2016 Volvo V60 - dealer put used oil back in the car

[urdrwho]

Volvo had problems with rings and if not for a class action lawsuit I would not have known my car fell within the years of cars having a problem. After X amount of miles their cars would start consuming large amounts of oil. The lawsuit settlement was to expand the warranty to 8 years / 100,000 miles.

I learned of this problem in the summer of 2023 and had my oil changed in July 2023. We are retired and don't drive very much and in January I decided to check my oil level. I had 1400 miles on the car since the July 2023 oil change and the oil level was down to the first line of the dipstick, about a quart. I called the dealer and they said bring it in for an oil consumption test.

The oil consumption test is when they drain the oil, replace the oil, seal off dipstick and drain plug. Drive the car for about 1,000 miles, bring it back, they drain and weigh the oil. As recommended by Volvo forum members I was told to drive the car like I stole it, which I did and put 1,050 miles on the car. Took it back to the dealer and they drained the oil and weighed it. They said I only used 11 grams during those 1050 miles. Hm? Oddly this is what the forums said I would hear. I asked, so why did I use almost a quart in the 1400 miles. Answer - I don't know. My car has 52,000 miles on it, I have now reached the age limit for any warranty. I could not check my dipstick during the consumption test.

Now for a big no-no. I get home, look at the service report and dont' see any mention about oil, weight oil, brand, etc. I called and the service manager said, "oh, well because you only had 1,050 miles on the oil from the last change, we just dumped the oil we drained back into the car. What!?!?! Do you have a pristine drip pan, how do I know crap wasn't drained out the bottom of the sump and returned back to the top side. Who in their right minds would do such a thing?

I don't think I am wrong on this --- am I.

 

[Brian123]

1) You are not Wrong
2) Sell the Car as Fast as you can
3) Look for a car that does not have this Issue

You will get a lot of opinions on a vehicle that you should buy, you are retired, you do not need a problem car.

 

[Rand]

they probably overfilled it to start the test.. subaru is notorious for this too.
if you start out with an extra .75qt of course "consumption" will be low in 1000 miles.. ie .25qt

I made the service manager come out to the parking lot and we broke the seal.. and pow it was 1qt overfilled..
"I dont know how that happened"

So next time they called me back and showed me the level before sealing it.
and guess what.. it burned enough oil to get a new short block.
of course they messed up the oil level sensor and it puked out quarts of oil on the ground in 20 miles with the new shortblock

The loaner legacy had no oil fill cap on it.. that was a gong show too.

 

[Astro14]

So, the oil had 2,450 miles on it, you didn't pay for new oil, but you thought you would get new oil anyway?

Look, I wouldn't keep this car - that model year had poor oil control rings. It will likely never stop drinking oil.

But you were entitled to a consumption test. They did that. Nowhere did they say that you would get new oil as part of the measurement process, you assumed that.

You won't get anywhere on this issue. They did what they were supposed to do to measure consumption.

 

[carviewsonic]

My sister got the run around on a 'oil consumption test' on her 2016 Hyundai Tuscon. At my BIL's insistence, the dealer repeated the test a few times. It somehow used less oil during the "tests" than when it was not being tested. Multiple visits to the dealer, which was a PITA for my sister, who is a full time nurse with shift work at a hospital . She got rid of it, though it was only three years old.

 

[gfh77665]

Too many times consumers get what they "think" a company should do firmly in their head, and are then dissapointed in what actually transpires. I too "think" he should have got new oil, OR been offered to buy new oil at cost, OR even bring his own in to be used for the refill. I would have spoke up beforehand and asked about it.

 

[slo town]

So, the oil had 2,450 miles on it, you didn't pay for new oil, but you thought you would get new oil anyway?

Look, I wouldn't keep this car - that model year had poor oil control rings. It will likely never stop drinking oil.

But you were entitled to a consumption test. They did that. Nowhere did they say that you would get new oil as part of the measurement process, you assumed that.

You won't get anywhere on this issue. They did what they were supposed to do to measure consumption.

I'd think they would put fresh oil in during the test to ensure a recommended oil was used.

Scott

 

[Astro14]

I'd think they would put fresh oil in during the test to ensure a recommended oil was used.

Scott

He had his oil changed last summer. Who put it in? From his description, it was the dealer. Sounds like the dealer does his work.

The oil consumption check is a service.

An oil change is a service.

If the factory paid for the first, then, it would be up to the owner to pay for the second, if they wanted it.

Throwing away the oil at 2,450 miles is something an owner might do, but unless the owner is paying for it, then the dealership isn't going to do it.

