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Our Volvo doesn't let you adjust the volume when you're in reverse. That means if you're backing out of the garage and the music is blaring -- you can't turn i

Our Volvo doesn't let you adjust the volume when you're in reverse. That means if you're backing out of the garage and the music is blaring -- you can't turn it off! The Volvo UI pops up an almost full-display warning when it can't connect to the phone over bluetooth on startup. This UI takes priority over the rear camera. So I guess it's better to hit Timmy and his puppy when I'm backing out, so long as I know my phone's not connected! The Volvo's headlights have "smart" auto-adjustments. That means I can't leave the high beams on, or force it to stay on low beams. It will decide for me! I think maybe I can disable this... somehow. So smart.

aitchnyu 5y ago
My Toyota's head unit bulldozes to reverse mode and if I was in reverse for 10 seconds, the song resumes 10 seconds as if its been playing in the background.
- asdff 5y ago
  My Toyotas head unit has similar behavior issues. It will connect to bluetooth and start playing the song as soon as you turn on the car, only no music will come out of the speakers until you pause the song, then press play. Why do I have to manually "wake up" the speakers instead of the head unit? Probably because this software took one engineer no more than a week to write before it was shipped out full of these annoyances that would have been avoided had you, you know, tested out connecting a blutooth device to the head unit before production even just once.
chakintosh 5y ago
I'm a UX designer and I've taken delivery of an XC40 Recharge two months ago, and I've never felt dumber in my life. Don't get me wrong, the car is absolutely wonderful, but the UX is so badly designed it makes me question myself. For starters, I have absolutely no clue how to use the lights, fans and wipers. Just last Saturday, a design oversight (and idiocy from my part) caused me to reverse into another car parked behind me, I reversed to leave the parking spot, then instead of switching to D, I forgot it on R all while the rearview camera is showing red lines. For a car equipped with driving assists (collision avoidance and line assists), it shouldn't have let me reverse any more as it was seeing a clear obstacle behind me or at least make me double check by beeping the rearview camera, it only beeps for 5 seconds when it sees an obstacle then stops, same for the open door and seatbelts. There is also the odometer, there are 3 different odometers in the car and all of them are showing different values, one with a TM next to it, another one with this symbol Ø and a third one in the "Driver performance" tab. So which one is the real distance and what's the difference? Only the norse gods know. Also, the charge and fuel left gauges adapt to your driving by going up or down instead of showing you the real amount of fuel/charge left. And it already nearly left me stranded on the highway with 5km left of fuel. This car is amazing but there are a lot of design oversights when it comes to UX.
- mwint 5y ago
  I’m having a hard time understanding how “I forgot to change gears and then hit the gas” can be classed a UX problem. Sounds like PEBKAC.
  - lacogubik 5y ago
    I think what they are implying is that car with so many safety features should be able to handle this situation. Volvo has lot of "collision avoidance" safety features, so one would expect that they could handle this as well. This is common feature in other cars - I rented mazda few years back and it did automatically stop when I almost reversed into another car.
    - salawat 5y ago
      At that point, the driver really is to blame though. Manufacturer's job is to make things affordably; not to save himanity from themselves despite the ongoing insistance by governments that somehow the industrial sector should take on the onus for technically enforcing whatever measures that some bureaucrat sets their sights on today. This mentality that the car should make up for fundamental defects in safe driving is horrifying.
      - Fatnino 5y ago
        And yet, airbags are a thing.
      - lacogubik 5y ago
        > the driver really is to blame though Yes, I know I'm responsible. I do not want/need car/manufacturer to be responsible, I just want technology to help where it could. > Manufacturer's job is to make things affordably This maybe is your opinion, but that's not how it works. There is plenty of manufacturer's who manufacture things which are not affordable and plenty of people buy it. Pretty much any industry has luxury segment which also tends to be most profitable > This mentality that the car should make up for fundamental defects in safe driving is horrifying Humans are imperfect. Stress, distractions, tiredness etc could make anyone to make mistake, even yourself. Why would adding safety features be horrifying?
gnicholas 5y ago
Weird! My older (2007) Volvo doesn't let me change the station in reverse, but I can adjust the volume via a knob, or turn off the radio by pushing the knob/button. Hopefully the system on your Volvo can be updated to fix what are presumably bugs in the system!
- badwolf 5y ago
  Same - I've a 2021 XC60. I can turn the volume knob, press the pause button, or use the volume controls on the steering wheel while in reverse. Just not use the touchscreen controls unless I press the "home" button which closes out the rear camera.
xbryanx 5y ago
I get why, but my Volvo (2017) WILL NOT let me lock the keys in the car. Which is annoying if I'm trying to safely warm it up on a -15 Minnesota day and have the spare keys in the house. There's lots of forums detailing tricks involving rolling the windows down or locking the car from the back seat. I love all the tech automation and safety features, but at times I find myself befuddled by the designers choices.
- quickthrowman 5y ago
  I’m also unable to lock my 2019 Toyota if it is running and I’m not in the car. It’s implemented this way so they can sell you remote start. Pity about all the car thefts that happen as a result of auto manufacturer greed.
- jbl 5y ago
  Odd. I believe my 2018 model year Volvo allows me to start the car, take the key with me, and lock the doors (so long as I take my key fob with me).
  - throwaway946513 5y ago
    I'm guessing that the parent has a physical key and the fob won't let them lock it. My '05 Nissan Altima let me start the engine with a physical key, and then lock the car with the fob.
- pitaj 5y ago
  My 2004 Ford Escape won't let me lock or unlock the car with the key fob if the engine is running. So I can't warm it up in the morning without either risking it being driven away or having an extra door key for just that purpose. Ugh.
rootusrootus 5y ago
I had a rental V90 last year, and it was easily the dumbest smart car I've ever had the displeasure of driving. Comically bad in some cases. Death by a thousand cuts. Little things like you say, or the fact that it would blare about the front parking sensor detecting the wall when I put the car in reverse, etc. I ended up spending a few minutes going through all the menus turning stuff off.
semi-extrinsic 5y ago
I had a rental Camaro a couple years ago that would pop up a notification if you were driving a bit spirited that said "Sport Shifting Mode Engaged" or something to that effect. Which was prominently displayed on top of the speedometer.

