Electronic Oil Level Sensor

[Craig S]

I have just come across an issue with the Electronic Oil Level Sensor and am looking for a bit of advice.

I tend to check the oil level on my 64 plate D4 (the VEA version) every time I fuel the car up, so around once a month. At the last fuel up I did the usual check and the oil level was at maximum and nothing untoward.

I have just refuelled on Saturday, after around 400 miles and went to check the oil level. The display showed "Low Oil" with no readout on the bar display, but did not provide any details of how much oil to add, and there have been no warnings appeared prior to this. i.e. no warnings of "Add Oil" as it would suggest in the vehicle manual.

Subsequent to this the next time I tried to check the oil level the display again shows the bar with nothing on the display but this time I am getting a "Not Available" text as being displayed by the car.

There are no indications of any oil leak (The car is parked on a tarmac drive), and no visible oil leaks from the engine. In addition there have been no other indications that the car has been using oil, so I am virtually certain that this is not an issue with the car losing/using oil in such prodigious quantities in 400 miles, having not used a single drop in the 7 months from the last service to the date the Oil Level Sensor last worked.

I tried to check to see if I could get the sensor to give a reading by jacking the car up and essentially tilting the car so that the oil in the sump moved. Tilted the car on both axes so that it was nose down, nose up, tilted left and tilted right and no reading from the sensor at all.

However, between the last oil reading and now I have had to strip and clean the EGR Valve/Cooler due to the perennial EGR Check Engine light. (That all seemed to go according to plan.

So a few questions....

Firstly is there a way to manually check the oil level in the car?

Secondly how easy is it to get to the Oil Level Sensor to check it with a multimeter?

Thirdly, if the sensor has failed what is the likely cost of replacement.

[Clan]

It is highly unlikely the sensor has failed , and tilting it makes no difference , it takes the average level from the last 20 miles .
The only way you can make sure the correct amount is in there is to drain the oil and filter out , and put exactly 5 litres back in . you will know the level is mechanically correct then .. The next stage is to get the gauge recalibrated via VIDA it tells the gauge that whatever level is in there is the correct full amount .. It should be calibrated every time the oil is changed , you won't get this done outside the dealer network or the free engine software updates .. there is probably an engine software update you have missed too if that is the case ...

[Craig S]

Thanks Clan.

So now I am in an unenviable position that I have absolutely no clue as to whether I have any oil in my car, whether driving the car at all could be doing serious damage to my car, and the drive to the nearest volvo dealer is best part of 50 miles. And as the last service was done outside the volvo dealer network I have no volvo assist.

From what I gather from your response there is no physical way to check the oil in the engine without a full drain/refil of the oil. Which if my searching on Google is right is the best part £100 just for the oil which may or may not require to be changed.

What was wrong with a good old fashioned dipstick, even a service dipstick in the bowels of the engine.

And if Volvo update their software so often that in their electronic parts become obsolete in 16 months and 10 days of not being serviced by a Volvo main stealer it will most definitely make me rethink ever buying another Volvo vehicle.

But I still cannot understand why, the car would go from max - to below minimum (if the display is to be believed) in under 400 miles, when in the previous 5,000 miles it has not used a drop. Especially with no visible oil leaks. And nowhere can I find what the quantity of oil is between the Minimum and Maximum marks on the electronic oil level display.

[Craig S]

And the other part that I cannot understand is that, from reading other threads in here that if the oil level drops (with a functioning sensor) to below a preset level, the car should display a low oil warning message, and tell you to add a certain quantity of oil.

If it is not a faulty sensor, then why has the car not displayed any warning before going to this.....

But if the car has been left stationary say overnight, the oil level simply says "Low Oil" With the same Bar displayed

[Zebster]

Mine doesn't give a level indication until the car has been left parked up on level ground with the engine off for a fair while (two hours, from memory?)

[Craig S]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Mine doesn't give a level indication until the car has been left parked up on level ground with the engine off for a fair while (two hours, from memory?)

