The Reason Some Volvo Engines Burn Oil Volvo Problem

I have explained here the reason Volvo have a problem with oil consumption

[MattiaManciniAlunno]

This is definitely the most useful video I've seen in the past 5 years on youtube. My V40 2.0 VEA burn 4 oil liters every 15000km and now I know why... And I realize also why a higher grade oil is not solving the issue... Because the tiny holes are draining less oil with a less fluid oil... THANK YOU

[gregorybogdanich]

Just happened on this "The Volvo Guy". Without question this man is very good, no actually he's excellent, and knows what he's talking about. We have a 2016 Volvo xc60 T6 with very severe now oil loss. First showed up as a digital read ( no dipstick designed with this car) to add a quart of oil. We're good about a 3k oil change. Seemed strange. This is my 8th Volvo going back to that very sweet '72 164E model. I kept track mile wise with the trip meter and around 1000 miles it came on again. That was several months ago. Now it happens at 500 miles. Time to do something. I've heard from some mechanics the oil ring most likely is the culprit. The service manager at our local Volvo dealership told me Volvo had a 100k warranty for oil consumption. They knew there was an oil consumption problem. We did not. We bought ours at about 85k. No mention of that potential problem at the closing. Maybe in the fine print. We missed it. The service guy also said if done now at 127k miles they would replace just the rings. You can assume they put the same original rings back on to last for who knows how long. Price tag of $7-8k. Seems crazy high. Labor to replace rings is 20 hrs. or so x $159.00 The rest is parts. Aside from rings he didn't say. Doesn't add up. My local mechanic is at $70 per hr. I asked the service manager about "the book" that says a job for a certain rig should take x hrs. I believe he told me a website call "all data" maybe? Someone out there confirm that? Anyway, glad I came across Mr. Volvo Guy. He is the man!

[gorgerat]

My 2015 Volvo V60 T5 is burning almost 2 quarts every 5000 km or 3000 miles. Engine has 130K km or 80K miles on it. Very disappointing. Thx for your explanation, most helpful.

[Davetandcompany]

Thanks for showing this. NO ONE could tell me why I'm using so much oil between changes in my 2013 xc60

[chrisdigital]

So basically the replacement ring it's just like how a regular oil retention ring is on any of the Japanese engines. That's how it should have been in the first place, lol.

[claudiupopoviciu]

Thank you for the thorough explanation. It totally makes sense.
I bought a 2016 XC60 T6 with the 2.0L engine. Got it in 2021 with ~50k miles. Changed the oil at 51k (fully synthetic Mobil 1 Extended Protection). I checked oil levels every thousand miles and all was fine until two months ago (57.000 miles), when the warning message came on, saying to add one quart of oil. It burns 1 qt. every thousand miles ever since.

[ruthellen]

Coming back here to provide update: Volvo dealership completed the oil consumption test on my 2013 Volvo S60 T5 with 77, 000 miles today. Burning 6x what Volvo considers acceptable -- Volvo "normal" is 0.27 quarts/1, 000 miles and my car consumes 1.75 quarts/1, 000 miles. Volvo knows 2013s have this problem, but still are only publicly covering 8 years and 100K miles. My car has 77K so that's fine, had we not had a pandemic, would have likely found out this problem a couple of years earlier -- crazy, Volvo needs to be forthcoming. So dealership is now submitting paperwork to Volvo Corp (4 piston rings) for hopefully goodwill coverage of their known problem. Thank you @TheVolvoGuy for your clear explanation of the piston ring design problem

[axelforsgren]

Thank you for this video! My mother mentioned she was burning a quart of oil every 1k miles and I realized she has the 2016 XC 90 which is notoriously known for this issue. In the past, my mother mentioned burning excessive oil to the dealer and they said it's okay and just changed the oil. Long story short, I called the dealer and explained the history of burning excessive oil and how they haven't solved the issue and I said when I bring in the car I don't want the oil changed. But rather, I need the updated piston rings that are on the 2017+ XC 90s. I said if you can't do this under goodwill, I am contacting Volvo North America and creating a case with them.

[braveheart]

My 2014 Volvo S60 consume one qt engine oil per 350 miles. national highway safety administration has issued a safety warning on Jan 4, 2023 for the piston defect. I don't get any notification from Volvo, Volvo said only paid me if I repaired the piston within eight years, really not fair. If you have 2013 to 2016 S60 or 2015 to 2016 other models, please see dealer to fix the problem. After 2017, volvo changed the design, means volvo already know this defect, but clearly Volvo is trying to hide the defect

[markschireson]

My 2016 XC90 T6 started burning a quart of oil a month, about 1000 miles and have been told by Volvo that my experience was not as bad as it could be. Luckily, I bought this CPO vehicle with a warranty that expires in Oct. 2022 and will use this info with the dealership to have the pistons and rings replaced - under warranty. Thank you very much for this great information!

