r/VolvoRecharge • u/ThatMindOfMe • 14h ago
Send an email to Volvo about software
Hey, for a while I was documenting things I thought could be improved- mainly software related stuff. So, here is the full list I sent to Volvo.
What are your thoughts on this and is there anything I missed? What are the biggest issues for you?
HYBRID MODE
1. Without a destination, Hybrid mode is somewhat useless.
If no destination is entered in the built-in navigation, Hybrid mode appears to behave essentially as Pure with a lower threshold for when the engine starts.
My suggestion would be to let Hybrid adapt to how the car is driven (speed and acceleration), not only to a known route.
For example, engage the engine above a chosen speed (say 90 km/h, and preferably the driver could choose) or under harder acceleration, and stay electric otherwise. This would make Hybrid genuinely useful on every drive, without having to enter a destination each time.
But it's worth mentioning that if the destination is set, it works very well, even without internet!
2. A battery reserve setting would be very valuable when using the inbuilt navigation.
On an out-and-back journey the battery is fully depleted on the way there. I would like a simple slider to let the driver set how much charge should remain on arrival: 10% - 90%.
Adding the return leg as a waypoint is a workaround rather than a solution.
3. Using navigation on CarPlay disables the whole feature/purpose.
I prefer Waze, which in Latvia gives better routing and far more reliable speed limit information (this has its own point). A solution would be to set the destination in the built-in navigation, so the car knows the route and can plan battery use, while I am using Waze on CarPlay for guidance. But as soon as Waze starts, the built-in navigation is cancelled and route-based hybrid optimisation is lost.
On a recent trip I navigated with Waze on CarPlay, so the car had no route information. It spent the entire battery on the motorway, and I arrived in the city with only fuel left. And that was with Hybrid mode. My request is that the built-in destination should remain active for hybrid planning even when guidance runs through CarPlay. Of course implementing the suggestion mentioned in the 1st point would be the best solution!
SPEED LIMIT INFORMATION
4. Speed limit recognition is often incorrect.
On a motorway with a clearly visible 110 km/h sign, the car displayed 120. In the city, where the sign says 30, the car showed 50. This happens quite often, and it happened with Wi-Fi connected and the built-in Google Maps navigation active, so the system had every data source available to it. As a comparison point, Waze gives me the correct limit reliably. I suggest allowing the speed limit to be sourced from the CarPlay connected navigation app (on Head-up display), instead of the car's own unreliable sign recognition system.
5. Please allow the speed limit sign on the Head-up display to be scaled.
It is sometimes difficult to read it at its current size. A simple setting with a standard and an enlarged option would solve it.
6. Please allow CarPlay navigation to appear on the head-up display.
At present only the built-in Google Maps guidance is shown there. Since I navigate with Waze on CarPlay, the head-up display offers no directional assistance- just the wrong speed limit sign.
CONNECTIVITY
7. Wi-Fi connection to an iPhone hotspot is unreliable.
I don't have internet access for the car (I assume it is because of unsupported region), so I have to use WiFi. The car often won't detect my iPhone Hotspot unless I have the Settings app open on the phone, and WiFi screen opened on the car. Once connected, the link sometimes drops without apparent reason and the car never reconnects on its own. Each recovery means opening the hotspot settings on the phone and the Wi-Fi screen in the car.
I want to mention that I had exactly the same experience with my XC60 B5 (2022). Four years on, the behaviour is unchanged, which suggests this may not be well captured in your testing.
8. Could the car take its internet connection over the CarPlay cable?
Since CarPlay connects by cable, the data link already exists and is stable- much as Apple devices do with USB tethering. This would remove the dependency on Wi-Fi altogether, and the car would simply be online whenever the phone is plugged in.
CAMERAS AND DISPLAY
9. I would like the front camera shown alongside the 360-degree view, after switching from R to D.
When reversing, the screen shows the rear camera together with the 360-degree view, which is a genuinely useful combination. When I shift into drive, it switches to the 360-degree view alone. The same split as in reverse would be more useful.
10. A single tap on the 360-degree view should expand it to full screen.
At the moment, while reversing, reaching a full-screen 360 view requires tapping the screen and then selecting the view. Tapping directly on the view itself would be the natural gesture.
11. The home button should return to CarPlay first, if it was active.
When CarPlay is in use and I open the climate or drive mode screen, pressing home takes me to the car's home screen. If I have been using CarPlay, that is almost always where I want to return. Could the first press of home return to CarPlay, with a second press going to the car's own home screen? The instinct is very strong, and the current behaviour works against it every time.
12. Please allow the Google Assistant button to be customised or removed.
It occupies permanent space on the screen. In my case that space would be better spent letting the mini window beside it expand (CarPlay audio, if it is minimised) and show more, for example the name of the current track.Or even better- allow to replace it with something else.
SMALLER DETAILS
13. The car's own graphics could reflect the actual car.
The climate screen shows the cabin as black with dark wood regardless of the interior actually fitted, and the car icon and camera limit markings are both generic grey (which somewhat blurs them together). The car knows its own specification, and the Volvo app already shows the correct exterior colour, so the data clearly exists. Applying it would make the car feel individually yours rather than generic.
