Oil levels after an oil change
 

I changed the oil in my V70 (2012 D5 auto) at the weekend. All went well - the sump plug washer was replaced, the new Bosch filter came complete with a new seal, which was duly fitted.

As the car has an electronic dipstick I was very careful about the refilling.

I measured all that came out - just shy of 6 litres, and then not wanting to overfill, put in 5.5 litres, plus another 100m l or so, thinking that I'd top it up afterwards if needs be. I reset the service reminder and checked the oil level, which indicated that oil level was at maximum. I went for a shortish drive and checked the oil level again, still at max, and all was well.

I've since done about 150 miles, so I though it would make sense to check the oil level one more time. Now the oil level is sitting at level 3. Not enough to trigger a warning message, and according to the handbook it would be wrong to add any more oil.

So, I'm wondering, just how reliable is the electronic level system? Just how much is the difference between each of the four segments?

• As near enough 6 litres came out, should I now add perhaps that final quarter of a litre, or would that risk overfilling?
  
• Or should I wait, keep an eye on the level, let it settle over a few days and perhaps a couple hundred miles more, then check again?
  
• Or just not worry about it, and if a warning message pops up, simply drop in some more oil at that time?

It did occur to me that maybe there's a leak that caused the level to drop from the immediate post-fill "max" to level 3, but there's no sign of any significant loss under the car, or from the sump plug, or from around the filter.

In the 18,000 miles I've owned the car I've twice had to put in a half-litre top-up when the warning message flashed up on the dash, once after about 8,000 miles, and then again after about 16,000 miles, so I guess it does consume oil at the rate of about half a litre every 8,000 miles! Is that a reasonable oil consumption for a D5? I feel sure that on modern engines oil consumption can be as much as a litre per thousand miles, and still be counted as normal.

In total the car has now covered 145,000 miles, and does seem to run perfectly well.

Being a bit old-fashioned I'd much prefer that the car had a proper old-fashioned dipstick, but it doesn't, so rely on the electronic one I must!

Any thoughts and advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Jack

I would add another 100ml and recheck after 20 miles. I wouldn’t be to concerned all the Volvos I have had have acted like this. I usually put 5.6 litres in and then adjust to the level I want afterwards via the 100ml method.

I have also fitted the Volvo dipstick kit which costs about £70 and is only a 10 min job.

Volvo state 1000 miles per litre before any issues with oil consumption. Your rate of consumption again is perfectly normal.

I wouldn’t be concerned, the gauges are always a little up and down I find but I’ve never been worried that one would mis read and cause a major issue. Technically speaking the gauge should be calibrated when the oil changed so I think the little inaccuracies are down to this. I’ve never done it but now I’ve said it I’m tempted to do it next time I change the oil on one of mine just out of interest.

I've had my 2012 V70 D5 from new and have never had to top the oil up between changes. I didn't think the D5 has ever been bad for consuming oil ?

Thanks for the replies.

Have checked a couple of times over the 100 or so miles covered today and the level has settled to the midpoint on the digital scale, complete with an "oil level OK" message in the display.

On that basis I think I'll leave it alone. I guess the difference between the min and max levels isn't much - perhaps 500ml.

On the subject of oil consumption I think it varies from car to car, My old P1 V70 never used any, neither did my old 1997 S90. Our S70 on the other hand positively drinks the stuff, but at 250,000 miles up I don't feel inclined to start pulling things about too much. The other cars in the family fleet are a Mazda 3, which uses no oil, and a Mini Cooper which has a bit of an appetite - but not as bad as the S70!

Jack

I seem to remember that the car "brain" assumes you have done the right fill and resets the electronic indicator after 50 miles or so to mid point setting. The only really accurate way to do a fill up is to put back in the same quantity that came out, or to buy a manual dipstick. Like #GrahamBrown1 I have also fitted a manual dipstick, which I use to set the level correctly.

Technology isn't always the answer. I have the same problem with my home oil tank - supplied with an automatic level sensor and indoor warning device. Worked for 6 months, then went haywire. I now have to dip the tank manually once a month - What was wrong with a sight tube?

The oil level gauge has to be reset at every oil change it then takes that volume of oil you put in to be correct. It takes 20 miles to re-calculate the level.
The gauge is very accurate Woking on the sonar principle. only add 200 ml at a time if you need to.

Can I add a manual dipstick to my VEA 2.0 D4?

Thanks.

Unfortunately not, there is no place in the sump at all on the VEA engines. Even the service spec cars do not have them. The older engines had the technicians dipstick which used the original dipstick hole when they were fitted with a proper dipstick. The service spec cars carried on with a normal dipstick and that’s where people started fitting these as they are available as spare parts.

when you change the oil the level gauge must be reset in VIDA... It then takes about 20 miles before it recalibrates to the correct level.. It is very reliable and accurate for obvious reasons it works on the sonar principle.

if it needs topping up only add 200 ml at a time then wait for the level gauge to recalibrate after 20 miles OR Reset it properly as you should in VIDA.

old man confusion....
 

Two question..Why when the oil is drained ( assume it was at correct level/amount) does the oil level gauge need to be reset?? Assuming that the correct amount of oil is replaced??

Also the retro fitted dipstick..does it need the Max/Min lines redefined to allow for a reduced fill (5.7 litres) from original spec?

IIRC I have read on here " add 5.7litres of Castrol 0w30 and forget about it".

For a couple of changes I was anal about how "by the book/vida" I changed the oil. - no more. I drain the oil + 5.7litres of Castrol 0w 30 and forget it.
After a 100 miles or so I recheck digital says 100%, Vida reads 65-75% ( I have done this x2) and the tech dipstick is 3/4 up the measure.

I have a service coming up in June .. and will do the same again..

Cheers
Bob