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Volvo XC70 Cruise Control Not Working – How To Fix

Volvo is a car brand of the Swedish automaker Volvo Cars. Founded in 1927, the company is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company’s current product range consists of the Volvo S60, V60, XC60, XC70 and S80.

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The XC70 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Volvo Cars since 2008. It is made as a rebranding of the V70, a compact executive car introduced in 1996.

The XC70 is a good option for those who are looking for a spacious and luxurious car. It has a lot of space for cargo and can seat up to 5 passengers. Furthermore, it has a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, a sunroof, LED headlights, and a cruise control.

What is Cruise Control in a Vehicle?

When you are driving on an open road for a long time, it is very tiring to keep pressing the accelerator pedal.

The cruise control system is a technology that helps drivers maintain a steady speed. It uses the vehicle’s speed sensors to monitor the speed of the car and activates the brakes when it detects the driver trying to accelerate too quickly. It does this by maintaining a certain distance between you and the car in front of you.

With the cruise control system, you can speed up or slow down while you are driving. You can also set the vehicle to automatically accelerate or decelerate when you reach a certain speed.  Instead of pressing the accelerator pedal, the throttle is controlled by an actuator. And it allows your car to continue to cruise at the same speed.

The features that allow you to use cruise control are very useful to help relieve the feelings of fatigue that you may feel while driving a long distance. This system is based on the way human drivers drive.

What to Do if Cruise Control is Not Working

If you are driving your vehicle and it does not seem to be accelerating or decelerating, the cruise control system may be not working . Here are some of the things that you can do:

1) Look for a blown fuse

The first thing you should do is to check the fuse that is connected to the cruise control system. This is because a blown fuse is one of the most common reasons as to why the cruise control system in a vehicle can stop working .

It can be found under the hood of your car or on the side of it. You can remove the fuse from its place and try testing it with a voltmeter. If it checks good, then you can move on to the next troubleshooting objective. If not, though, you will need to replace it with a new one. Check the owner’s manual for the fuse that corresponds to your car’s specific cruise control technology.

2) Look for a faulty brake pedal switch

If the fuse is not the problem, then you will need to check for a faulty brake pedal switch. The brake pedal switch is a small metal plate that sits between the brake pedal and the throttle. It’s connected to your cruise control system and it senses if you are pressing on the brake pedal or not.

If it is damaged, then your cruise control system will stop working until you replace it. If you notice that there is no power coming from your cruise control system while driving, then this may be one of the causes of this problem.

Because the cruise control is wired into the brake pedal switch, any fault or defect in the wiring may cause it to stop working. When the brake pedal switch malfunctions, the car thinks that the brakes are engaged and therefore it will turn off automatically. Additionally, your car’s brake light might be stuck on, leaving other drivers in the same road as yours confused.

If you have a faulty brake pedal switch, then you will need to replace it.

3) Look for a damaged speed sensor

If the brake pedal switch is not the problem, then you will need to check for a damaged speed sensor. The speed sensor is located in front of your engine and it monitors your vehicle’s speed. It sends this information to the cruise control system and it activates the brakes when you try to accelerate too quickly.

If a sensor stops working, the cruise control will subsequently malfunction, and the speedometer may start to act strangely. You may end up getting inaccurate readings from the sensor, which can be very dangerous

When there is a problem with a speed sensor, you will have either an ABS warning light or a check engine light on the dashboard. Check if there are any signs of damage on your speed sensor. If so, then you will need to replace it with a new one.

4) Check for faulty wirings or connectors

If you have replaced the brake pedal switch and speed sensor, but the cruise control still does not work, then you will need to check for faulty wirings or connectors. This is a common problem with most cars. There are many electrical parts that are in close proximity to each other, which can lead to short circuits.

Check your wiring diagram to see if there is any faulty wiring that needs to be repaired or replaced. If so, then you will need to repair it by replacing damaged wires or fixing a faulty connector. Check the owner’s manual for the exact location of each wire and make sure that it matches your car’s specific wiring diagram.