[carasaxwold]

The Volvo dealership has wasted so much time trying to figure out why my 2015 Volvo xc60 is burning oil. They claim my engine isn’t the type that has the same issue. Finally yesterday they said it’s the pistons and rings. Very frustrating.

[ChezzOnBass]

My son’s 2011 XC70 has the 3.2 non turbo and he goes through around 2.5 quarts a month. Thanks for the explanation!

[drew]

I used to have to add a quart half way between oil changes but it wasn’t leaking and it wasn’t smoking. I started using top shelf Redline oil and now I go 7, 000 miles and my oil levels never change for the duration of its life between changes. I know some Volvo’s have this piston problem but I imagine a lot of people complaining of oil loss are just using cheap engine oil.

[garytaylor]

Hi @TheVolvoGuy, sorry to repost. My 2015 V60 T6 is burning oil so I purchased new pistons. Trouble is, they supplied the same ones as those I removed. The oil control ring is bigger then the one you show but smaller then the new replacement you show. I'd be very interested to know the Volvo part number for the piston and rings you purchased to replace the original piston. Thank you.

[nicholaswatson]

Your quite right in what you say, however there's another element at work that can push oil consumption to alarming levels in Volvo Diesel engines of a certain age. Infact the same issue also affected the Ford 2.2 diesel and Landrover engines built between 2005 - 2010. This was because they were all fitted with the Ford2004 High Pressure Loop EGR.

Under certain conditions, an HPL EGR System can generate a vaccum between the throttle module and inlet manifold through a process called 'diesel throttling.' With failed oil scrapper rings, this vaccum is able to suck the oil out of the sump. When gas flow through the DPF is restricted, it pushes up exhaust manifold pressure. This creates the need for a greater degree of throttling on the inlet side to achieve the desired pressure drop across the EGR. Burned oil creates significantly more ash which in turn restricts the DPF, and as oil consumption is now linked to the pressure drop across the filter, it increases at an accelerated rate.

I tested this on my own V70 D5 and with a low pressure drop across the DPF, the engine would consume approximately 1 - 1.5ltr of oil per 1, 000 miles. However, over time oil consumption became far worse until with a heavily restricted DPF, it was consuming 12 - 15 litres of 5w30 A5/B5 every 1, 000 miles. With the DPF cleaned, consumption dropped back to 1 - 1.5 ltr/1, 000 miles.

[Dreyno]

Bought a 2014 V60 D4 a few months ago. Googled issues to see the usual diesel EGR stuff but otherwise nothing seemed obvious. But it’s using a lot of oil so I googled oil consumption and loads of stuff appeared. Apparently the algorithm isn’t as refined as we think.
It’s using 1lt per 500km. I love the car but I’m in two minds about what to do with it. Unlike the previous owner, I wouldn’t be happy to sell it on with such an obvious defect but I also can’t afford to have the engine ripped and rebuilt. For now I will just have to feed it oil but it’s turned me off a brand I’ve always admired.

[vitorferreira]

Hello, can you give me the reference for the pistons and rings for the Volvo v40 2.0?

[alfonsomadrigalelizondo]

THANKS!... now it's all clear to me!. I have an XC90 2014, and it work PERFECTLY, but burns oil VERY FAST, with NO WHITE SMOKE, or smell, or LACK OF RESPONSE... it just does!.

[JonathanLit]

I have a 2013 Volvo S60 five cylinder turbo that I just got a few months ago and it’s burning through oil like I’ve never seen. I’ve taken it to my local mechanic and he has no idea what’s wrong with it. He told me maybe the turbo. Just today (second appointment) he told me maybe it’s the rings. I saw someone else’s comment that the ring warranty runs at 100k miles and mine is at 99k so I’m gonna to call the local Volvo dealer and see if Volvo will eat this ridiculous cost for bad design like they should. I don’t have high hopes. Bought the car 3 months ago for 9 grand and I’m already 6 grand deep into this thing. If I need another 7 grand of repairs then I might as well have bought a brand new car. Worst purchase I’ve ever made and there’s still potential for it to get even worse.

[talesmaschio]

I own a 2011 XC60 T6 with 150k km and it burns around 1.5 liters every 5000 km, which is how much I drive between oil changes. I got used to keep a jug of oil in my garage to top up the level every 1500-2000 km. I had heard something about the rings being the cause for the oil burning, now you made it very clear. Thank you for posting.