Yep, and to quote the service book -

"The car must have been driven approx 30km and have been stationary for 2 hours with the engine switched off and on level ground before the oil level indication is correct"

and my idiot's reading of this is that the engine requires to be warm and then the oil needs 2 hours to return to the sump to ensure that the reading is correct, in the same way as a dipstick requires you to wait 2 hours before check to ensure that you get an accurate read.

[Dash300]

Originally Posted by Craig S

Yep, and to quote the service book -

"The car must have been driven approx 30km and have been stationary for 2 hours with the engine switched off and on level ground before the oil level indication is correct"

and my idiot's reading of this is that the engine requires to be warm and then the oil needs 2 hours to return to the sump to ensure that the reading is correct, in the same way as a dipstick requires you to wait 2 hours before check to ensure that you get an accurate read.

Lack of a dipstick has been a major bug bear of mine from the start with the Vea engine.
Anybody ever have a dipstick fail?
Similarly the so called wizardry of the TPMS was hopeless giving regular false warnings; now disabled. If it could predict an impending blow out then I might be persuaded to reactivate it but it can't so use my eyes in the same way as I monitor the tread wear.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Craig S

Thanks Clan.

So now I am in an unenviable position that I have absolutely no clue as to whether I have any oil in my car, whether driving the car at all could be doing serious damage to my car, and the drive to the nearest volvo dealer is best part of 50 miles. And as the last service was done outside the volvo dealer network I have no volvo assist.

From what I gather from your response there is no physical way to check the oil in the engine without a full drain/refil of the oil. Which if my searching on Google is right is the best part £100 just for the oil which may or may not require to be changed.

What was wrong with a good old fashioned dipstick, even a service dipstick in the bowels of the engine.

And if Volvo update their software so often that in their electronic parts become obsolete in 16 months and 10 days of not being serviced by a Volvo main stealer it will most definitely make me rethink ever buying another Volvo vehicle.

But I still cannot understand why, the car would go from max - to below minimum (if the display is to be believed) in under 400 miles, when in the previous 5,000 miles it has not used a drop. Especially with no visible oil leaks. And nowhere can I find what the quantity of oil is between the Minimum and Maximum marks on the electronic oil level display.

I don't know what has happened , but to ensure the correct amount of oil is in the sump is to drain and refill as I described but put the old oil back in , no cost just time .. What oil did they put in by the way ? It must be 0w/20 volvo spec VCC RBSO-2AE it is not easy to come by ….

Nothing has been made obsolete , updates are just improvements to function or emissions .. all makes of car are specialised now being how complex things are getting , one of the requirements is the oil level gauge must be reset at each oil change to keep it accurate between services .. The people servicing the car must know these things before they take your money ...

You have not had the OIL LEVEL LOW STOP ENGINE yet so it can't be too low hopefully !

[Craig S]

Originally Posted by Clan

I don't know what has happened , but to ensure the correct amount of oil is in the sump is to drain and refill as I described but put the old oil back in , no cost just time .. What oil did they put in by the way ? It must be 0w/20 volvo spec VCC RBSO-2AE it is not easy to come by ….

Nothing has been made obsolete , updates are just improvements to function or emissions .. all makes of car are specialised now being how complex things are getting , one of the requirements is the oil level gauge must be reset at each oil change to keep it accurate between services .. The people servicing the car must know these things before they take your money ...

You have not had the OIL LEVEL LOW STOP ENGINE yet so it can't be too low hopefully !

The dealer that sold me the car told me they put in Castrol Professional 0W-20 as specified by Volvo.

The question is now, should I put in 0.5l of oil meantime to see if that brings the oil back on to the scale, as it is a week before I can get it to the local volvo dealer. Or do it in say 0.25l increments until it appears on the scale

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Craig S

The dealer that sold me the car told me they put in Castrol Professional 0W-20 as specified by Volvo.

The question is now, should I put in 0.5l of oil meantime to see if that brings the oil back on to the scale, as it is a week before I can get it to the local volvo dealer. Or do it in say 0.25l increments until it appears on the scale

yes 0.25 L it is very sensitive and takes a 20 mile drive to give you the correct readout after a rise in level . . You can get a live reading through VIDA however but only the dealers have that now after 2014 . don't be surprised if it says oil level high after that though .. If it is not even on the scale it would say level low please stop ...