Door open buzzer

[Glover]

Hi.  Is there any means of either turning off, toning down the door open, key not present (or whatever activates it!) buzzer.  If not is there a way of reducing the length of time it's on?  My wife sometimes stays in the car listening to the radio e.g. when I pop into a roadside café to get drinks for us, fill up etc., so whilst I'm getting out of the car the buzzer just keeps beeping and beeping.  I've looked in the handbook and the various settings but can't find any way to get rid of it.  Is it powered by the same make of batteries that Volvo use for their day time running lights!!!

[NemesisUK]

Do you leave the hybrid system On or have you switched to Accessory mode?

[rayaans]

If you leave the car on and the key in your pocket, it'll make 3 beeps or so and then won't come back but the display will show key not present.

 

[Glover]

Thanks I'll try that.  Incidentally to get into accessory mode after stopping I turn the power off (green light off) then turn it back on again (amber light on).  Is this the correct way or is there a short cut?

[NemesisUK]

If you turn off in any gear other than Park it will go directly to ACC mode. Useful for continued listening.

You can move the selector to Park once ACC mode acknowledged.

[Glover]

Thanks Peter; that will save a lot of hassle:-)

[DanD]

You should never leave your car in ACC mode, especially a hybrid.

You can always leave it in ready mode and leave the keys in the car with your wife.

[Glover]

Thanks Daniel, why is that?  I obviously wouldn't want to do anything that affects the system.

[NemesisUK]

Acc mode simply mean the car's electronics (Audio system etc) are running off the 12v Battery. Perfectly safe to do so for a short period especially if you don't want the engine cutting in (parked in an enclosed space for example) but clearly one shouldn't use for extended time as the 12v Battery will discharge. The car will automatically turn off the Acc mode after ~20min to prevent Battery discharging too low.

[Glover]

Thanks Nemesis, The reason I've been doing it is to stop the engine cutting in whilst parked (which it seems to do even if the Battery pack is almost fully charged), whilst still enjoying the radio.  In every other car I've had I've always turned the engine off and switched to acc. mode regardless of how long I'm in the car e.g. having a break after 2 hours driving etc..  Is the RX Battery undersized for the car or does it have a lot more to do than non-hybrids?  Is it possible to buy a higher rated similar size Battery?

[NemesisUK]

The 12v in the hybrid only has, in normal operation, to power the entry system and start up the various ECUs. Once the hybrid system has started all electrical power is supplied by the traction Battery and the 12v Battery is recharged via the traction Battery.

I don't think the 12v is 'undersized' as such. The dual Battery system in my CLS55 would only allow the audio system to operate for approx 30mins before shutting down. I guess it's just they way it's designed to operate. I don't believe installing a higher capacity would be make a difference or (just guessing) even advisable.

The engine does cut in quite easily, especially during colder weather as the car is trying to maintain cabin temperature. I found (in my limited experience of owning a hybrid since Oct '16) that switching off the Climate system extends the time between engine starts. The down side is it gets cold quickly! That said the same will happen once in ACC mode..

[Glover]

Great explanation thanks.  All the cars I've owned in the past have been pretty unsophisticated when it came to Battery demands so could run on the 12v for quite a while (don't know exactly how long as I never had one that drained whilst on acc.  I'll leave it in the ready mode in future; definitely don't want to sit in a cold car on cold leather seats so a few start ups are a small price to pay for the creature comforts!