Volvo Automatics

PS. Last year, when I went for my truck federal inspection mechanic asked if I just put new shoes. He was surprised that they were original with 400K miles on them. My drive axles are usually light 2, so trailer brakes wear out faster.

 

"hill assist" applies the brakes to prevent rolling backwards. The way the truck knows when to
release the brakes is when you apply the throttle. Learn to hold the brake pedal with your left foot
and the throttle with your right foot. You will learn to apply throttle and release the brake pedal
at the same time. Also do not give it to much throttle right away...………….just hold the throttle
at about 15% or so....wait a few moments till you feel the brakes release, transmission engage.....
than start to give it throttle for real.

The lurching is due to giving it to much throttle initially. The brakes are not released yet.....so it tries
to go, than stops, than tries to go again.

As for starting in to high a gear......look on the little screen in the dash.....somewhere it will show what
gear the transmission is currently in. Because the truck doesn't know how steep the hill is or how heavy
loaded you are...……....it will usually try to start in third gear....which may be to high. Guessing you
have the lever on the right side of the steering wheel???? with the little lever you turn to put it in gear???
You can actually shift it simply by "bumping" the lever.....bump down once it shifts down one gear.....
bump up once and it shifts up one gear. This will only work while you are stopped....once you start
moving it will stay in whatever gear it happens to be in. SO....learn to check what gear it is in while you
are stopped....bump the lever while watching the dash indicator.....get it in the right gear and you will
be ready when the light changes.

Don't be afraid to experiment with the shifting.....if it doesn't want to shift it simply beeps at you and
stays where it is.

Starting off is pretty similar to starting off with your manual. If you would have to ride the clutch with your
manual than you need to shift down just like you would with your manual transmission.


Also bumping the lever does work while driving. Once you start rolling it will allow you to shift up
or down by simply bumping the lever. If you want to lock it in gear you have to shift to manual mode.
You do that by pushing that little button/lever on the end of the big lever....push in and hold for
several seconds....watch the indicator in the dash. A for auto...M for manual...bump the button again
and it will return to auto. Most trucks will limit the power and RPMS in Manual.....generally it works
better to leave it in Auto.....simply bump up or down to change one gear at a time.

Again...don't be afraid to experiment......the truck will not destroy itself because you pushed the wrong
button. It just beeps and ignores you. Sorry for the long winded post....Good Luck.

 

Good stuff from rcelmo above, except.......there are lots and lots and lots of iShift software settings and modes and there is no way to tell what your company truck might have. If you own your truck you can go find out exactly and have it programmed to your liking. You might be able to get some info out of maintenance, or the one guy who has a clue about them in your company's maintenance dept, but I doubt it. It has all to do with how the truck was spec'd.

Volvo iShift is VERY complicated. That's why I've been laughing at these responses from people above who always complain about Volvos yet they drove an automatic KW or whatever one time 5 years ago and now they're an expert on Volvo iShift. Lots of Volvo mechanics don't even understand Volvo iShift! This isn't a complaint because they are amazing. They get 8 mpg and hardly ever break except for air line failures (they are pneumatically controlled). Internally they are practically bulletproof.

OP, it took me about a year, no joke, to really get used to my iShift. Sometimes it still seems to go it's own way but it keeps on working and shifting without me having to and keeps on getting amazing fuel mileage. Just stick with it, you'll learn to mostly love it. The part you will never love is that you will never feel as in control as you did with a manual.

 

8 MPG? What are you hauling? Weight, type trailer etc. ?

 

I believe the "hill assist" is supposed to keep you from rolling back into the car behind you. Ya,its a pain in the arse to "take off smoothly". If you try to take off quick itll jerk and buck. Kinda have to give a little throttle lightly a couple seconds before you think the lights gonna turn green,kinda slowly step in the thtottle "on a hill".Suddenly you feel the brake release. Theres definetely a "delay". Forget about a swift take off. Be lucky if you make the light before it turns yellow. JMO

 

Hill assist will only hold the truck for 2-3 sec. It not going to make you miss a light

 

If I'm on a slight incline where it will very slowly roll backwards, then I will disable the hill start and just use my foot. On steeper inclines, I will press the accelerator about 10% or so and then disable the hill start by pressing the switch on the dash. The only times I allow hill start assist to work entirely on its own will be uphill in snow, or entering some docks/ramps where there's a dip before the ramp.

The first 10% or so of accelerator acts like the clutch when taking off from a start. If you disable the hill start, it's much easier to ease into backing up. The only times it would buck and rock for me would be at extreme angles with a heavy load or giant holes or bumps in the parking lot.

 

Great Dane dry van, Freight all kinds.

 

Turn off the hill assist, hill assist is designed do you don't roll backwards, it can take up to 10 second to disengage once you step on the throttle