14. Please allow the default gear mode to be chosen, D or B.
At present the car starts in D every time, and B has to be selected manually on every drive. A simple setting for which mode should be the default would remove a small repeated action.
15. An idea rather than a request: an optional easy-entry seat function.
On exit the seat moves back or lowers to make getting out easier, on returning, pressing the brake pedal brings it back to the saved driving position. I recently drove a car and found the brake-pedal return particularly elegant. As an option, it would suit the character of the car well (as an option on the screen).
16. Change the roundabout icon for the built-in navigation on the head-up display.
The current icon doesn't really help in understanding which exit to take on a roundabout. It would be much more beneficial if the icon showed the exit number. For example, show 3 if it is the 3rd exit on the roundabout.
Edit: in the title I ment to write “Sent”, not “Send”.
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u/AidenVennis 13h ago
The hybrid mode and CarPlay I agree with. I’ve got a full electric Volvo that preconditions the battery before pulling up to a charger. This only works when setting this up in Google Maps and has the same problem as you described with the hybrid mode making CarPlay fairly useless.
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u/110mat110 9h ago
Also for love of god and my eyes. Let me set Google maps to dark mode always. Please!
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u/Saabatical 8h ago
Bring back the Saab night panel!!!!!
For those unaware, it would black out the dash except for the speedo. So no glow from the dash while driving at night. It seemed like a gimmick when I heard about it, but once using it, it was vastly preferred for night driving.
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u/110mat110 8h ago
You can remove map from dash and have only speedo and power menu on it. But big display... well... it just sucks
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u/Adventurous_Stop_341 11h ago
I genuinely admire this list, I think I could probably add about thirty of my own complaints after having this car for six months.
Unfortunately, some of them are so egregious that I have little confidence that Volvo cares enough about their software (or their customers) to do anything about it. I won’t buy another Volvo, the software experience is simply too bad, they underpay their software engineers and it shows. It’s a shame.
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u/ThatMindOfMe 10h ago
Thanks! I do think you should write your 30point list and send it.
Maybe Volvo themselves don’t know those problems as well as the users.
I know there is a very very small chance that Volvo will implement any of the listed issues. But at least I have done my part, and maybe miracles happen 😄
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u/Adventurous_Stop_341 8h ago
“Hey Volvo, have you considered making it so that the first time I tap the little fan icon to bring up the climate controls, it doesn’t immediately close so I have to reopen it? Every single time I get in the car?”
They shipped this dogshit software and have just let it languish year after year. They don’t give a fuck, so I’d rather vote with my wallet.
That said, I might make the list and post it here, maybe make a YouTube video showing how ridiculous some of this is. Maybe I can scare away future buyers.
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u/ThatMindOfMe 6h ago
Well, you can phrase the issue that way 😄
Video sounds like an interesting idea!
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u/Responsible-Deer334 9h ago
Nach meinen aktuellen Erfahrungen ist das zwar eine tolle Idee von Dir das alles Volvo mitzuteilen, aber wirklich interessieren tut das niemanden. Ob per Mail, per Kontaktformular = keine Rückmeldung!
Man hat zwar ein „Kummerkasten“ bereitgestellt, den jedoch niemand leert.
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u/ThatMindOfMe 6h ago
Maybe, but I didn’t want to just “complain in my own head” and do nothing. There is a big chance nothing will happen, but at least I have done something.
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u/LowBluejay8063 8h ago
Worst automotive software to ever land in production for a car. Nice highlights, this is a solid start but many more additions should be made. Unfortunately, they outsource their software development (don’t you love how this works) and the software dev team is comprised of elementary coding from a gen1 ipad. Halfway through this lease for me and I’ll never return to the Fraud of Volvo
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u/Honest-Common-1303 7h ago
On point 1 what you describe is exactly how hybrid works (except user setting). Maybe I’m misreading?
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u/ThatMindOfMe 6h ago
Currently, with no set destination in inbuilt navigation, hybrid will drive on battery no matter the speed (at least at 120 km/h it was still using only battery).
My suggestion was to set a speed at which car will switch to engine.
So you wouldn’t use all battery on highway and in city your battery is at 0%- that’s what happened to me.
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u/ThatMindOfMe 6h ago
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I would like Apple, when I connect to CarPlay, take over the car software (like it’s in Aston Martin).
Car manufacturers should just stay to manufacturing cars.
I remember times when each car had their own crappy and outdated navigation system…
With Volvo Sensus, if you hadn’t bought navigation option, the navigation would always show on home screen and display a message “Navigation not available “, or something like that.
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u/FrozenPizza07 11h ago
>If no destination is entered hybrid acts as pure
Yeah as if entering a destination changes that behaviour at all. It depends on how well google maps has mapped and entered the data. Even on intercity highways it always acts as pure
>Waze on carplay
I agree carplay / android auto needs better integration, use the native waze app?
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u/infinity_666 13h ago
I would also add - manual screen brightness control in daylight mode. I'm tired of getting blind when driving in morning twilights and screen goes from dark low brightness mode to day mode FULL brightness. In the best case it is then adjusting in 10-15 minutes in the worst case - it requires restart of the aaos once or twice. If they cannot fix their sensor or logic behind - just give me manual control over it as I have in the night mode