5) Check the cruise control buttons and levers

If the cruise control is not working, then you will need to check the buttons and levers on your dashboard. There are many buttons and levers that are located in front of your steering wheel.

Some of them are for controlling your car’s functions such as the windows, windshield wipers, seat heaters, and more. Some other ones are for controlling your cruise control system such as the button or the button that allows you to turn off the cruise control.

Make sure that these buttons and levers work correctly, and that neither of them are loose or lodged somewhere. When these do not work properly, it can be very dangerous for you on the road.

Max Anthony

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Volvo Cruise Control Fixes – 850, S70, V70 Points of Failure?

Here are some Volvo cruise control fixes to work through if the cruise control on your Volvo stops working .

“The stem could be the problem. On my S70, I took it apart and found a broken wire. After soldering the two ends together and shrink wrapping the connection, all was good.

However, this is not usually the point that is the problem. Here are a couple of other common Volvo cruise control fixes to consider:

Usually, it’s a broken hose on the cruise control pump that resides under the battery tray; or

The stop/brake light switch that is associated with the brake pedal has broken.

I checked both of these places out first before finally taking my turn signal stalk out and apart. Good luck and let us know how things go.”

’95 850 Cruise Control points of failure?

With Volvo’s Adaptive Cruise Control, you can have your car maintain a preset speed or interval / spacing from the vehicle in front of you. This is made possible by the use of a a camera and a radar sensor to detect slower-moving in front of you. Together, they monitor the road and vehicles ahead of you and automatically adjust your vehicle’s speed. Be sure to always pay attention and keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the steering wheel even when you have Adaptive Cruise Control engaged.

Last Updated on August 19, 2020 by Brad

• Post date February 5, 2009
• Post author By Matt
• Post categories In Volvo 850 , Volvo Electrical & Battery , Volvo Interior: Seats, Switches Etc. , Volvo S70 & V70 1998-2000
• Tags cruise control , cruise control pump
• 3 Comments on Volvo Cruise Control Fixes – 850, S70, V70 Points of Failure?

V70 manual 2005 estate . Cruise control info on dash bord comes on only at standstill or when in gear with clutch pressed down. When driving on motorway cruise control does not engage and nothing showing on dash bord …….please help ,,,,,!

Yes, to replace stem, you have to remove steering wheel. It is suprisingly easy though. I recently bought a new stem and swapped it out in about half an hour. Unfortunately, this did not resolve my issue. I’ve also looked at hoses near the vacuum pump because its a common failure point due to battery acid eating up hoses.

Everything looks fine. Next I need to check the brake kill switch and/or verify the pump is working well (not sure how to do this though!)

HI All, Newbie. I replaced the under hood cruise control relay, under driver’s side brake switch, and vacuum switch, with salvage yard parts. Still no change, cruise control not working. To check stem do I have to remove steering wheel? Thanks in advance

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Cruise Control not working

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My car received 1.8 software upgrade & now I can not get the cruise control to work? It says "Unavailable" on the drivers screen when I try to turn it on. Is there a setting that I need to turn on? Anyone else had this problem?  

Did you do the usual re booting? Anything else not working?  

Everything else is working but I forgot to reboot. I will try that tomorrow. Thanks  

When things don't work in this car the first step is always rebooting the ihu.  

@jerrybbluestein , Is your foot on the brake when you're trying to set your cruise control speed? I've seen the "Unavailable" message when I try and use Cruise Control, but only when I'm headed down the hill from my house and I want cruise control to apply a kinda-of-a down hill speed control for me. I've noticed that cruise control always works when I take my foot off the brake before pushing the button. It never works if I push the button when my foot is already on the brake as I'm headed down the hill...  

Cameras must be unobstructed and clean. Seat belt must be fastened.  

Trays must be in the upright position.  

jerrybbluestein said: My car received 1.8 software upgrade & now I can not get the cruise control to work? It says "Unavailable" on the drivers screen when I try to turn it on. Is there a setting that I need to turn on? Anyone else had this problem? Click to expand...

