V70 D5 Coolant Problem

[tt82]

Yes, excess oil caused by diesel dilution will bring on the Engine Mangement light. You need to have the oil drained.

[Model flyer]

Hi is the garage that did you service a Volvo garage ? If not it sounds as if they have over filled it with oil this will cause the "engine service required" warning . Take it back and ask them to remove half a Liter of oil . The level can be checked manually with the small dipstick fitted at the bottom left of the crankcase just above the sump/crankcase joint. The level should be half way between the high and low marks for correct level. Once level has been corrected the light will reset after a 20 minute drive or the garage should be able to reset with their diagnostic gear. It's a common occurrence with non Volvo or garages unfamiliar with the model. As TT 82 says oil dilution during DPF regeneration can cause the same warning message but as you have just had a service I'd suspect it has been overfilled .Hope it helps.

[green van man]

Be aware that the electronic gauge can also lie. Mine was happily telling me that the oil level was 100% when in fact it was only just above the min mark on the dipstick. Good job I did a manual check before towing 450 miles to Scotland.
Half a litre of oil into it and electronic gauge still said 100% level.
Why put the damn thing there if it's not accurate. Dealer said they calibrate it every service, I asked that they calibrate it better in future, but I do not trust it.

Paul.

[Raddish]

Hi, I have a d5 auto xc70, when I brake heavy mine comes up that I have a low level, normal driving is fine and the level is normally fine. Year ago when I cam belt changed at 100000 miles, garage said that water pump was leaking slightly and changed my pump, this stopped my previous slight loss, not had a loss since, but does flash up under heavy braking

[fnaz]

I had a similar experience with my 59 plate xc70. Turned out to be a break in the radiator side where plastic meets metal. Even technician called out on guarantee could not find a leak visually and it was only identified in dealers after pressure test. Radiator replaced under guarantee and I was told the fault is more common on xc60 models. Hope this helps a little.

[M74]

Hi
Thanks for responses so far.
Garage did the sniff test and it was negative. They think it might, be something to do with the expansion tank and the return pipe.
Any thoughts as to what to do next?
Car is not overheating and the air fills the expansion tank on shorter journeys. I can drive on motorway for 100+ miles and the coolant low light does not come on but when I move to stop start commuter traffic the light comes on sometimes even just after a few miles.
FNAZ - were you losing coolant or were you just building up air in the expansion tank? I'm not losing any coolant at all.

[Konda]

I'm also getting the intermittant coolant low warning for the last week or two (D5 2011). This developped when sat at 2.5k rpm on the motorway for about 2hrs. No loss of power or engine temp warnings. I pulled over at the services, worried when the light stayed on and wouldnt blink off again. Header tank was about 25mm under the min. line, I took the cap off to top up with a bit of water (that's all I had with me at the time) and the level jumped up to max, and stayed there for the rest of the trip.

I am getting some coolant loss, but not constant. I'll top it up, and it'll be fine for a couple of days then all of a sudden it will lose 250-500ml since the last time I checked it. (tends to be before every journey now)

Removing the cap when the engine is cold and I always get the pressure release and the level will typically rise about 25mm in the expansion tank.

Mine is an ex-police job sitting at 156k, and I'm not sure when the water pump got done. That's probably my next thing to check. I've not tried a garage yet, as I don't want to get slapped with a huge labour bill for what might be a simple fix.

[Tatsfield]

Sounds like you may have an air lock somewhere in the system. Have you tried bleeding the system to remove possible air from all the hoses? Perhaps you might completely drain the system and refill it, bleeding the air in the recommended fashion to ensure that it has all been removed. (This is not based on specific Volvo experience but on experience with the introduction of air into cooling systems on other cars.)

[Hasse53]

I have the same problem as M74 with my sons 2011 D3 V70. No smell of exhaust in the expansion tank. The car runs perfectly but there is always a pressure in the coolant system even if the engine is cold. In summer the problem decreases and in winter it gets worse.
My theory is that the o-ring fitted to the coolant return pipe is bad. On engine warm up air is sucked into the coolant system.

An odd thing is that when I made the big service(cambelt and coolant pump) the spare part guy(at Volvo dealership) said that this o-ring should be replaced. I bought the o-ring but it is a real PITA to shange it because the EGR cooler has to be removed. However I will do it at next service.

Would be nice to have comments from Clan...

[M74]

Sounds the same as mine. Do you see a frothing in the expansion tank when the car is revved. It certainly looks like air is being drawn in from somewhere close to the expansion tank.
Other thought was if it was something to do with the water pump drawing in air.