D4 engine oil overfill warning
 

Couple of weeks ago I had my V90 with D4 engine into the dealer to attend to an "Oil Overfill" warning message

No oil had been added in the 8 months since it was serviced, so I suspected it was the issue that affected the old D5 engines in the V70

That issue, as some owners will know, was diesel dilution of the engine oil. Diesel would get past the cylinder bores and dilute the engine oil. The Volvo solution back then was to fill the sump only 4/5ths full at service time - to allow for the potential dilution.

This time, the dealer told me that is not the issue. The D5 and D4 engines are of a different design and they do not experience diesel dilution.

Their words were "I can't tell you it's a software problem" (accompanied by a wink and a smile)
So essentially there is a software problem that Volvo haven't yet worked out how to fix, that gives the oil overfill message.
Their stop gap solution, which they performed under warranty - was to drain the engine oil, refill with new (4/5ths full) and change the oil filter.

Apparently the dealers are getting quite a few D4's come back with this issue now.

Oil level now shows at 4/ths or thereabouts under the Car Status menu

Good thing is my V90 will have had 2 oil changes in 12 months which is no bad thing

Thought I'd share as this will likely affect all D4 SPA vehicles.

The correct oil volume at oil change is 5 litres exactly .. the gauge must then be calibrated to that oil level , NOT the oil level calibrated to the gauge ...
after about 20 miles the gauge should read MAX nothing lower or it will take that as incorrect ...

It seems they have not calibrated the oil level gauge afterwards so you are likely to get a low oil level message again before the service is due , no wonder they have a lot of cases like this .....:confused_smile:

Yes I agree there would be a correct "full" volume at service.
We all remember with older cars with physical dipsticks - there can be as much as a litre between Min and Max markings - yet it's perfectly OK to be anywhere between those marks

I can't comment on what the dealers are doing in this regard is right or wrong (obviously they know best and one would hope any subsequent related faults would be covered under warranty as a result of their actions)

But as per the attached photo of my current oil level (4/5ths full) - I don't imagine I'll get a low oil warning unless the engine loses oil and it drops below the Min mark.

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/5753656683

it should be on MAX when the sump level is correct , there are two stages of warning before it gets to low please stop ,, add 0.5 litre and add one litre ... so it is pretty certain you will get a warning before the next service which if you top it up you might over fill it .. so you see the importance of
A ,putting the correct volume in to start with ( 5 litres ) and B , resetting the oil level gauge after changing the oil ...

Well if the car gives me any warning messages - like any owner with a car under warranty I'll be back to the main dealer and certainly not messing with it myself. I'm certainly not worried.

My original post was to highlight this issue to other SPA vehicle owners and what Volvo are doing as a stop gap measure.

Whether Volvo's actions are technically correct could be debated continuously by individuals on a forum, and like anything is very subjective to peoples personal opinions

Interested to hear from any other SPA / D4 owners that might have had an Oil Overfill warning on what their dealer did...….

I'm just saying how things are correctly according to volvo its not just my opinion , I Know these things , it's my profession to do so ... I'm just trying to help you " do it right " which was volvo's slogan in the 1980's 👍

Interesting…….
So what are your credentials?

My 15 month old D4 V60 did the same thing last week at 18000 miles. Dealer did a bloodletting or whatever the equivalent is for oil, updated the software and fixed an irritating suspension clunk at low speeds.

Didn't get the oil and filter change, but then again it's not my problem if the engine lunches itself on diluted diesel.

Same thing with my 2017 spa xc60 D4. Took to Volvo for this very issue. They told me on the phone through service that it's a dilution of the oil due to low mile driving. Had a service and they filled with 5 litres of new oil even though they new I had dilution issue... Two weeks later when the high Oil light came on phoned service again and they realised there mistake and as you say only filled with I believe 4.3 litres. This is there way round the issue. Can't see they calibrate this as maximum though as you would just get the high Oil warning again basically need the oil level between min and max so there is room... for ...the ..fuel. 😂

My car 2019 D4 was a Selekt car and came with oil level at full. I did see the level rise a couple of bars during the year and the dealer drained some.
At the following (dealer) services the oil has been filled to three bars below full. Level still rises a little but there are no error messages displayed.