Preconditioning for winter, T8 got message parking climate unavailable

[FusionRedXC60]

I set timer to precondition every morning in last two winters no problem.
In summer I disabled the timer.
Now I enabled the timer again, first tried through VOC and got error "can't set timer". Looked at it in car and the time was actually enabled.
So this morning at the timed moment, I see "parking climate issue" on VOC, and the car shows message "parking climate unavailable temporarily".

No clue what it means. It is plugged in and fully charged overnight.
Maybe a good chance to get software update. But first want to check if software solution for this exists already.
My software was updated this May.

[Update, I will try track the morning status here.]

12/2 HVCH replaced by dealer. 12/3 got back. 12/4 worked.
11/29 failed
11/28 failed. tried start car but no driving, and set new timer and it worked.
11/27 failed. worked from VoC after a short trip.
11/26 worked from VoC after a short trip.
11/25 failed.
11/23 failed. 39F, worked after a short trip.
11/15-17 failed. 50F
11/14 failed by timer. Start from VoC app and it worked.
11/7-11/8 didn't work.
11/4 It worked but threw the message before it finishes.
10/30 35F worked.
10/29 36F didn't work.

Got software upate in Oct. Problem still persists.

[X3JA]

I had the similar error. My guess is that parking climate wasn't needed because of no big difference between outside and inside temperature.

[FusionRedXC60]

I had the similar error. My guess is that parking climate wasn't needed because of no big difference between outside and inside temperature.

Outside is 60F or lower, and I set cabin temperature to 70F. It is not big but still obvious difference.

[Gary-16-Xc90]

I had the issue in Oct. 2018. Here are my notes: “Check out why preconditioning scheduling via VOC does not work on iPhone even though I can start preconditioning manually via the iPhone and VOC.”

I think TJ 33389 might address this. As best I know, I no longer have the issue with the June 17, 2019 update for an XC90.

According to TJ 33389, a software fix should have been included with week 40, 2018 for the XC60s. If nothing else, a TSU now “should” fix it.

I will test mine tomorrow.

Update: I tested my XC90 and the VOC-timed preconditioning worked exactly as expected, on time. I verified that it was working when I went out to the car. In my case, it was 74°F this morning and Climate was set to 74°F.


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[FusionRedXC60]

I am trying disable the "use additional heater" option. Will see if any difference. If this works then maybe the high voltage heater is not functioning.

Shoot a report to customer help and they responded saying will get back to me.

Back in May they broke the radiator and replaced it when replacing the thermostat. Could be something forgot to put back together, like a small harness or whatever.

Anyhow, this is probably a chance to get software update. Maybe I could wait till December to get Nov update if any.

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[GNU]

My local dealership tells me there’s no ETA for fixing TJ33389 yet.

I had my XC60 T8 updated about a month ago and it did not include the fix to make parking climate settings work as intended

[FusionRedXC60]

My local dealership tells me there’s no ETA for fixing TJ33389 yet.

I had my XC60 T8 updated about a month ago and it did not include the fix to make parking climate settings work as intended

Mine had been working in past winter at least for timed preconditioning. I used it every morning in week days.

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[GNU]

The preconditioning works but all the settings (heated steering wheel and seats) are still ignored by the car.

(I guess it’s a breaking change in the API versions and the 3rd party are that makes the app and Volvocars firmware team probably don’t communicate very well, if at all and are located in very different locations)

[FusionRedXC60]

The preconditioning works but all the settings (heated steering wheel and seats) are still ignored by the car.

(I guess it’s a breaking change in the API versions and the 3rd party that makes the app and Volvocars firmware team probably don’t communicate very well, if at all)

I had heated seats and steering wheel when preconditioned in morning last winter.

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[FusionRedXC60]

First try, I disabled "use additional heater", start preconditioning from VoC app and it worked as expected.

It failed to stop preconditioning from the app though. So I will wait tomorrow morning and see if the timer works.

Next step will be to enable "using additional heater" and try again. So I can isolate the issue to the high voltage heater.

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[Gary-16-Xc90]

@FusionRedXC60, sounds like a good plan.

As I updated my post above, preconditioning worked fine, but mine was cooling and dehumidifying - 74°F and 95% humidity with climate set at 72°F in the car.

My additional heater was set to off and heat would not have come on - so my timed preconditioning is not the same scenario as yours.

I will try a heating test later, but it will need to cool down a bit first and it certainly will. I will be taking my car in for swapping out summer tires et al in Oct. and I will request an update if mine is not working. I am optimistic....

Let us know how your test results go.




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[FusionRedXC60]

Ok, without additional heater, preconditioning works on timer too.
With additional heater, preconditioning is unavailable on timer, or start from VoC app.
Seems petty clear the high voltage heater is not functioning.