After 1.5 months, the part to fix my cruise control finally arrived. I bought my Vovvo Update on my cruise control. The radar module finally came in to replace my defective module that was isolated as the cause of my cruise control failure. After the technician replace the radar module, he came out and said your cruise control is now working. Upon driving my vehicle home, I engaged my cruise control. My cruise control works but fluctuates continuously. I placed the speed at 70 the max for the highway and my cruise control fluctuated from 65 to 72 with no cars in front of me. I called Volvo and they said I must bring it back for adjustments. Luckily they can fit me in tomorrow. I hope my issues are finally resolved. This is the first Volvo I have owned. Thus far, I do not have a good impression of Volvo. This will be my fourth visit to the service department. I only have 1600 miles on my Volvo. My cruise control died at 600 miles.  

C40 Cruise Control not Working. Need Advice. I only have 700 miles on my new Volvo C40. My adaptive cruise control was on going down the highway and suddenly disengaged and stated unavailable. This occurred last week and has not worked since. Every time I engage my cruise control, I get the message unavailable. I cleaned the camera in front of my car, cleaned the windshield where the rearview mirror is, had a recent software update, and attempted to reboot my software, and cruise control continues to indicate unavailable. I called Volvo, and they indicated I did everything correctly to get the cruise control to work correctly. Volvo said to make a service appointment. I called my dealership Weaver Brothers Volvo, and they scheduled me for service in 2 weeks. It is poor service to have to wait two weeks to get a defect on a new C40 with a cruise control issue. Does anybody have any ideas on how I can fix my cruise control immediately?  

Sounds like a service issue sadly.  

My cruise control has finally been repaired! Hopefully, I will not have any future issues.  

My cruise control has failed again. After I purchased my Volvo, the cruise control failed with only 600 miles on my car. My Volvo dealership isolated the problem as a defective radar module. My cruise control has failed again with only 2000 miles on my C40. I will call the service department for another appointment to fix my cruise. I am very frustrated with my new C40!  

I have 635 miles on my C40 and have encountered this same issue. Calling the service center to try to get an appointment. Will keep the thread updated. @C40 Recharge Driver are you still queued to get a new part?  

Having one of the first XC40 Recharge P8 in the Netherlands. Last month all support systems - cruise control, lane assist, radar/camera stopped functioning. Solution - replacing the windshield / frontwindow as the intellisystem is glued on it , this is a combined module with radar/camera and heating all stuck together. Happy that it happened under the Volvo garantuee. Sad if this will happen again outside the garantuee. Must be a massive amount of coins to replace....  

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Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)

Adaptive Cruise Control helps your Volvo maintain a set speed or time interval in relation to the vehicle ahead.  This feature utilizes a camera as well as a radar sensor to detect slower moving vehicles ahead of you and automatically adjusts your Volvo's speed.  Once you are no longer behind the vehicle you will speed back up to your preset speed.   To activate the function, you must be driving at speeds 9 mph (15 km/h) or higher, the seatbelt needs to be fastened, and the doors need to be closed.  

To activate Adaptive Cruise Control:

• Press the ACC button in the middle of the key pad on the left hand side of the steering wheel to put it in standby mode
• Scroll to ACC using the arrow keys
• a brief press changes the speed by increments of 5 mph, a long press will change the speed increment to 1 mph

To switch between Adaptive Cruise Control and standard Cruise Control simply swipe the Sensus screen from left to right to show the Vehicle Functions screen and tap the Cruise Control button. Note : Manual Cruise Control is only active at speeds above 20mph (30km/h).

Note : This system is designed to be a supplementary driving aid.  It is not intended to replace the driver's attention and judgment.  Adaptive Cruise Control cannot cover all driving situations and traffic, weather and road conditions.  ACC is not a collision avoidance system!  It does not sense pedestrians, animals, bicycles, or motorcycles.  You, as the driver, are always responsible for braking the vehicle.  

