[ Updated 27th June 2022]
---> Download the August 2020 official PDF of the user manual here <---
---> Alternatively, download December 2020 "scraped from website" version here (UK version) or here (US version) <---
---> Download a PDF describing the infotainment system here <---
--- Checks for delivery ---
Things to check on delivery:
--- FAQ ---
An additional FAQ is provided by Polestar themselves:
www.polestar.com
---> Download the August 2020 official PDF of the user manual here <---
---> Alternatively, download December 2020 "scraped from website" version here (UK version) or here (US version) <---
---> Download a PDF describing the infotainment system here <---
--- Checks for delivery ---
Things to check on delivery:
- Check for scratches on the piano-black gloss panel around the gear selector (but can be cleaned with glass polish)
- Plugsurfing card should be included, often in the glove box; only valid for discounted Ionity tariff though
- Max charge rate set to only 6A - make sure you increase it to maximum
- Check that your tow hook is working (if ordered). If you're in the U.S., check to see if you got the insert for the tow hook.
- Signing in with a Gsuite email address fails; you need to sign in with a Gmail account
- Make sure the manual is in your language!
- Check the tyre pressures, as they may be way off
- Make sure the tyres are all on the right way around!
- Make sure you try the charging cable, as some have been duds, and you know if it's a 32A cable, not a 16A or 20A one. 16A will only charge at 3.6kW on a single phase (e.g. standard UK home) supply, and you'll need to buy a 32A cable yourself.
- Watch for misting up of the headlights - if this doesn't clear by itself, they will need to be looked at by any Volvo dealer.
- Timed schedules for pre-heat may not work correctly if you have more than one schedule in the list that's activated. You'll need to have the appropriate one ticked for subsequent use.
- Sometimes unable to change the charge rate (sometimes even greyed out). Restart the infotainment system (press and hold the touch button at the base of the screen for 20 seconds or so until it reboots)
- When plugging into a rapid charger with a heavy cable, hold/support the cable while the initial connection takes place to ensure it starts charging properly; failed "handshake" with the charger seems to be down to this.
- Reversing/360 camera sometimes not working. Sometimes coming out of the camera screen and going back in again fixes this.
- The ability to set up an in-car WiFi hotspot using your SIM card is not yet available and may not happen.
- Connection to your home WiFi - not supported or useful; simply don't bother. All updates are downloaded via cellular in any case.
- The car's Google Maps only allows destinations entered to be saved to that keyholder's profile.
- The car may be challenging to charge if PIN security is enabled on the car's infotainment screen.
- No way to display actual tyre pressures (not an issue, just a feature not present you might expect to see)
- Demisting/cabin warming/cooling etc, stops if you get up off the driver's seat, for instance, to go outside and clear snow off the car... not a bug, but annoying! -> Parking mode can be used for climate control for up to 30 minutes, and remote climate activation via the app can also be used while the car is powered down.
- An annoying rattle behind the steering wheel seems familiar, but dealers can fix this. Similarly, there is often a rattle in the upper seat belt mechanism, which the dealers should be aware of and able to fix.
--- FAQ ---
- The car is dead! How do I get in and jump-start it? Use the hidden physical key in the more giant fob to get into the car. Then pop the bonnet/hood and follow the instructions in the online manual to jump-start the 12V. You only need a small 12V jumpstarter kit like you can get from Amazon for about £50/$80/€60.
- I can't get the cable released from the charge port! I've tried locking and unlocking the car but with no luck. Is there a manual release? The manual gives wrong information - no handle in the boot/trunk. However, ON US CARS ONLY, there is a small hole with a hidden button behind it just about the charge port, which you can press with a screwdriver to force a release. This isn't present on UK/European cars.
- The map has vanished from the driver's screen - how do I get it back? - You can either switch profiles on the central infotainment system or reboot the infotainment as below.
- Why has my heating/mirrors/seat heating/rear demister/Bluetooth/anything stopped working? - Reboot the infotainment system (press and hold the touch button at the base of the screen for 20 seconds or so until it reboots).
- Charging - earlier cars (up to Feb '21) only came with a 3-phase, 16A cable for home use, so max 3.6kW charging in the UK even on 7kW 32A untethered chargers - 24hrs to charge from empty!! If you have a tethered cable, you can set it at 7kW (32A/single phase) or 11kW (16A/three phase), as usual. In the US, it comes with a standard 3-prong 110V wall plug and a 14-50 NEMA plug. (One cable with two changeable plug ends. It's a short end of the cable that twists off. One is a 14-50 NEMA plug end, and the other is a standard 110V 3-prong plug that will work with a standard outlet. They should be in the frunk.) If you have a UK 16A cable, email Customer Services, and they might arrange a 32A replacement free of charge, though they seem to have stopped offering this (June 2021 onwards).
- Is there a printed manual or a single one to download? See the link at the top of this page.
