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06 Starting and driving
134
Driving with a trailer
06
General
The load capacity is affected by extra acces-
sories mounted on the car, such as a towbar,
load carriers, space box, the passengers’
combined weight etc. as well as the load on
the towball. The load capacity of the car is
reduced by the number of passengers and
their weight.
If the towing bracket is fitted by an author-
ised Volvo workshop, then the car is deliv-
ered with the necessary equipment for driv-
ing with a trailer.
• The car’s towing bracket must be of an
approved type.
• If the towbar is retrofitted, check with your
Volvo dealer that the car is fully equipped
for driving with a trailer.
• Distribute the load on the trailer so that the
weight on the towing bracket follows the
specified maximum towball load.
• Increase the tyre pressure to the recom-
mended pressure for a full load. For tyre
pressure decal location, see page 153.
• Clean the towbar regularly and grease the
towball
1
.
• Do not tow a heavy trailer when the car is
brand new. Wait until it has been driven at
least 1000 km.
• The brakes are loaded much more than
usual on long and steep downhill slopes.
Downshift to a lower gear and adjust your
speed.
• The engine is loaded more heavily than
usual when driving with a trailer.
• The engine and gearbox can overheat if
the car is driven with a heavy load in hot
weather. If the temperature gauge for the
engine’s cooling system goes into the red
zone, stop and let the engine idle for a few
minutes. The automatic gearbox responds
through a built-in protection system. See
the message on the information display. If
the car overheats, the air conditioning may
be switched off temporarily.
• In the interests of safety, speed should be
restricted to 80 km/h, even if the laws of
certain countries allow for higher speeds.
• Move the gear selector to parking
position P when parking an automatic car
with a hitched trailer. Always use the park-
ing brake. Block the wheels with chocks
when parking a car with hitched trailer on
a hill.
Trailer weights
Information on permitted trailer weights, see
page 229.
1
Does not apply to the towball if using a stabi-
liser hitch.
WARNING
Follow the stated recommendations for
trailer weights. Otherwise, the rig may be
difficult to control during evasive manoeu-
vres and braking.
NOTE
The stated maximum permitted trailer
weights are those permitted by Volvo. Na-
tional vehicle regulations can further limit
trailer weights and speeds. Towbars can be
certified for higher towing weights than the
car can actually tow.