inspected.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light– TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM SERVICE REQUIRED – will also come on if you have recently replaced an original factory wheel with an after market wheel on your vehicle.
Other reasons include:
- Tire Sensor failure due to running on a flat tire or hitting a pot hole.
- Tire Sensor damage due to galvanic corrosion as a result of road salts, moisture, or when a corroded valve cap snaps off.
A damaged tire sensor cannot read and transmit data to the vehicles computer or ECU. This data includes: the unique sensor ID, temperature and pressure, battery life and other diagnostic information.
About the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
The Volvo tire pressure monitoring system uses sensors mounted in the tire valves to check inflation pressure levels. When the vehicle is moving at a speed of approximately 20 mph (30 km/h) or faster, these sensors transmit inflation pressure data to a receiver located in the vehicle.
When low inflation pressure is detected, TPMS will light up the tire pressure warning light 
The Volvo TPMS works by comparing tire pressure on all four tires. And on detecting a tire that is 25% under-inflated as compared to all other tires, the low pressure warning light will illuminate on the dash.
When this happens, you should stop and check your tires as soon as possible, and inflate them to the proper pressure. Simply make a quick stop at the Volvo Service Center and we can inflate the tires for you – for free.
Driving on a significantly under-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure. Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life, and may affect the vehicle’s handling and stopping ability.
It is the driver’s responsibility to maintain correct tire pressure, even if under-inflation has not reached the level to trigger the low tire pressure warning light. Be pro-active, and add some air if your tire pressure drops by 6 psi.
In addition, the TPMS malfunction indicator will indicate when the system is not operating properly. Most likely due to a faulty sensor or if you recently replaced one of your wheels at a non Volvo repair center, where they installed an after market wheel with a different type of sensor, that transmits data at a different frequency.
Steps to take when you get a low pressure warning message
For a car that calls for 35 psi, you may not be warned about tire pressure loss until the tire pressure drops to 26 psi depending on the type of monitoring system used.
When the tire pressure warning light has come on, make a stop at the nearest gas station and use a tire pressure gauge to check the inflation pressure of all four tires.
Secondly, re-inflate the tires to the recommended tire pressure (consult your owner’s manual).
Finally, drive the vehicle for several minutes at a speed of 20 mph (30 km/h) or faster to reset the warning light.
How to Change wheels with TPMS
When replacing the factory installed TPMS wheels/tires on the Volvo take note that only the factory-mounted wheels – Original Equipment (OEM) – are equipped with TPMS sensors in the valves. The spare tire or donut does not have a TPMS sensor.
And if you mount a wheel without the correct sensor or no sensor at all, a warning light –TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM SERVICE REQUIRED – will be displayed each time the vehicle is driven above 25 mph (40 km/h) for 10 or more minutes.
Thus, I would recommended having your wheels replaced at a Volvo Repair Facility to avoid unnecessary problems.
When the TPMS sensors are properly installed, the warning message should disappear.
You may also like