- What sort of range will I get? 210-240 miles in general driving in summer, 180-200 miles at 70mph in summer, knock off (estimated) 15-20% in cold, wet Winter days. Short journeys have a dire effect on the economy and could bring the range down to 100 miles or worse in extreme cases of lots of short trips in the cold and wet. These figures are for Long Range, Dual Motor; add about 10-15% for Long Range, Single Motor. Short Range, Single Motor matches Long Range, Dual Motor!
- Where is the mechanical emergency release handle for the charging cable? There isn't one, despite what it says in the manual.
- Why do I hear cooling fans coming on for a few seconds when I unlock the car? The climate air quality system blows fresh air into the vehicle (see manual). However, a very loud cooling fan coming on for some minutes indicates the early battery sensor failure in some vehicles.
- Can I rotate the front and rear wheels? No, they have different widths in 19" and 20" rims. On PP cars, the 20" edges have "front" and "rear" markings engraved into the wheel hubs behind the caps, but these markings are not present on the 19" rims. Take note when changing tyres! On older 19" (and I think the regular 20"), the rim width is stamped on the back of one of the spokes, and on the newer cars, there is a Front/Rear stamping on them. They have pictures here: MC-10189031-9999.pdf (nhtsa.gov)
- Can you use the front USBs with a memory stick or phone to play audio files? Music from the USB C can be played using the AudioWagon app on the Google Play website. The thread is here. Thanks to @MoleMan for developing this! This was disabled in 2.0 but is available again from 2.2 onwards.
- Where are the service centres? Most, if not all, of the main Volvo dealerships in the UK, will be servicing and maintenance for Polestar. Others are popping up elsewhere, mainly at Volvo dealerships though this varies from country to country.
- What are the service intervals? This seems to vary from country to country but is listed in the service book in the glove box.
- How does the system deal with pairing multiple phones? The driver's phone takes precedence - The driver is determined by whose phone was on the person when they opened the driver's door and sat down.
- How are OTA updates to the infotainment handled? Updates are done automatically. You will be told when a software update is available and when it has been downloaded so that you can tell it to install it the next time the car is locked. The vehicle is out of action for an hour or more once the update starts, and it cannot be cancelled. There is no way to see if it's finished other than trying to open the doors. If you swipe away the notification, you can get it back again by swiping down from the top of the screen, where the normally-white line has gone orange to indicate a message is present.
- Is there a built-in dashcam or something like sentry mode - will it be added? No, the cameras are only there to support driving and parking assistance, and there is no physical/electronic way they could be used for this purpose by design.
- Would Polestar recommend any specific home charger/wall box brand/company? From Polestar: "We have not partnered up with anyone at the moment. However, we recommend PodPoint as a Wallbox provider in the UK (ChargePoint Flex US)."
- Does the infotainment system support the 5G network? No.
- The Plugsurfing key fob/card you get in the EU with the car, does it give discounts or some offers or just a free fob? Most networks are more expensive with this card, except Ionity, which is half-price until late 2022. It's more useful in Europe.
- Does the car just use one Google Account, or can you have different Google Accounts linked to other profiles? You can have multiple Google accounts, each attached to a specific key fob.
- What cables does the Polestar 2 come within the EU/UK? A "wall socket" to Type 2 Charger, max 2.6kW charging speed, and a 32A 3 phase 11kW Type 2 to a Type 2 cable. Note that cars delivered up to March 2020 were supplied with 16A 3-phase cables; due to the maximum current being only 16A instead of 32A, on a typical UK 7kW charger, you will only get 3.7kW. Polestar will replace the 16A cables with 32A cables free of charge if you request this via Customer Support, although they now seem to resist this (May 2021).
- How do I reset the cellular 4G/LTE connection if it refuses to work? This may work, but it seems very hit-and-miss generally:
- The update may be more reliable if the car is stationary.
- Reboot the infotainment system as described above.
Once it's rebooted and up and running, press the front to defrost/demist button once. - Then hold down the defrost button on the center console for up to 60 seconds.
The symbol in the upper left corner changes, indicating that reset is in progress (empty triangle with x), and the SOS button in the roof will flash red. The reset is now in progress.
When the SOS button stops flashing, the Telematic unit connects to the network.
After another 15-20 seconds, you should now see LTE in the corner - If this still doesn't work, you may need to disconnect the 12V battery (see below) and disconnect the TCAM (cellular unit) backup battery, too - some details are here.
- How do I disconnect the 12V battery entirely to do a full reset? Details can be found in this thread.
An additional FAQ is provided by Polestar themselves:
Polestar support | Polestar UK
Browse electric vehicle topics, dive into our FAQs, and get tailored support for any issues with your car.
www.polestar.com
and cables that comes with the Polestar 2 in the US has both a standard 3 prong 110V wall plug and a 14-50 NEMA plug. I haven't tried it yet so I don't know what the max current is. I'll try to update when I get a chance.
