2008 V70 2.4D oil expanding

[Paul Bearer]

Hi all

I purchased this 2008 V70 2.4D in May 2017
(D5 163hp) serviced shortly before I bought it (dealer stamped)

It ran fine for a few weeks then a service warning message lit up "Engine system service required"

After posting in this forum it was suggested it was the oil over filled, this duly turned out to be the problem, I ended up removing 1 litre of oil to reduce it to the suggested level, after nearly two weeks the engine system service message went out

Just over a week ago the light came back on, suspecting the same problem I checked the oil and sure enough it was over Max again,

Before I had a chance to remove some oil, after a couple of days another message came up, soot filter full

On reading up on that I found the handbook says take it for a longish run at 50mph or over and it should clear, which it did

But the engine system service message remained

So have again removed 1 litre to reduce the level and hopefully the light will go out in the next two weeks

I understand this is a well known problem with Volvos, pumping excess diesel into the sump when regeneration hasn't completed

So my question being how do I minimise the possibility of the problem recurring ?

And clearly as diesel is being pumped into the sump, it will dilute the oil, at what point should I consider changing the oil ?

It seems ridiculous that it may require an oil change 3 or 4 times a year if this is an ongoing problem

Any help or advice much appreciated

[Tatsfield]

The dumping of fuel into the sump is caused by a lack of "suitable" driving to fully purge the DPF. If you only ever use the car for short trips around town, it will never complete the filter cleaning sequence. Regular trips on open roads at steady speeds are what is needed. I would also ask the advice of a Volvo dealer that you can trust to see if a software upgrade might minimise the problem. The later D5 5 cylinder diesel engines don't seem to suffer from this crazy problem.

[Simon Jones]

The oil capacity is 6 litres and you've removed 2 so that suggests 1/3 of the 'oil' in the engine is actually diesel. Diesel is sometimes used as a degreasing solvent so clearly is going have very poor lubricating properties. I'd get the oil and filter changed ASAP.

[Paul Bearer]

Thanks for your reply

I do a fair amount of longer journeys but do have to use it for shorter journeys too, I wouldn't say excessively so though

A Volvo dealer I can trust is a problem, given I haven't as yet needed one and wasn't expecting to for a fair time

I will have a ring round, I think we only have one round here anyway, the software upgrade is one thing I shall investigate thanks for that

If later ones don't have the problem there must be a way to resolve it

I cannot believe they (Volvo) haven't done a recall for such an obvious defect

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

The dumping of fuel into the sump is caused by a lack of "suitable" driving to fully purge the DPF. If you only ever use the car for short trips around town, it will never complete the filter cleaning sequence. Regular trips on open roads at steady speeds are what is needed. I would also ask the advice of a Volvo dealer that you can trust to see if a software upgrade might minimise the problem. The later D5 5 cylinder diesel engines don't seem to suffer from this crazy problem.

[Paul Bearer]

I hear where you are coming from hence the question really

If they have resolved the problem in later models, perhaps it can be resolved with mine (he says hopefully)

It was more for future reference, I had already decided it was due an oil change

As far as I am concerned it simply shouldn't be happening

Thanks for your input

Originally Posted by Simon Jones

The oil capacity is 6 litres and you've removed 2 so that suggests 1/3 of the 'oil' in the engine is actually diesel. Diesel is sometimes used as a degreasing solvent so clearly is going have very poor lubricating properties. I'd get the oil and filter changed ASAP.

[Paul Bearer]

Given the manual is untrustworthy on the subject of lubrication

What oil should I be putting in this 2008 V70 2.4D5 ?

Manual suggests SAE 0W-30

Just had a look at Europarts, £45 for 4l , good grief what is this liquid platinum ??

[Scooser]

There's a sticky in the top the the Diesel Engine section. Loads of posts. Have a read;

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=99488

[Paul Bearer]

You are not kidding are you

I thought I had read a lot of posts on the subject but think I am going blind reading all those and I am unsure all those really help all that much as they seem to go over the same ground over and over or meander off on another track

Reluctantly it seems I will have to speak to the dealer and see what they have to say, I am sure they have their excuses ready

How on earth did this debacle get so far down the track, it should be a total recall with a fix

I wish I had found out all this before buying the b**dy thing

Originally Posted by Scooser

There's a sticky in the top the the Diesel Engine section. Loads of posts. Have a read;

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=99488

[Scooser]

Originally Posted by Paul Bearer

You are not kidding are you

I thought I had read a lot of posts on the subject but think I am going blind reading all those and I am unsure all those really help all that much as they seem to go over the same ground over and over or meander off on another track

Reluctantly it seems I will have to speak to the dealer and see what they have to say, I am sure they have their excuses ready

How on earth did this debacle get so far down the track, it should be a total recall with a fix

I wish I had found out all this before buying the b**dy thing

For me, it need some sort of class action. However, the time has passed.

Volvo know that individuals have little power, and it is unfortunate that many did not pool together to bring some sort of action.

Same with the aux belt and tensioner fiaco. That seems to go on from about 2005-12 with many engines destroyed as a result of very poor Volvo engineering

[Paul Bearer]

Well I enquired at the nearest Volvo dealer

I explained the problem, gave vehicle identity and details

The reply I got was devoid of help, all it said was they couldn't advise anything without first running a full diagnosis check at £60, I was expecting as much I suppose

Service departments are not what they once were