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INTRODUCTION
26
Volvo and the environment
Volvo is committed to the well-being of its cus-
tomers. As a natural part of this commitment, we
care about the environment in which we all live.
Concern for the environment means an everyday
involvement in reducing our environmental
impact.
Volvo's environmental activities are based on a
holistic view, which means we consider the over-
all environmental impact of a product throughout
its complete life cycle. In this context, design, pro-
duction, product use, and recycling are all impor-
tant considerations. In production, Volvo has
partly or completely phased out several chemicals
including CFCs, lead chromates, asbestos, and
cadmium; and reduced the number of chemicals
used in our plants 50% since 1991.
Volvo was the first in the world to introduce into
production a three-way catalytic converter with a
Lambda sond, now called the heated oxygen sen-
sor, in 1976. The current version of this highly
efficient system reduces emissions of harmful
substances (CO, HC, NOx) from the exhaust pipe
by approximately 95 – 99% and the search to
eliminate the remaining emissions continues.
Volvo is the only automobile manufacturer to
offer CFC-free retrofit kits for the air conditioning
system of all models as far back as the 1975
model 240. Advanced electronic engine controls
and cleaner fuels are bringing us closer to our
goal. In addition to continuous environmental
refinement of conventional gasoline-powered
internal combustion engines, Volvo is actively
looking at advanced technology alternative-fuel
vehicles.
When you drive a Volvo, you become our partner
in the work to lessen the car's impact on the
environment. To reduce your vehicle's environ-
mental impact, you can:
•
Maintain proper air pressure in your tires.
Tests have shown decreased fuel economy
with improperly inflated tires.
•
Follow the recommended maintenance
schedule in your Warranty and Service
Records Information booklet.
•
Drive at a constant speed whenever possible.
•
See a trained and qualified Volvo service
technician as soon as possible for inspection
if the check engine (malfunction indicator)
light illuminates, or stays on after the vehicle
has started.
•
Properly dispose of any vehicle-related waste
such as used motor oil, used batteries, brake
pads, etc.
•
When cleaning your vehicle, please use gen-
uine Volvo car care products. All Volvo car
care products are formulated to be environ-
mentally friendly.
Twin Engine Plug-in Hybrid vehicles
•
If possible, precondition the vehicle with the
charging cable before driving.
•
If preconditioning is not possible in cold
weather, use the seat and steering wheel
heating primarily. Avoid heating the entire
passenger compartment, which reduces the
hybrid battery's charge level.
•
Choose the
Pure drive mode to help mini-
mize electric power consumption.
•
In hilly terrain, put the gear selector in mode
B to utilize the electric motor's braking func-
tion when the accelerator pedal is released.
This helps charge the hybrid battery.
Related information
•
Driving economically (p. 404)
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