[androdev]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Thanks. Why are Volvos particularly affected? My 330i also comes with multilayer acoustic heat rejection glass but FASTag works seamlessly.

When it comes to materials used, Volvo cars are spec'ed much better than their competition

There is a lot of jargon when it comes to windshields and different manufacturers use different descriptions:
Safety glass
Acoustic glass
Thermal glass
Heat insulating glass
Heat rejection glass
IR reflective glass <<< this affects toll tags.

IR reflection is achieved by some sort of metal film coating on the surface of the glass. This film coating is tweaked to reflect some % of IR without cutting out too much visible light. Higher IRR = more problems with toll tags.

I don't know about the very latest development in this area, but if there is no "CUT OUT" patch mentioned in your user manual, then chances are that it is not an "IR reflective glass".

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by androdev

I don't know about the very latest development in this area, but if there is no "CUT OUT" patch mentioned in your user manual, then chances are that it is not an "IR reflective glass".

Definitely not the IR type in the 3 Series. No cutout present.

[manualManuel]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Apologies I don't have an answer as I have not bought a fast tag yet. Maybe you could check this with the service centre. Please post pictures of your XC60. Which year is your car from.

Thanks a lot Narayan. It is awesome that you respond to every query. I did check with the service advisor in Kerala, but he didn't know. Will check with the Bangalore guys. Its the old 2013 model. Have attached a picture.

Originally Posted by Sreesh1009

I had seen this happen to a certain Youtuber while driving his Evoque. It turns out that the windshield was quite thick and hence the scanner at the toll gate couldn't scan the fasttag. And had to get it manually scanned at every toll booth.

Thanks, will search for the video. Looks like the same situation. Its just so painful to get it manually scanned, and some toll booths, like the L&T one near Coimbatore, does not have manual scanners.

Originally Posted by androdev

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/support...eflective-film

Or refer to your car's user manual. This is very common to EU cars that come with IR/heat rejection glass. Nothing to do with thickness or lamination of the glass.

If you flash your cell phone torch light on the windshield in the dark, you can spot the areas that have different pattern - this is where you can stick your tags.

I did find this page too. Looks like that's the issue. Thanks a lot, especially the suggestion to shine a flashlight to spot the areas. Will try that out.

Thanks once again everyone.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Thanks. Why are Volvos particularly affected? My 330i also comes with multilayer acoustic heat rejection glass but FASTag works seamlessly.

The FASTag on my dad's A6 works fine. It is only on this car that I am having a problem with. Guess its the IR thing like @androdev mentioned.

Originally Posted by androdev

When it comes to materials used, Volvo cars are spec'ed much better than their competition

There is a lot of jargon when it comes to windshields and different manufacturers use different descriptions:
Safety glass
Acoustic glass
Thermal glass
Heat insulating glass
Heat rejection glass
IR reflective glass <<< this affects toll tags.

IR reflection is achieved by some sort of metal film coating on the surface of the glass. This film coating is tweaked to reflect some % of IR without cutting out too much visible light. Higher IRR = more problems with toll tags.

I don't know about the very latest development in this area, but if there is no "CUT OUT" patch mentioned in your user manual, then chances are that it is not an "IR reflective glass".

I am just waiting to finish office to go home and check out the manual, and try the flashlight check.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by manualManuel

I am just waiting to finish office to go home and check out the manual, and try the flashlight check.

Here is a pic from my S class windshield. Easier to spot from inside the cabin. I have a 6"x4" patch with this pattern where I can place my tag and it works flawlessly.

[manualManuel]

Originally Posted by androdev

Here is a pic from my S class windshield. Easier to spot from inside the cabin. I have a 6"x4" patch with this pattern where I can place my tag and it works flawlessly.

Attachment 2109953

I checked the manual and it says there is a heat-reflecting film (IR) which is an option/accessory. Picture attached. Guess that's why it is not affecting all the Volvos. The manual also says there is a non-IR covered strip on the top of the windshield.

I checked that from the inside of the car, and you can clearly see a line on top. It runs across the top of the whole windshield. Picture attached. You will note my FASTag is below that line. So guess I will have get a new one and to stick it above that line.

[ajmat]

I remember some Volvo's and quite a few Citroen C5's duding the early 2000 needed to have their windscreens retrofitted with ordinary windshield in Singapore as the Road Pricing readers could not read the systems in the cars.

