Hey everybody,

Just a quick update on this. On Jan 1 I changed out my oil for Castrol full synthetic A5 oil - a full 6 qt change. On Jan 21, I checked the oil, down a qt, so I added a quart of the same oil. Today I checked it and the dipstick was DRY! Not a drop on the stick. The oil light never came on, there was no indication of a problem. This consumption rate adds up to about 7 quarts over 6 weeks! I'm emailing the dealer now, but my last conversation with them was not fruitful. I will keep the forum posted, just in case someone else is having the same problem.

 

Have the dealer do an oil consumption test and open a case with VCNA. If you do some Googling, you can find many threads on this issue and the outcome. Be persistent and Good Luck!

 

 

I am really sorry to hear this. When my car started using oil at a rapid rate, I opened a case with Volvo directly, you can do this by phone. I thought telling them there was a serious problem would somehow protect me if the engine failed - it didn't help. When my engine finally blew, Volvo deferred to the dealer on repairing it under warranty. This was not the dealer where I bought the car, my dealer was out of business and over a thousand miles away, so the local dealer basically said too bad so sad. There are several websites on which you can buy a used, warrantied replacement engine (sounds scary, I know), which is what I did. I had the engine shipped to a local engine replacement specialist who did a fantastic job with it. My advice is to push hard on Volvo and your dealer, there is obviously a serious problem with these engines. Get everything in writing (email) and be prepared to show that you've changed the oil on a regular basis, hopefully you have those receipts. If you don't have them, the shop where you get your oil changed will have a record of mileage in/out and dates they can give you. One final update - my replacement engine showed no oil on the stick after 2k on the last change. I now check the oil daily and I'm looking for a new car, not a Volvo. Best of luck, let me know if you have any questions I can help with.

 

This week checked. Oil and added quart 800 miles after last oil change. Oil was top of dip stick when car was picked up.
got 300 miles on it and down 8 oz on dipstick.
Any thoughts?
​​​​​​​kerry

 

I have a 14 S60 with just under 85K. Dealership did oil consumption test and then brought it in to do Ring and valve job, that was around 78K. All was good initially , engine hum was gone, no knocking, much better power. Now it is stating to use oil again, hum is back and some minor knocking. They are doing another test.......This is getting old. I love Volvo but this is getting ridiculous .

 

Every time I check the oil on my dsughters T5 engine it is down 1 to 2 quarts. This engine has only 86k miles and is a 2016. No significant leaks were seen and she doesn't race the car. She is even somewhat conservative in driving this vehicle. Probably needs piston rings but its not worth the expense. Stay away from this engine!!




Yes

 

Same thing just happened to mine! Maintained, its a 2012 with 104,409 miles and Volvo is denying me assistance. What was the end result with yours?

 

Sorry to hear this. I replaced my engine with a junkyard engine that had about 30k miles on it. I had it delivered to a garage that specializes in engine replacements. I kept it for a while and eventually traded it in. If I recall correctly, the total cost was in the $7k range. Volvo was no help at all to me and my car was much younger than yours mileage-wise. The dealer told me to take a hike and then stopped taking my calls. Very frustrating experience. On a positive note, I turned my S60 into a Stinger GT2 and couldn't be happier. I have owned my last Volvo! Good luck!

 

Hello all. Sorry to hear the news.

All engines CAN burn oil.

At our shop we recommend going 5k intervals on oil changes instead of Volvo's 7,500-10,000 mile recommendations to try and help prevent these sort of issues. If it's already an issue, you may want to change the oil more often and/or try to clean your piston rings. Make sure you are using the recommended oil as well (or use 5w40 synthetic in the 5 and 6 cylinders if you won't be bringing it back to Volvo and asking for free repairs. In the Drive-E/VEA 4 cylinder engines, Volvo has changed their recommended oil in those cars to be a Volvo specific 0w20 synthetic oil, RBS0-2AE specification (LiquiMoly Special Tec V 0w20 is a good option from Fcpeuro) to help prevent pre-ignition and engine damage.

The 2012 5 cylinders have a bulletin about replacing piston rings and it was a relatively common issue so they recommended switching oil to an ACEA A5/B5 synthetic. Many people have switched to using a synthetic 5w40 ACEA A3/B4 type oil such as is used on other European makes that know their engines burn oil (BMW, VW, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, etc.) with decent results but Volvo will likely not lend you any goodwill if you go back to them and inquire about having the engine repaired.

The 2013-2016 5 cylinders now also have a bulletin about replacing the piston rings as of 2020 because it's turning out to be somewhat of an issue on cars as well. Likely on cars that have the oil changed every 10,000 miles or more, maybe with or without the Volvo specification oil.

The 6 cylinder engines of most years up to 2012 have specific bulletins about potential consumption issues, and in 2013 they all went to the 5w30 full synthetic, A5/B5 requirement. In those engines they've generally been good as long as the oil is changed regularly with the right stuff. The earlier ones where people weren't using full synthetic, and/or there were other issues, it can be more problematic.

Go to most any other forum for other makes and models and you will find oil consumption issues. This is not a Volvo specific thing.

Change your oil more often, use good gas, and see how it goes. I wouldn't put a used engine in a car without good compression numbers. Even then, I would rather recommend the engine gets repaired as opposed to putting in an "unknown" quality/history used part.

 

My 2015 T6 (the true 6cyl with turbo) started blowing through oil at 110,000. Did the oil weight test through dealership for 2K miles then weigh the oil and it was fine. Replace the oil and go for 5K miles and the warning comes up on the screen. Fill the oil and the two weeks later it’s 3/4 of a quart lower than it had been. Dealership is puzzled. Did not see this with our 2004 T5.