aitchnyu 5y ago

My Toyota's head unit bulldozes to reverse mode and if I was in reverse for 10 seconds, the song resumes 10 seconds as if its been playing in the background.

asdff 5y ago
My Toyotas head unit has similar behavior issues. It will connect to bluetooth and start playing the song as soon as you turn on the car, only no music will come out of the speakers until you pause the song, then press play. Why do I have to manually "wake up" the speakers instead of the head unit? Probably because this software took one engineer no more than a week to write before it was shipped out full of these annoyances that would have been avoided had you, you know, tested out connecting a blutooth device to the head unit before production even just once.

chakintosh 5y ago

I'm a UX designer and I've taken delivery of an XC40 Recharge two months ago, and I've never felt dumber in my life. Don't get me wrong, the car is absolutely wonderful, but the UX is so badly designed it makes me question myself. For starters, I have absolutely no clue how to use the lights, fans and wipers. Just last Saturday, a design oversight (and idiocy from my part) caused me to reverse into another car parked behind me, I reversed to leave the parking spot, then instead of switching to D, I forgot it on R all while the rearview camera is showing red lines. For a car equipped with driving assists (collision avoidance and line assists), it shouldn't have let me reverse any more as it was seeing a clear obstacle behind me or at least make me double check by beeping the rearview camera, it only beeps for 5 seconds when it sees an obstacle then stops, same for the open door and seatbelts. There is also the odometer, there are 3 different odometers in the car and all of them are showing different values, one with a TM next to it, another one with this symbol Ø and a third one in the "Driver performance" tab. So which one is the real distance and what's the difference? Only the norse gods know. Also, the charge and fuel left gauges adapt to your driving by going up or down instead of showing you the real amount of fuel/charge left. And it already nearly left me stranded on the highway with 5km left of fuel. This car is amazing but there are a lot of design oversights when it comes to UX.