[smartcarguy4u]

Hello Mr. Narayan, others,

Have been driving XC60 for 2 months now. Its a sublime drive on highways. DRive on poor bangalore roads is a different story. The suspension seems harder and SUV shakes on bad roads/potholes and particularly on humps, unless I come to complete stop and go over slowly.... I never experienced this in my Innova before. It would take poor roads like a champ. The inner city drive in Bangalore is very uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do to make the drive on bad roads / humps better ? Have you experienced the same ? If so, anything you have done ?

Car comes with Michelin tires. Not sure if tires are an issue.

Thanks

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by smartcarguy4u

Have been driving XC60 for 2 months now. Its a sublime drive on highways. DRive on poor bangalore roads is a different story. The suspension seems harder and SUV shakes on bad roads/potholes and particularly on humps, unless I come to complete stop and go over slowly.... I never experienced this in my Innova before. It would take poor roads like a champ. The inner city drive in Bangalore is very uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do to make the drive on bad roads / humps better ? Have you experienced the same ? If so, anything you have done ?

Car comes with Michelin tires. Not sure if tires are an issue.

Honest confession - I do not know much about tyres. Michelin is a first class brand so I won't pin the blame on them. Tyre pressure maybe? The Volvo XC60 like most European cars has a stiffer suspension than a Japanese make. That might account for the difference between the XC60 and the Innova. I experience this difference between the XC60 and its Japanese garage mate everyday at my end. Having said that the potholes and bumps on Bangalore's roads are in a league by themselves and cars in general, other than maybe a top end Mercedes S500, are not designed to give a smooth ride over such bad roads. I often travel to remote areas in the vicinity of Delhi-NCR on my work - village roads, kucchha roads etc - and I only use the XC60 on such trips due to the GC and 4WD and simply drive on at a steady low speed regardless of the ruts. The good news is that 6 years of such roads has not lent a single rattle or change of part in the XC60. Try tyre pressure. The tyre experts could share their inputs.

[smartcarguy4u]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Honest confession - I do not know much about tyres. Michelin is a first class brand so I won't pin the blame on them. Tyre pressure maybe? The Volvo XC60 like most European cars has a stiffer suspension than a Japanese make. That might account for the difference between the XC60 and the Innova. I experience this difference between the XC60 and its Japanese garage mate everyday at my end. Having said that the potholes and bumps on Bangalore's roads are in a league by themselves and cars in general, other than maybe a top end Mercedes S500, are not designed to give a smooth ride over such bad roads. I often travel to remote areas in the vicinity of Delhi-NCR on my work - village roads, kucchha roads etc - and I only use the XC60 on such trips due to the GC and 4WD and simply drive on at a steady low speed regardless of the ruts. The good news is that 6 years of such roads has not lent a single rattle or change of part in the XC60. Try tyre pressure. The tyre experts could share their inputs.

Thank you Mr.Narayan. Tyre experts, please suggest what should be the ideal tyre pressure for a smoother city ride ? I know what you mean on kucchha roads. Recently took the XC60 on a drive to a jungle lodge near Mysore, Last 2 kms was the worst road I have ever been on.... It wasnt even a road. Just a rocks, large stones and mud filled path. I put the drive mode to "rough rode" and boy oy boy... It made the nasty ride so driveable and took it like a champ... Any other car that I have driven would have given up mid way. Its just that Innova was smoother in the bad bangalore city drive.... But I guess its a different category of vehicle.... There may be some small tips & tricks for a slightly smoother ride. Thanks again for your inputs. Appreciate suggestions on tyre pressure. I believe its around 34 now...

[V.Narayan]

6 years and 69,000 kms later....

This month the Volvo Brown Mare completes 6 years in the stable. Six happy years of trouble free service. Other than the tyres and the front windshield {cracked by a flying stone} nothing has needed repair or replacement other than on schedule. Three years ago the Brown Mare was given a Polestar software upgrade to give the car more oomph and smoother auto gear change. Twice folks have enquired as to how its spares compare to the German three and my answer is quite reasonable and other than on schedule nothing needs replacement. This car is used by me as my daily vehicle which includes relatively long work commutes each a round trip of 100 to 160 kms often on rough roads. My priorities were reliability, safety and great ASS. On these three counts the car has delivered well. 2020 was a poor year on clocking mileage. Hopefully 2021 will get her back to the normal 12,000 kms a year.