I should have tried this before 20k service. Now need to bring it in again.

[wolfmon]

Ok, without additional heater, preconditioning works on timer too.
With additional heater, preconditioning is unavailable on timer, or start from VoC app.
Seems petty clear the high voltage heater is not functioning.

I should have tried this before 20k service. Now need to bring it in again.

US spec T8, I have somewhat similar issues with preconditioning, seems to be very buggy. I often use "camper mode" for longer road trips to sleep in the car with climate running (wrote a script to keep it running via VoC). Sometimes I get the same error message even when the car is plugged in and charging (unplug the car, start the car, turn off and plug it back in seems to solve the problem for me). Sometimes preconditioning will turn on even when the car is not plugged in, especially when the SoC is high. But yesterday preconditioning still works when the HV battery shows empty @ 0% on both cluster and VoC. Very inconsistent. Car has latest software as of July.

[RootDKJ]

It’s 39° in my garage this morning so I set a parking climate timer for 9. Turned the heated seats on too. We’ll see what happens.

[GNU]

US spec T8, I have somewhat similar issues with preconditioning, seems to be very buggy. I often use "camper mode" for longer road trips to sleep in the car with climate running (wrote a script to keep it running via VoC). Sometimes I get the same error message even when the car is plugged in and charging (unplug the car, start the car, turn off and plug it back in seems to solve the problem for me). Sometimes preconditioning will turn on even when the car is not plugged in, especially when the SoC is high. But yesterday preconditioning still works when the HV battery shows empty @ 0% on both cluster and VoC. Very inconsistent. Car has latest software as of July.

That script sounds interesting. Anything you can share?
I often use the parking climate remote start-AC/heater for my dog when I have to run in to a store or something (I never rely on it of course)

[FusionRedXC60]

Ok, without additional heater, preconditioning works on timer too.
With additional heater, preconditioning is unavailable on timer, or start from VoC app.
Seems petty clear the high voltage heater is not functioning.

I should have tried this before 20k service. Now need to bring it in again.

This morning it failed again, even without additional heater.
So it is something more involved. Anyhow, service is scheduled a week later. We'll see.

[partridge]

I am trying disable the "use additional heater" option. Will see if any difference. If this works then maybe the high voltage heater is not functioning.

Shoot a report to customer help and they responded saying will get back to me.

Back in May they broke the radiator and replaced it when replacing the thermostat. Could be something forgot to put back together, like a small harness or whatever.

Anyhow, this is probably a chance to get software update. Maybe I could wait till December to get Nov update if any.

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Where is this option?


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[Gary-16-Xc90]

Where is this option?


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In settings on a T8 (e.g., US market)




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[partridge]

Ok, without additional heater, preconditioning works on timer too.
With additional heater, preconditioning is unavailable on timer, or start from VoC app.
Seems petty clear the high voltage heater is not functioning.

I should have tried this before 20k service. Now need to bring it in again.

Ok. I’ve got the same problem. I’m at 55k, so this would be why I got the VIP plan I suppose.

I’ve had seasonal Parking climate issues with this car. Happened last year too. And this summer. I feel like they’ve replaced the HV heater system before.


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[wolfmon]

That script sounds interesting. Anything you can share?
I often use the parking climate remote start-AC/heater for my dog when I have to run in to a store or something (I never rely on it of course)

Sure, there is an open source VoC API by molobrakos on github that can handle pretty much most basic functions of VoC. Link: https://github.com/molobrakos/volvooncall

I just wrote a bash script one night on my phone with a text editor to check some car states and wake up the car every once in a while. Just to give you an idea, nothing fancy and there are many better way to write this script. You should be able to run this on most Linux distro as along as you have the dependencies for VoC API and jq for handling JSON. I would put it on something like a raspberry pi and leave it home and remotely trigger the script either manually or via a secret action (e.g. crack 2 windows open and sunroof for x minuets to toggle the script)

Please do note that none of the code here should be used for experiment purpose only, use at your own risk, you should always have a kill-switch in case something goes haywire. (Like disable everything by changing your VoC password.)

Always use this in a well ventilated area, do not rely on vehicle system to prohibit the engine from starting (Don't assume the ICE won't start if the car is plugged in, T8's J1772 is very badly implemented and sometimes (always) does not appears to be respond to proximity detection pin on the charging connector).

Again, use at your own risk. I am not responsible for what ever happens to you and your car. This is for US spec only, for any other markets the car might behave differently.

