I have a 2005 V70 wagon. Is there a mechanism in place that will prevent the car from turning over if the oil is too low?

Just recently my car would not start. All the lights worked fine, but when I tried to turn it over nothing would happen. I added oil and it then started.

The same thing happened about a year ago. But at the time it simply started 10 minutes later and continued to run fine afterward.

I have read on these forums a lot of other people having similar problems with no explanation. Which makes me think that adding the oil was not the real solution but just coincidental.

Thanks,
Mark.

 

I do not believe there is a sensor to stop it from starting.

 

I have an update on this. This morning the car again would not start (or even turn over). So this certainly seems to rule out the oil sensor.

I should add that when I had my problem yesterday before I added the oil we first tried to jump it (thinking the battery did not have enough on its own). But this did not start it either (it was a midsize American car we had it hooked to). I kept the jump cables on while I added the quart of oil. So at this point I am inclined to think it could be a battery issue. Perhaps it garnered enough of a charge to start??

Is there any indicator light to signify the battery does not have enough of a charge to start it?

 

No such meter for battery power. A voltmeter will tell you enough, but there's no voltmeter on any current Volvo that I'm aware of. When charging, it should read about 13.+ volts. Lower than that, you're not charging the battery.

Note your owner's manual. Volvos are about the most circuit boarded, electrified cars around. The manual will tell you about jump starting mandates and battery charging mandates. Its not like the old days. If your 05 is identical to my 06, you'll find posts under the hood where jumper cables go.
I don't have access to my owner's manual right now, but I recall some precautions about attempting to hook up directly to the battery in the "trunk". Bad things can happen, according to Volvo, if you ignore its procedures. Bad electrical things.

You should have your battery "load" tested to see how it performs under a load....they can show adequate charge and voltage output at rest but fail under load, such as cranking the starter. Any battery selling place should be able to run this test quickly.