I have a special soft spot for this understated performer. It doesn't impress the neighbours but works hard to impress its owner.

When I parked her this evening I gave her a pat and told her I'll be writing nice things on Team BHP. Will let the pictures, taken yesterday do the talking.

[M00M]

Sir, the Volvo Brown Mare looks immaculate after 6 years. Wish you many many more trouble free kms on it.

During my finalisation of the ES300h i had test driven the new XC60 but a very very bad report on the dealer spooked me. Apparently the dealer is not very proactive and sometimes cars are at the service station for upto 6 months with very little help from Volvo India is one of the feedbacks i received and that was a bit unnerving to be honest. Wish you dont have to suffer any of these problems now or in the future.

Otherwise driving wise the XC60 is a very comfortable and safe beast. The new one in my opinion is better than the X3 / GLC / NX and Q5. It was really a pleasure to drive it and did bring a smile to my face when i drove it which the others did not.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by M00M

Sir, the Volvo Brown Mare looks immaculate after 6 years. Wish you many many more trouble free kms on it.

During my finalisation of the ES300h i had test driven the new XC60 but a very very bad report on the dealer spooked me. Apparently the dealer is not very proactive and sometimes cars are at the service station for upto 6 months with very little help from Volvo India is one of the feedbacks i received and that was a bit unnerving to be honest. Wish you dont have to suffer any of these problems now or in the future.

Otherwise driving wise the XC60 is a very comfortable and safe beast. The new one in my opinion is better than the X3 / GLC / NX and Q5. It was really a pleasure to drive it and did bring a smile to my face when i drove it which the others did not.

Thank you for sharing your feedback. I am sorry to hear that the Mumbai dealer/ASS centre is so lax. So far I've done well with the Gurgaon dealer/ASS centre and hope it stays that way. Similar negative feedback has come in from Bangalore through another Team BHP member who spoke to me regarding buying a Volvo and then at the nth hour decided against it after receiving worrying feedback about the dealer and non-responsiveness of Volvo. Two points make a trend line! I love the looks of Volvo's new cars, the quality of engineering seems to remain high and they have moved boldly towards EVs. So the temptation is there for me. But compared to my experience with Lexus's responsiveness Volvo is a distant second cousin.

Being a cranky man in his 7th decade now I like writing to the senior management of the OEM, offer my unasked for views and demand the service I believe is warranted. Here Lexus always responds - not just dealer - but their senior India OEM officers too - letters, phone calls and meetings. That's what I really like about that brand. The senior management do not pretend they are too high up to deal with a customer. All the best with your new Lexus.

[M00M]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Thank you for sharing your feedback.

I received similar feedback about the Surat Volvo dealer too, infact i even enquired with them regarding the Volvo XC 60 when i was considering it and they were very blah and when asked for a test drive they just did not offer one and when demanded they just hung up the phone. There was no response regarding sales call or any other effort made. Too bad that the cars are good but dealers are not.

Thank you for your good wishes on the Lexus. Hopefully i wont need to contact any higher ups.

[smartcarguy4u]

Congratulations Mr. narayan.

You were my inspiration to go with XC60, despite other strong competition from germans...

You have maintained it so well. So impressed. Kudos. Its really hard to maintain it so well without being really passionate about the car :-) Looks regal in and out...

All the best for the upcoming years. I'm sure you will continue to enjoy your city as well as long drives.

As for me, the the long drives I have taken with XC60 have been nothing short of sublime !!! Inner City drive tends to get bad... Probably more to do with Bangalore roads than the car itself...

[V.Narayan]

I am taking the Brown Mare for her 8th servicing later this week. The due time comes every 10,000 kms or 12 months. It is due, for the first instance, by time rather than mileage {thanks to the lockdown/s}.

When I start or shut down the car there is a whirring sound that is unusual. After a few minutes it goes away as the engine heat builds up. Not sure what the cause is. The service would actually be due in 2 weeks but I prefer to get this attended to. It is the first occasion of "something is not sounding okay with this car". I guess six years of zero hassle has been a good run and by law of averages some thing had to start rattling, whirring or wheezing.

I wish Delhi-NCR's 10-year rule on diesels goes away. This car has so much of first class life left in her.

An update will follow after the service.