Hello all, I have a question about oil changes on my wife's 2019 Volvo XC40. I usually use Groupon for oil changes at Valvoline for many of my cars. I bought the Groupon for a full synthetic oil for her car. When I pulled in they said that the car needed "European Oil" and the cost would be $175 for the oil change. I left thinking they are trying to scam me and up sell me like they usually do. This is my 3rd Volvo and none of them required any kind of special oil. Previous oil changes were done by the dealer under warranty so I never paid attention to this. What should I do ? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

Hi all, any help on this ??

 

There is probably a sticker under your hood that tells you which oil you need. It probably says that you need 0w-20 ACEA A5/B5 spec oil which is a European spec oil. This oil has been specified for Volvos for several years so it's unusual that you have not heard this before. This oil does cost more and it is not as easy to find as generic synthetic oil. $175 does seem excessive, but not far off what the dealer charges.

 

yep. per the owners manual: Engine oil specifications Fully synthetic engine oil of at least ACEA A5/B5 must be used. Lower oil grades may not offer the same fuel economy, engine performance or engine protection.

Castrol Edge is a good example of an oil that meets this spec but most top shelf brands do. You can do some research to see which brands/products meet that criteria. A good resource to bookmark is the bobistheoilguy.com blog.

Personally, given your oil change interval is like 10K miles (assume you have a regular XC40) you may want to consider using a dealer or a Volvo friendly indy since they will also inspect for other issues, or simply do the oil changes yourself.