#!/bin/bash

#WARNING: FOR TESTING ONLY, VEHICLE SHOULD BE ACTIVELY SUPERVISED AT ALL TIMES, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
#infinite loop until script is killed
while :
do

#For logging timestamp
date

#Get HV battery SoC
hv_batt_soc=$(./voc -u <VoC-Username> -p <VoC-Password> -r na print | jq -r ".hvBattery" | jq -r ".hvBatteryLevel")

echo "HV Battery: $hv_batt_soc%"

#Get current climate status
climate_status=$(./voc -u <VoC-Username> -p <VoC-Password> -r na status | grep heater)

echo "$climate_status"

# Proceed w/ camper mode if HV battery SoC is Ok.
if (( "$hv_batt_soc" > 20 )); then

echo "Battery SoC is good, executing camper mode"
# Only invoke RPC to start preconditioning if it's off
# This is only tested w/ USA spec XC60 T8
if [[ $climate_status == *"off"* ]]; then
echo "Climate is off, starting heater"
#Preconditioning state appears to be linked to "heater"
./voc -u <VoC-Username> -p <VoC-Password> -r na heater start | grep heater
else
echo "Climate is on, checking back in 5 mins"
fi

else
# If battery is low the don't preoceed
echo "Battery SoC Low, disabling camper mode"

fi

# Wait 5 mins
sleep 5m

done

[Gary-16-Xc90]

This morning it failed again, even without additional heater.
So it is something more involved. Anyhow, service is scheduled a week later. We'll see.

@FusionRedXC60
I just verified that my preset VOC timer with the additional heater started on time (in my MY16 XC90). I just wanted to pass along my test to help you narrow your issue.


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[FusionRedXC60]

@FusionRedXC60
I just verified that my preset VOC timer with the additional heater started on time (in my MY16 XC90). I just wanted to pass along my test to help you narrow your issue.


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Thanks for trying it. I now get this warning every morning without using additional heater option. A service is scheduleded in a week or so.

[FusionRedXC60]

Today preconditioning was success after a week of failure everyday. It was without using additional heater. So it looks still random.
Air temperature in morning is around 45F these days. Garage door was open at night so this morning maybe the car is colder than last week.

Still one week till the service appointment. I enabled additional heater in the hope to repro the problem everyday.

[FusionRedXC60]

Today it works again, with additional heater. Also works when started preconditioning from VOC app.
Temperature is slightly higher than yesterday, 55F, garage door closed.

So I am clueless now. It is just random. If it works 3 days in a row, I'll have to cancel the service appointment next Monday. If it fails again, I'll take a picture of the car status message and see what dealer can find out. Maybe just a chance to get software update...

[FusionRedXC60]

The thing today is I saw it in morning again, after my appointment today was cancelled last Saturday.
So it comes when you are not prepared.

So I called dealer and they say I can drop by and see if can squeeze it in.
So I start the engine after the call and the message is gone. And I didn't take a photo.

Well, I still go to the dealer, put it on their charge station, and try start preconditioning from VoC app.
And it works, just like whenever you want to demo an issue. Warm air comes out, steering wheel and seat becomes warm. No error message.

So I use VoC app to stop parking climate. After a while, the app says can't stop it. And car pops up the message.
I then grab the service guy and he takes a picture of it. I also take a pic.

But they are fully booked today. So they scheduled next Monday for me.
The guy said it is known problem starting preconditioning from VoC app, but anyhow I told him I use timer to start from the car every morning.

When start and drive it again, the message is gone. It only stays there for one next start.
Will see how random it is going to be, and any luck next Monday.

[FusionRedXC60]

Brought it to dealer today. Apparently they don't find anything abnormal. They did a free total software update and let me continue monitoring it.

It is weird it randomly works. Seems works better in cold days, and doesn't work in some not so cold morning. Maybe related to some temperature sensor.

Anyhow, If it is still random, I will use this excuse to get software update in future.

[Update the next day]
well, it happened again this morning.
So I update the custom support email with this and will see what they can suggest.

It could be some timing / stability issue introduced sometime early this year, because it worked perfectly in two winters before 2019 March.

Will to see how they are going to investigate this. I wish I don't need to escalate for such "soft" issue. but who knows.

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[FusionRedXC60]

I wonder if ambient temperature is a factor here. The failure happens when it is 50F+. Seems in cold weather (40F+) it could work better.
Will keep monitoring.

Seems they don't list exact conditions for pre-condition to be possible.

[ManBearPig]

Newbie T8 owner here with just a technical question (or 5). How does the T8 heat up in the morning with the PreCond, nothing is running so where is it getting heat. Should I guess that the "use additional heater" is just some heat strips like my household heatpump backup? (man that has to destroy battery if not plugged in). If you don't use that setting, I guess I'm confused where it's making heat, does this imply it's starting the ICE to heat up the car?(which I would hate, because I make it a game to try not to use gas from Monday-Friday. Extended question: once the car is running, is it pulling heat from the coolant loop that sustains the battery pack and the electric drive motor? I am the little kid who says WHY to every statement in life, I must learn.

