I have not seen any menu options. I believe you can still have the music come on at a lower volume from mute. You just turn the volume up from mute instead of pressing the mute button again.

 

That was true before and after the update.

 

The update is a patch you have to ask for, but everything I read says the patch is for 2012 & 2013 model years. The service invoice refers to TJ REF#US27007, and the FP # is are 31409322-0 low-beam application and 31384194-2 CCM/IHU upgrade.

 

The original behavior i.e. Restart resets volume to inoffensive elevator music levels is the same for 14my and no don't like it.

 

Here's a link:

http://www.aboutautomobile.com/TSB/2013/Volvo/S60/Exterior+Lighting

 

I dont think that's the patch OP was referring to. This one is about drl's.

The update is a patch you have to ask for, but everything I read says the patch is for 2012 & 2013 model years. The service invoice refers to TJ REF#US27007, and the FP # is are 31409322-0 low-beam application and 31384194-2 CCM/IHU upgrade.

Thanks for the info. I will inquire next time I am at the dealer, if it can be applied to MY14 cars as well.

 

I think this varies with the source and time in between restarts. Now that I'm using AUX, I notice the volume stays the same. I have the latest Sensus updates for the '13MY

 

The behavior doesn't seem to change with the time between restarts.

[Well, now I find it doesn't... See below.]

 

I asked the shop foreman about the behavior when mute is selected. He said that any update would wipe out previous settings and the require redoing settings; in other words, settings aren't saved when there's an update. It should be like wiping the settings and reinitializing the system to the factory settings. But I still cannot find any option in Sensus that controls what happens after muting the audio output from the volume knob's button and turning the car off: the question is what controls whether the muting is kept or lost when the car is shut off and restarted! So it still doesn't make any sense to me... Sometimes I think this system should be NONsensus. Even though I'm happy with the resulting behavior, I have no idea what change (if any) was implemented.

 

... Even though I'm happy with the resulting behavior, I have no idea what change (if any) was implemented.

I've been doing software development for a living for a looooong time. I can very well imagine that nobody quite knows why the behavior has changed ;-)

I actually spent some time browsing through the options... The only remotely related option is volume adjustment with speed... I haven't tried to play with it though.

 

It was almost certainly a purposeful change. People were complaining about this aspect of Sensus on Volvo's Facebook and twitter all the time.

Having the music come on every time you start the car even if it was off before is asinine.

 

I understand what it is supposed to do. My point is that it might be resetting to default volume every time you (well, I, cause you no longer have this problem) restart as a sideffect. Original setting was low, I moved it to high...

 

I could not hear any effect on the initial volume after restarting the car. I've tried it on and off, pre- and post-update, and it had no effect on the initial sound level when the car was started, whether the mute was on or off. When the software was reset, mine went to the default of medium. It would be nice if Volvo gave more information on this option, but on my previous car it was completely speed-dependent. I don't think any of these controls are based on ambient sound levels, but on speedometer readings.

 

Oh how I wish there was a simple on/off button for the sound system. How cutting edge!!

 

Press and hold the 1/0 button (aka mute button). That will turn the infotainment system off.

 

You guys are confusing me now. I don't see how an on/off button would be any different.

 

The only reason I mute the system instead of turning it off is to keep the phone connected.

 

That's what I meant by my last post. How about an on/off button just for the sound system? Meaning the ability to shut off the sound system without shutting down the rest of Sensus, ie, phone & nav. I sure would prefer that to the current setup.

 

What's the difference between shutting the sound system off and having it muted?

 

Muting just makes the sound system quiet. Bluetooth for phone calls still works, park assist distance sensors still beep, likely navigation still gives voice directional prompts ("turn left" -- I don't have this so can't be sure).

Turning the infotainment system off shuts off a bunch of this stuff. For park assist, I forget if the beeps go away or it is the car diagram showing which sensor/distance.

 

Thanks. I was more inquiring about what the difference would be in their hypothetical, though. I'm trying to understand what they would like to see.

 

Sometimes when I mute the sound system before turning off the car and then start up the car the next time, the sound system comes on. In other words, it's unmuted without any action on my part. I prefer to have the sound system off immediately after starting the car. Just a personal preference. When it unmutes on its own, I find it annoying. No biggie, just a quirk I could live without.

 

The only solution I have found for permanently muting the sound (and not un-mute on restart) while leaving the phone connected and enabled, was to switch the audio input to the inactive one (USB or iPod in my case). It is annoying, and if there is a software fix for this, I will insist that my dealer installs it, next time I take the car in for service.

 

It is entirely possible that this was a recent and unannounced Sensus 3 update, because it seems to me that they had to run that updater after doing the DRL patch. The patch is several years old, but my car has Sensus 3 (as far as I can tell). Maybe GrecianVolvo can chime in here...

 

I am not aware of anything of this sort.

 

Its really sad to see volvo having ease of use issues whereas they should be ahead of the pack given how simple their controls were in the past! Those little things are not really little for many of us, as they really affect the driving experience and how comfortable you feel with the car. I find it extremely wierd that there is no mute button, all previous volvos had it! Also why does the music play if youve actually muted it when you turned off the car??

I believe vw is the new volvo in terms of user friendliness, there is not a single behaviour I would change with the controls. There is a mute button, and off button, a mute button on the steering wheel, the volume stays where you leave it, the trip computer is the best, the boot opens fully at the press of a button, etc.

Vw has been doing these the way they are for almost 10 years now, why doesnt volvo benchmark them it astounds me...

 

I believe vw is the new volvo in terms of user friendliness, there is not a single behaviour I would change with the controls. There is a mute button, and off button, a mute button on the steering wheel, the volume stays where you leave it, the trip computer is the best, the boot opens fully at the press of a button, etc.

Vw has been doing these the way they are for almost 10 years now, why doesnt volvo benchmark them it astounds me...

Nice to see VW got their stuff together. Those of us who experimented with them back in the day got to non-enjoy some of the crappiest radios this side of Yugo...

 

With more time, the behavior seems a bit different, in an odd but perhaps better way.
* If I mute the audio and turn off the car, then the audio stays muted when the car is restarted. That's very good.
* If I mute the audio and turn off the audio system, then when I unmute it the audio comes back at the same level it was before it was unmuted. That's good.
* If I mute the audio and turn off the car for more than a few minutes, when I unmute the audio it comes back at the half-way volume level (not at the higher level it was before muting it). Better than the low-level elevator music, but not what I'd expect. I can live with this, though!
* If I don't mute the audio, and turn off the car for more than a few minutes, then when I restart the car the audio comes on at the half-way volume level. That's also better than before, but not what I'd expect. I guess the benefit is that it doesn't surprise me by being very loud.
* Muting the audio, and then turning off the audio or the car for a few minutes and then restarting seems to retain the volume level.