Engine System Service Required
 

So I recently purchased a Volvo V70 D5 on an 08 plate with 135K.

I did all the homework I could before purchasing - contacted the previous owner who had owned it for the last 5 years. In that time they had averaged about 15K miles a year in it and had the car serviced regularly (annually) at a Volvo independent. Paperwork and Service manual back this up.

So very pleased with the car - until after driving back from the garage where I bought it (approx 150 miles) the following day the 'engine system service required' message pops up.

On reading through the forum and searching on Google I came across the DPF issue - causing fuel to mix with the oil in the sump. So I checked the oil level when the car was cold and the dipstick was showing a couple of mm above the Max level.

The car was only serviced back in January and has only done about 500 miles since prior to my purchase.

Is it possible that my drive home caused the DPF to regenerate and 'add' enough diesel to the Oil mix to cause the level to go above the max level. And would this be enough to prompt the engine service message?

Also - is it safe to drive the car with the oil level slightly too high?

Lastly - the button on the indicator stalk to Read the stored messages is not working (can this be disconnected by an unscrupulous car dealer?)

Car drives perfectly and starts on the button btw.

Oil above max is very bad

On the D5 diesel you should have no more than 3/4 full on the oil level

Drain / suck some oil out until you have 2 or 3 Xs showing on the dipstick

Reason: high oil level mixed with normal diesel-into-oil blowby / due to regen causes oil burning which blocks the DPF very quickly

A Volvo dealer knows this, and never fills too high.
I checked after my oil change and my dealer left 2 to 3 Xs showing on the dipstick.

Consider going back to the dealer and demanding from them to remove some of the oil, and then also to print out the fault codes, give the print out to you, and clear the faults.

Of course, the fault codes may reveal something else as well.....

Thanks, yes I did think that might be the case.

Worse case scenario then - has anyone on here removed the DPF - I know its not legal to do so - but suspect I might have a battle on my hands to get a refund oe work carried out by the garage.

Why would you remove the DPF when it appears that it may be just a simple solution of removing some oil! Throwing the baby out with the bath water???

Removing the DPF (and thus modifying your emissions control systems adversely) is strictly illegal and will (finally) be an automatic MOT fail as of 20 May 2018 (this year).

Don't do it.
You'll just create big headaches for yourself and be forced to reinstate the DPF following MOT fail.

And think of that nice sweet fresh air you breath.
Want to keep it that way?
That's what the DPF is for!

Just suck some oil out
 

I had this exact problem with a D5 S80 that I used to own on a 57 plate. I can confirm what SwissXC90 says. Removing the DPF is a completely unnecessary risk and might cause all sorts of more serious problems down the line. It is almost certain that the high oil level is causing the engine management message. It is easy to pump out some engine oil until the dip stick is showing about 2/3 to max. There are other threads on the Forum explaining the method. Or get the supplying dealer to do it, if you trust them. Then just drive the car as normal for a few days and the message should disappear. That will happen after about 5 starts if I remember correctly. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will remove some oil and see what happens.

Any thoughts on the indicator stalk message reading button ? Can this be disconnected - in other words is it worth fiddling with the electric connections or shall I just get a replacement stalk?

In your first post You asked......

"Lastly - the button on the indicator stalk to Read the stored messages is not working (can this be disconnected by an unscrupulous car dealer?)"

So when you press it do you get....No vehicle messages...on the dash....or nothing at all......
If it's "No vehicle messages" showing on the dash, that's because you've already read any message's that are stored.....once they have been read they are no longer stored......me thinks, but stand to be corrected...........otherwise I'd have "No rear seat belt's used" stored 1000 + times.....

No I get nothing at all - and when as is the case currently, the message that shows up about the engine service, I cant acknowledge it all - so am unable to scroll through the details about fuel consumption and speed etc with the wheel on the stalk.

Hope that makes sense.

I think the engine message stops the others until it's sorted. For instance my info will say door open and will not clear until I shut the door at which point no rear seat belts may come up if I've opened the rear door to put my jacket on the back seat.
The messages have a hyrachy with more serious ones staying there until sorted before informative messages get through.

Paul.