Thanks for any insights.

[FusionRedXC60]

Newbie T8 owner here with just a technical question (or 5). How does the T8 heat up in the morning with the PreCond, nothing is running so where is it getting heat. Should I guess that the "use additional heater" is just some heat strips like my household heatpump backup? (man that has to destroy battery if not plugged in). If you don't use that setting, I guess I'm confused where it's making heat, does this imply it's starting the ICE to heat up the car?(which I would hate, because I make it a game to try not to use gas from Monday-Friday. Extended question: once the car is running, is it pulling heat from the coolant loop that sustains the battery pack and the electric drive motor? I am the little kid who says WHY to every statement in life, I must learn.

Thanks for any insights.

It is a T8. You have to plug it in at night, get charged and it will blow warm air to the cabin and warm up steering wheel and seats for pre-conditioning started by timers you can set, or from VoC app. It has an electric heater that is also working when you are driving, and an additonal electric heater. Heater is like stove that uses electricity, no need to run anything.

It would warm up battery coolant also I guess, because it drains quite a bit electricity, a little more than the 110V charger can supply. But I don't have technical proof on this.

When it is running on battery, anything heated is from battery ultimately, including coolant.

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[t-man]

Greetings from Finland! I'm in the thinking of buying a used xc60 T8, but the car originates from Italy and even the national supplier isn't sure if the car has a aux heater or not. I know northern europe gets the petrol burner, but the other variant is the HVCH-electric heater (https://usparts.volvocars.com/p/Volv.../31694665.html) Does anyone know where this heater is located in the motorbay? I know the petrol burner is located in the right fender or that's where the exhaust comes from (I have this also in my old Mondeo). Any info is highly appreciated so I could check does the car have the electric heater or not.

[FusionRedXC60]

Greetings from Finland! I'm in the thinking of buying a used xc60 T8, but the car originates from Italy and even the national supplier isn't sure if the car has a aux heater or not. I know northern europe gets the petrol burner, but the other variant is the HVCH-electric heater (https://usparts.volvocars.com/p/Volv.../31694665.html) Does anyone know where this heater is located in the motorbay? I know the petrol burner is located in the right fender or that's where the exhaust comes from (I have this also in my old Mondeo). Any info is highly appreciated so I could check does the car have the electric heater or not.

Maybe it is easy to take a look at thr settings. There should be the "Additional heater" option under system/climate.

I believe it should have the electric heater if no fuel burner.

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[t-man]

I actually test drove it over the weekend and there was such a option under the climate menu, but could not get it to precondition when plugged in and battery fully charged. Got the same error message as the original poster and did not get any heat during extended test drive when in pure mode and air condition in HI-mode and external heater option enabled. When trying to precondition manually it tries to start it (audible noises and air starting to come out from the vents) but then error. I'm baffled that even the distributor couldn't tell does every T8 come out from the factory with somekind of external heater (even in warmer climate regions such as Thailand). Or is it the same problem that the HVCH-heater needs to be replaced if it's there...maybe I need to ask directly from the factory &#x1f642; The thing is that the car has every single extra option fitted (even the heated windscreen) but would need info where the heater is located so I could go and take a peek if it's there or not

[FusionRedXC60]

I actually test drove it over the weekend and there was such a option under the climate menu, but could not get it to precondition when plugged in and battery fully charged. Got the same error message as the original poster and did not get any heat during extended test drive when in pure mode and air condition in HI-mode and external heater option enabled. When trying to precondition manually it tries to start it (audible noises and air starting to come out from the vents) but then error. I'm baffled that even the distributor couldn't tell does every T8 come out from the factory with somekind of external heater (even in warmer climate regions such as Thailand). Or is it the same problem that the HVCH-heater needs to be replaced if it's there...maybe I need to ask directly from the factory &#x1f642; The thing is that the car has every single extra option fitted (even the heated windscreen) but would need info where the heater is located so I could go and take a peek if it's there or not

Italy car should have the heater. Thailand may be a different story but may be not significant to be differently configured.

The error message is pretty random for me. I got it about 3 times a week. Dealer has totally no idea. Customer support has no idea.

Just make sure it is in warranty and you can buy extended warranty for it.

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[t-man]

Shouldn't a replacement fix it, or has it been done already?

[FusionRedXC60]

Shouldn't a replacement fix it, or has it been done already?

Dealer did't find anything wrong with it. No fix has been done. I hit the error message also with setting not using additional heater. So the root cause is still unknown.

It seems the computer tried to start preconditiong but detected some condition not met, then stopped it. But dealer couldn't find what is wrong.

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