Questions others found helpful

• What is Mobility by Volvo?
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• Using Sensus Connected Touch
• Pilot Assist
• Resources available for adaptive equipment for your Volvo

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Cruise control not working

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Re: Cruise control not working (mjw930) Cruise control not working here as well. Dealer ordered a part, it's arrived, I just haven't taken it in to be replaced. Clutch pedal position sensor malfunctioned. University Volvo is doing the work, it's warranty.  

Luckilly my local dealer is a regional parts warehouse for Volvo, they should have the part in stock (I hope). So far I haven't had to wait on any parts including a wheel when it was new.  

Re: (mjw930) Cruise control? What is that? Seriously, living in So. Cal. there is never an opportunity to use it. It's always stop and go traffic. I think they ought to make it an option for cars in Cali. Even on a trip to Vegas it's almost impossible to use it. http://********************/smile/emthdown.gif  

Re: (blackTT55) couple of times my cruise control stops working after I shut it off momentarily. but when I turn my engine on/off it works again. bad electronics.  

Re: Cruise control not working (mjw930) Mine doesn't work either. All the lights go on but it just doesn't work. Have the abrupt jerk on deceleration, especially at lower speeds. Could be associated with Axle Ping since there is a clunk. Since they did find a loose shift cable, I may ask them to look into that.  

Re: Cruise control not working (dhdd) My dealer (who seems to be pretty good now that I've talked to them in depth) is confident that the Clutch Position sensor will send a signal to the ECM that changes the way the e-gas works. The throttle curve is differnet when the clutch is depressed vs. when you simply let up off the gas as per Volvo's tech line. They confirmed all of the hard parts (replaced 2 motor mounts), reloaded the ECM and recalibrated everything (without me asking) to try to clear the jerky throttle but since I didn't complin about no cruise then didn't run that sensor test. Once I took it back with a faulty cruise they said the computer found the defective sensor, once it was told to look for one. They also ran all the other sensor tests and they came back clean. I should have the car back today, I'll post up if it cleared both problems.  

mister2cool said: I swear, the more I read on this board, the more I think there's Windows running in our cars. Click to expand...

Do you have any images of the proposed design for your GSX-r?  

Re: (mjw930) Clutch position sensor replaced and ALL driveability issues are corrected. It's amazing that the clutch position has so much effect on the e-gas but it does. For those with a jerky throttle (6M ONLY) check to see if your cruise is working. If it isn't then get the dealer to check the sensor. For those with failed or intermittent cruise you should do the same. It's amazing how much difference it makes.  

mjw930 said: Clutch position sensor replaced and ALL driveability issues are corrected. It's amazing that the clutch position has so much effect on the e-gas but it does. For those with a jerky throttle (6M ONLY) check to see if your cruise is working. If it isn't then get the dealer to check the sensor. For those with failed or intermittent cruise you should do the same. It's amazing how much difference it makes. Click to expand...

Mine hasn't worked in a few months, I haven't gone to get it checked but I do have a checkup for recall 220 this Thursday, I'll have them check that then and see what my issues are; I am getting an error code (when using OBDII Scanner) P0808 which does link to the cruise control failure but like you guys, the CRUISE lights up but no cruising.  

Does your throttle jerk at all? Mine is very sensistive in the mroning but by the end of the day it seems to work a little better. Also it seems like its holding back at full throttle. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks  

No, not really, it does sometimes feel I'm not getting full acceleration in 1st or 2nd gear but other times it pulls hard quickly - mood swings I suppose.  

Big G, thanks for digging this up! I have the PO808 code too. Just found out my cruise control wasn't working as I set out on a 9hr drive to Minneapolis. I located the part at Tasca. Part# 9472979. Sells for $40.97. Does anyone have any experience installing this sensor? Nick? Chilled? anyone?  

No problem. I just noticed my car was driving crappy in the morning but I figured it was just because its been hot and sitting overnight. I just got my car back on the road after 5 days from nailing a pothole and bending my wheel. Now this is my new headache. Thanks for pulling the part number. I also am curious if this is a difficult DIY job.  