mwint 5y ago
I’m having a hard time understanding how “I forgot to change gears and then hit the gas” can be classed a UX problem. Sounds like PEBKAC.
- lacogubik 5y ago
  I think what they are implying is that car with so many safety features should be able to handle this situation. Volvo has lot of "collision avoidance" safety features, so one would expect that they could handle this as well. This is common feature in other cars - I rented mazda few years back and it did automatically stop when I almost reversed into another car.
  - salawat 5y ago
    At that point, the driver really is to blame though. Manufacturer's job is to make things affordably; not to save himanity from themselves despite the ongoing insistance by governments that somehow the industrial sector should take on the onus for technically enforcing whatever measures that some bureaucrat sets their sights on today. This mentality that the car should make up for fundamental defects in safe driving is horrifying.
    - Fatnino 5y ago
      And yet, airbags are a thing.
    - lacogubik 5y ago
      > the driver really is to blame though Yes, I know I'm responsible. I do not want/need car/manufacturer to be responsible, I just want technology to help where it could. > Manufacturer's job is to make things affordably This maybe is your opinion, but that's not how it works. There is plenty of manufacturer's who manufacture things which are not affordable and plenty of people buy it. Pretty much any industry has luxury segment which also tends to be most profitable > This mentality that the car should make up for fundamental defects in safe driving is horrifying Humans are imperfect. Stress, distractions, tiredness etc could make anyone to make mistake, even yourself. Why would adding safety features be horrifying?

gnicholas 5y ago

Weird! My older (2007) Volvo doesn't let me change the station in reverse, but I can adjust the volume via a knob, or turn off the radio by pushing the knob/button. Hopefully the system on your Volvo can be updated to fix what are presumably bugs in the system!

badwolf 5y ago
Same - I've a 2021 XC60. I can turn the volume knob, press the pause button, or use the volume controls on the steering wheel while in reverse. Just not use the touchscreen controls unless I press the "home" button which closes out the rear camera.

xbryanx 5y ago

I get why, but my Volvo (2017) WILL NOT let me lock the keys in the car. Which is annoying if I'm trying to safely warm it up on a -15 Minnesota day and have the spare keys in the house. There's lots of forums detailing tricks involving rolling the windows down or locking the car from the back seat. I love all the tech automation and safety features, but at times I find myself befuddled by the designers choices.

quickthrowman 5y ago
I’m also unable to lock my 2019 Toyota if it is running and I’m not in the car. It’s implemented this way so they can sell you remote start. Pity about all the car thefts that happen as a result of auto manufacturer greed.
jbl 5y ago
Odd. I believe my 2018 model year Volvo allows me to start the car, take the key with me, and lock the doors (so long as I take my key fob with me).
- throwaway946513 5y ago
  I'm guessing that the parent has a physical key and the fob won't let them lock it. My '05 Nissan Altima let me start the engine with a physical key, and then lock the car with the fob.
pitaj 5y ago
My 2004 Ford Escape won't let me lock or unlock the car with the key fob if the engine is running. So I can't warm it up in the morning without either risking it being driven away or having an extra door key for just that purpose. Ugh.

rootusrootus 5y ago

I had a rental V90 last year, and it was easily the dumbest smart car I've ever had the displeasure of driving. Comically bad in some cases. Death by a thousand cuts. Little things like you say, or the fact that it would blare about the front parking sensor detecting the wall when I put the car in reverse, etc. I ended up spending a few minutes going through all the menus turning stuff off.

semi-extrinsic 5y ago

I had a rental Camaro a couple years ago that would pop up a notification if you were driving a bit spirited that said "Sport Shifting Mode Engaged" or something to that effect. Which was prominently displayed on top of the speedometer.