Throttle going?

[vassillios]

I just took my new used 2001 XC 70 for a trip test. We drove about 2 hrs from Warrenton Va to Wintergreen. When coiming down off the mountain, I could smell what smelled like Clutch smell (sorry for the lack of technical verbage here). It was pretty consistant when going down the mountain, but not so much going up.

Do the XC 70's usually have issues with the throttle?

[colovolvo]

Were you riding your brakes? Downshifting the car works much better than riding your brakes. I smell the cars in front of me every time I head down from the Eisenhower tunnel on I-70.

[vassillios]

I was riding my brakes. I ride my brakes all the time, in other cars, on the skyline drive and have never noticed the smell.

[sjonnie]

I could smell what smelled like Clutch smell
Definitely brakes, either from your car, another car or a truck, probably not a volvo thing. I always go down hill in 3rd or 2nd gear depending on the gradient, more control and less brake wear.

[ecbsykes]

As long as the RPM doesn't go too high, is there any potential for damage by using the engine to break? I go down long (10 mile+) hills quite frequently, but I hear people who say that shifting into lower gears in the automatic is hard on the transmission and engine.

Clarification or input?

[sjonnie]

I hear people who say that shifting into lower gears in the automatic is hard on the transmission and engine
I hear "people" say that too (mainly girlfriends and other people who seem to know squat about engine braking). I think the main reason is that they aren't used to the WRRRRGHHHHHHH noise it makes and therefore think there must be something wrong. I think it's not unfair to say you are more at risk of damaging the vehicle when riding the brakes due to overheating pads and rotors than you are of damaging the transmission by engine braking. If used correctly your rpms will be around 3,000, well within normal driving range and, logically, the forces through your transmission will be less than those experienced climbing up the hill in the first place. The key is to get into the lower gear early and to change down by one gear at a time. If you're still accelerating downhill in 4th gear, use the brakes to slow you down and then change down into 3rd to maintain a slower speed or if the road is really steep and bendy brake again and get yourself down into 2nd.

[mnswede]

I would agree to not riding your brakes and shifting to a different gear instead. I once asked a transmission mechanic that ? as far as towing with my old Suburban in o.d. vs D3 because the engine would rev higher when out of o.d. He said absolutely take it out of o.d. he said the tranny would actually run cooler. I would bet the same for going down hill. The trans can handle the higher rev as long as you are not overrevving the motor more than the brakes can handle that long of a period of extended heat. Just my opinion, I'm no expert.