Bumping this up again, because as I wait for my part from Tasca, the car now starts without the clutch depressed, and sometimes won't start with the clutch depressed. I'm assuming this is related to the pedal sensor, but just wondering if anyone knows if this might be something else. I guess I'm just blabbing for now, I'll know Thursday or Friday if the sensor fixes this. Again, does anyone have experience with replacing this part? Easy DIY or not?  

I'm glad this came up too, let us know when the part comes in. My car also starts without clutch depressed I also still never got to the dealership to find out why CC dont work. ha  

Don't know if this will help but mine hadn't worked since I first bought my car in Dec. 2007, but I installed an amp and sub a couple of months ago and disconnected the battery before doing so. After about 3-4 hours of being disconnected I connected again and went for a drive, out of curiosity I tried turning the cruise control on and it worked again. So have any of you just tried disconnecting the batter for a while?? I don't know what else I could have done for it to start working again but it's been working for the past 2-3 months with no problem.  

In my case, this didn't work, I've had the battery disconnected several times for extended periods this week. I've been doing my interior swap gradually, working around the rain, work schedule, and family duties. Maybe it will help others. Thanks for the suggestion!  

Where is this located. Mine has not worked sense i bought the car and I thought just thought volvo's u didn't have to push the clutch In but i guess it was the sensor. Which I need to fix because I want my cruse control lol.. Thanx for the help.  

Update: took the caR out for about a 5 mile drive. Lots of stop and go city driving. I ran it through some regular intersections and 4 way stops that have bumps and uphill starts that usually cause bucking and rough low gear engagement. What a difference! Shifts into first and second now mesh at a lower pedal position. There used to be a noticeable buck on these shifts too. That's gone, smooth as silk. Much smoother power band in these low gears. Smooth when riding down a lower gear on a downhill at higher revs. The car also no longer starts without the clutch depressed, that's a good thing. This cheesy little part seems to transmit a lot of important information to the car. I never really thought about how much the car's idea of where the clutch pedal is could affect so many things. I would go as far to say that anyone who has what they think are clutch issues may look at this part first, as it is about $41, and snaps in place in less than a minute Damn! I totally forgot to get on the highway and see if cruise control is working again!!!  

Glad you got it working! Good luck on the CC test. I have similar issues as stated above, the low gear bucking, no clutch pedal required to start car and no CC; also, my headlights are on all the time, unless in parking position switch, its on. Has anyone else experience this? I've tried the two fuse ECM reset, I'm going to disconnect the battery cables later on and clamp them together while washing the car, much more than the 15 minutes but we'll see if that fixes the lights and CC issues. Otherwise, whether I might need it or not, I will order the part 9472979 from Tasca.com, as you said, its only $41 and it might fix my issues, its worth a shot.  

Hmm, this is exciting. I've been noticing some bucking in lower gears lately, and one day last week my car didn't start up with the clutch depressed. I'll have to go out and see if it starts up without the clutch depressed at lunch. Cruise control still works for me so far.  

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Adaptive cruise control not working

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Hello everyone, Lovely to meet you and participate in the forum. I have a very specific question: ever since my V40 exited the warranty my adaptive cruise control started to act up. What previously happened only under a heavy rain or heavy snow, that the adaptive cruise control gets deactivated, now happens almost always. I can perhaps use it for a few minutes before I get the prompt that adaptive cruise control is no loner active and I can only use the fixed speed cruise control if I confirm I accept. Did anyone have this happening to them? Last time I was at the shop (mechanic granted) he said it can be the contacts and agreed to clean them, but no luck. I do need to get myself to a Volvo dealer, but don't want it to cost an arm and a leg. Thank you all in advance!  

What exactly the messages is saying....? I have faced 1-2 times in the past the same issue but after turn off-on the engine again the error was cleared...  

