Colors on Volvo's web site, turn signals

kevinG · Apr 28, 2021

If you want amber turn signals, why not buy a 2021 XC40? Or even the 2021 Recharge? Both have amber rear turn signals in the USA.

rfkuehn · Apr 28, 2021

kevinG said:
If you want amber turn signals, why not buy a 2021 XC40? Or even the 2021 Recharge? Both have amber rear turn signals in the USA.

Wife + three kids. By the time we'll be shopping seriously, one will be teenager old enough to drive (yikes), with twin younger brothers - 12. Best if they can't touch each other, now and forever.

Brutus99 · May 1, 2021

rfkuehn said:
Wife + three kids. By the time we'll be shopping seriously, one will be teenager old enough to drive (yikes), with twin younger brothers - 12. Best if they can't touch each other, now and forever.

lmao 🤣 I agree XC40 def. too small! I have similar situation 3 teenagers plus dog & XC90 is perfect. But I'm sure the XC100 will be even more perfect 😁

31355 · May 1, 2021

Did everyone seriously not read my comment? I used to work for Volvo..... The decision for red turn signals on SPA vehicles stems from ONE reason.....emergency braking. The turn signals illuminate in a panic stop to increase awareness to those following. You can't have the turn signals be orange if you want them to illuminate as panic brake lights. So the lights are red. It's that simple. Why are people still debating over why Volvo did this? There is no debate, we know....emergency braking is the answer.

rfkuehn · May 1, 2021

*********** said:
Did everyone seriously not read my comment? I used to work for Volvo..... The decision for red turn signals on SPA vehicles stems from ONE reason.....emergency braking. The turn signals illuminate in a panic stop to increase awareness to those following. You can't have the turn signals be orange if you want them to illuminate as panic brake lights. So the lights are red. It's that simple. Why are people still debating over why Volvo did this? There is no debate, we know....emergency braking is the answer.

I think we're still debating because Volvo doesn't feel strongly enough about this justification to make the case globally that just about every other country needs to change its rules and require red turn signals.

rdr854 · May 2, 2021

Every market has different rules for safety systems including lighting. for instance, the US requires side marker lights and reflectors, while most markets do not. Hence, for example, we have amber reflectors and side marker lights in the headlamp cluster while the rest of the world does not.

31355 · May 2, 2021

rfkuehn said:
I think we're still debating because Volvo doesn't feel strongly enough about this justification to make the case globally that just about every other country needs to change its rules and require red turn signals.

No, that has nothing to do with it. If you had experience with lighting requirements you would understand it's very complicated. It's just plain stupid to state Volvo doesn't have a firm stance on turn signal color. Surface area, the color of that surface area, the proximity of other lights with other colors.......the list goes on and on. Just because the USA doesn't have the same standards as around the world doesn't mean Volvo can't make up it's mind if red or amber turn signals are better. There are rules, and when you are building a car for world-wide consumption sometimes you can't just do what you want to do. Case in point.....you can't have full matrix headlights in the USA, another example of a rule the USA has that the rest of the world does not. It's literally hilarious (to a point) that some of you are commenting about something you have zero knowledge about, trying to say the turn signal color is dictated by Volvo. It's not, the government has. And no, it just can't be made amber, because to do so would require the rest of the taillights to be reconfigured. There comes a point when you just can't please every rule in every country with every design with every price point. Hence why Volvo ADDED emergency braking surface area in the USA, a feature not allowed in some other countries. All this speculation about why they are amber when it's such a clear, rule-driver requirement. There is no mystery here.

rfkuehn · May 2, 2021

rfkuehn · May 2, 2021

kevinG said:
If you want amber turn signals, why not buy a 2021 XC40? Or even the 2021 Recharge? Both have amber rear turn signals in the USA.

So Volvo switched back to Amber for XC40? What about safety advantage for red…?

rdr854 · May 2, 2021

rfkuehn said:
So Volvo switched back to Amber for XC40? What about safety advantage for red…?

The XC40 has a different tail lamp cluster design that may have made the switch feasible whereas on the SPA cars it is not.

As an aside, yesterday, I was behind some new Mercedes and Audis while coming back from southern VA. Neither had amber turn signals.

kevinG · May 2, 2021

rfkuehn said:
So Volvo switched back to Amber for XC40? What about safety advantage for red…?

Volvo definitely believes amber is better for turn signals. You can tell because they sell mostly amber for all models in Sweden. However, due to homologation rules / laws when exporting, they sometimes need to swap out amber for red in some countries due to light surface area / brightness, other stupid rules. The US is one of them.

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rfkuehn · May 3, 2021

rdr854 said:
As an aside, yesterday, I was behind some new Mercedes and Audis while coming back from southern VA. Neither had amber turn signals.

Yeah I think one reason why this little issue resonates so much is that Volvo is a smarter/safer pick than those me-too brands...

rfkuehn · May 3, 2021

rdr854 said:
The XC40 has a different tail lamp cluster design that may have made the switch feasible whereas on the SPA cars it is not.

kevinG said:
Volvo definitely believes amber is better for turn signals. You can tell because they sell mostly amber for all models in Sweden. However, due to homologation rules / laws when exporting, they sometimes need to swap out amber for red in some countries due to light surface area / brightness, other stupid rules. The US is one of them.

But is that what designers and engineers do? Seems they were successful on XC40, maybe they hired a new lead for that work? (Or maybe the SPA dude quit?)

I do agree that some rules are stupid...

kevinG · May 3, 2021

rfkuehn said:
But is that what designers and engineers do? Seems they were successful on XC40, maybe they hired a new lead for that work? (Or maybe the SPA dude quit?)

I do agree that some rules are stupid...

Yes, that is what designers and engineers sometimes do. They don't let old fashioned US rules stop them. Consider headlights; the US finally modified rules to allow better self-dimming headlights. Those were not allowed in the US for years. But designers spec'd them for European models anyway.

The XC40 has traditional bulb based rear amber turn signals, combined with LED brake lights. This made it easy.

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rfkuehn · May 3, 2021

kevinG said:
Yes, that is what designers and engineers sometimes do. They don't let old fashioned US rules stop them. Consider headlights; the US finally modified rules to allow better self-dimming headlights. Those were not allowed in the US for years. But designers spec'd them for European models anyway.

The XC40 has traditional bulb based rear amber turn signals, combined with LED brake lights. This made it easy.

I think I missed my calling as a taillight engineer.

Don Ridley · May 3, 2021

Very few drivers use turn signals where I live and probably all across the US. This is the real safety issue. But I agree that yellow is more noticeable.

Colors on Volvo's web site, turn signals

kevinG

rfkuehn

Brutus99

31355

rfkuehn

rdr854

31355

rfkuehn

rfkuehn

rdr854

kevinG

rfkuehn

rfkuehn

kevinG

rfkuehn

Don Ridley

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