Hello Volvo folks. I'm in the market for a new vehicle and I really (really) like the way this car feels and drives. It is a 2013 S60 T6 AWD R-Design with 80,000 miles and a good service record showing regular maintenance. My concerns are around the engine issues I've been reading about for this era of Volvo I6 engines including oil consumption leading to engine failure, and engines blowing due to timing belt/tensioner pulley issues. I'm looking for something I can reliably drive long term with regular maintenance. Should I pass and look elsewhere? Some of the info I have found lead me to believe a lot of these issues peaked in 2012 (built in 2011), and I may be safe(er?) getting 2013+. I have been looking at carcomplaints and searching forums such as yours. Appreciate any advice/info.

 

Well you don't have to worry about the timing belt issue. The 6 cylinder T6 engines use a timing chain. Only the T5s used a belt.

The oil burning issue is something to be concerned about, but It was more prevalent among the 2012 T5s and 2011-2012 T6s I THINK they had it pretty well sorted by 2013 on the T6. But then, it is always a concern for these cars. The ones to avoid for sure are 2012-early2013 T5, and 2015-early2016 Drive E (4 cyl).

 

Great info, thank you! I've been doing some research and might as well share here in case it helps someone in the future.

I found the Volvo Technical Journal SB-10044146-4865 which covers the oil consumption issue. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...44146-4865.pdf

There are a couple issues covered. First, the cam seal cover could leak: "The cam cover seal was improved at engine production date 15041000001 (DDMMYYxxxxx). The production date, in this case April 15, 2010."

The other, worse one, is the valve guide problem. According to the TJ: "Valve guide leakage has been seen on vehicles with an engine build date before 040511B01272." Which would be May 04 2011, so I'm assuming anything after that build date would be a safer choice.