Error text says: "Radar blocked See manual" and then in the next screen "Adaptive cruise control cancelled" I can just click OK and after a while am able to activate it again, the issue was it would work for very short time and deactivate itself again. @MrMR thanks for the insight. Is there a way to verify this? I do wash the car with pressure washer and go over the sensor. I have not seen any cracks but will go an inspect more closely. Funny enough, as of recently the feature is working a lot better than before. Before it would work for 30 seconds, a minute tops until it would turn off. And now I've been able to use it for 30 minutes in a row in the last few rides. Of course, it would be good to go back to when it was fully working as I loved the feature.  

Lero said: Hello everyone, Lovely to meet you and participate in the forum. I have a very specific question: ever since my V40 exited the warranty my adaptive cruise control started to act up. What previously happened only under a heavy rain or heavy snow, that the adaptive cruise control gets deactivated, now happens almost always. I can perhaps use it for a few minutes before I get the prompt that adaptive cruise control is no loner active and I can only use the fixed speed cruise control if I confirm I accept. Did anyone have this happening to them? Last time I was at the shop (mechanic granted) he said it can be the contacts and agreed to clean them, but no luck. I do need to get myself to a Volvo dealer, but don't want it to cost an arm and a leg. Thank you all in advance! Click to expand...

Mine would give up in very heavy rain or snow as it blocked the signals. Could it be that there is muck accumulating behind the front grille?  

Cruise control, adaptive or otherwise, should not be used in adverse weather conditions. There is a high risk that the vehicle could lose control. It may be that the system detected slippage or inconsistent readings at the wheels and deactivated the system before anything serious happened, but in any case Volvo warn that it should not be used in such conditions in the owners manual. It's quite obvious really. The system could continue or increase acceleration at the wheels if they start to lose grip, or for the adaptive system, also attempt to brake in similar situations. This is one of those circumstances where it really could pay to read the manual. Should you be involved in a serious collision whilst specific driver support systems were found to be activated in contravention of the manufacturers warnings in the handbook, it could be very difficult to defend a charge of careless or dangerous driving, or even (God forbid) causing death by careless or dangerous driving!  

If I were you I would get your main car battery checked out first as I know that when they are on their way out the car is set up to turn off some of its functionality. The usual one is the "stop/start" function so as to save the battery. I'm not sure if you use that function or not. Some people turn it off as they find it annoying. If it is used it is a good indication of an impending battery failure. We bought a Merc SLK last year with very low mileage but the "stop/start" wasn't working and sure enough within less than two weeks of ownership it went into limp home mode and I found myself buying a new battery. So I would check this out first before looking at the cruise control. Kind regards Paul  

There are numerous reasons why start/stop might be disabled, most of them listed in the car handbook, and a faulty battery is possibly the rarest, although a battery not at optimum charge due to short trips, heavy use of consumers on the car etc, is one of the most likely, and just requires the battery to be charged independently to restore functionality. Volvo recommend a charge once a month if the car is unused or used mainly for short trips. You have to realise that cars with start/stop also have intelligent alternators and a regime of battery recharging on coasting or braking (regenerative charging) which is cut back on throttle use. The system maintains the battery at about 80% SOC to allow headroom to store regenerative charge between stop/start events, and will disable the start/stop system at around 71-72% SOC. So effectively, less than 10% of the total battery capacity might be available for use before start/stop will be disabled. The reason is to prevent a situation where start/stop shuts off the engine if the battery is insufficiently charged to ensure that it will restart reliably. Driver safety systems will not be shut off or interrupted by the battery monitoring system, but it may prioritise switching off less critical things such as the infotainment system if it detects low voltage at the battery.  

Thank you for the very detailed info about this subject. Modern cars are so complex and all in the pursuit of fuel economy. Kind regards Paul  

Never crossed my mind to check the inside of the plastic cover. Will do next time. System works sometimes but not quite as it was before. I have not seen it being weather dependent, but not like I've kept track tbh.  

Just had the same fault repaired on mine. Fortunately covered on the extended warranty as the new radar unit was over £1100! Great service from Riverside in Wakefield and a new C40 Recharge as a loan car, what an amazing machine to drive!  

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