Finally, and this is really important - if you have a known oil burner - you should check the oil more often than every six months/1,400 miles. If this one gets low on oil, it's done.

 

[slo town]

He had his oil changed last summer. Who put it in? From his description, it was the dealer. Sounds like the dealer does his work.

The oil consumption check is a service.

An oil change is a service.

If the factory paid for the first, then, it would be up to the owner to pay for the second, if they wanted it.

Throwing away the oil at 2,450 miles is something an owner might do, but unless the owner is paying for it, then the dealership isn't going to do it.

Finally, and this is really important - if you have a known oil burner - you should check the oil more often than every six months/1,400 miles. If this one gets low on oil, it's done.

I've been fortunate in my life to have only one oil burner - and it was a car I liked. I had a '91 Taurus SHO with a 5-speed manual. The SHO motor was Ford's Vulcan V6 block, but the four cam heads and two stage induction system were designed by Yamaha. 3 liters, 220 horsepower, and a 6,500 rpm redline. At the time this engine had the highest horsepower per liter of any car sold in the US, including all the exotics.

Anyway, that motor always lost oil somehow. It didn't leak and it never smoked but it would go through a quart every 600 or 700 miles. I never liked it but I kept the car until 90K miles and never had any problems with the engine or the cats.

That was a nice car. I still think about it on occasion. Prettiest motor I've ever owned. The valve train noise at high rpm was freaking music.

Scott

 

[PF52]

The oil consumption test is when they drain the oil, replace the oil, seal off dipstick and drain plug. Drive the car for about 1,000 miles, bring it back, they drain and weigh the oil.

Now for a big no-no. I get home, look at the service report and dont' see any mention about oil, weight oil, brand, etc. I called and the service manager said, "oh, well because you only had 1,050 miles on the oil from the last change, we just dumped the oil we drained back into the car.

Sounds like they already drained out the oil once, weighed it and put it back in, and now they're doing it a second time but suddenly now it's a problem?

 

[urdrwho]

Lunacy to put used oil back in a car. I would have paid for the new Freak'in oil. For $45 worth of oil, they put oil back into a car that could have had crap in the oil. This is the same dealer that tried to sneak past a warranty on another Volvo I had but they made the mistake in not knowing I am a car guy --- I checked their work. Hey that PCV hose is supposed to be new, Volvo paid you to replace it. Dealer - oh we only replace that when it is needed. Yeah when it soon cracks that is another charge for service but not warranty work. Intake gasket was also part of the warranty work but there wasn't any way for me to check that one. Zip tie used instead of a hose clamp. Yep - made them change that one. If they didn't replace an easy hose, I'd lay money they didn't replace the gaskets.

Same dealer that all brake pads were good except front right was down to almost the disc. Odd? They gave me a price to fix. I looked it up and lo and behold there was a TSB out on that brake problem. Still under certified warranty and we had a talk. Ya think the service people didn't know about the TSB? Really??????

I spent 45 years in the securities business and if I did the $hit dealers do I would have gone to jail. Not one bad mark on my CRD in all those years. So I take exception when people coddle dealers. Why? Because most people don't know a thing about cars and rely on dealers to fix cars the correct way.

The garage I use are good ole boys and I use them when I can. I trust them 100% and that is how it should be with dealers, sadly that doesn't seem to be true. When I had my certified Subaru I went round and round with a service manager about it using coolant. The reservoir would be bone dry. His response, "that is how they work."

Maybe we can start reusing brake fluid. Hey it looked clean so we just used the old fluid.

Getting rid of the car is high up on the list. Cars are too inflated in price right now but my wife just recently received her oncology discharge, after over 3 years of darkness, a marrow transplant, now has clean bone marrow. Car shopping wasn't in the cards while living in different hospitals but we don't need any problems. What I can say is that our 2011 Honda CRV never, ever gives us trouble and Lexus is year after year top dog on reliability. Anything to keep us away from dealers.

So to those that say "you expect new oil" can say that but these dealers underhandly take enough of the public's money that they should be ashamed.

 

[slo town]

Lunacy to put used oil back in a car. I would have paid for the new Freak'in oil. For $45 worth of oil, they put oil back into a car that could have had crap in the oil. This is the same dealer that tried to sneak past a warranty on another Volvo I had but they made the mistake in not knowing I am a car guy --- I checked their work. Hey that PCV hose is supposed to be new, Volvo paid you to replace it. Dealer - oh we only replace that when it is needed. Yeah when it soon cracks that is another charge for service but not warranty work. Intake gasket was also part of the warranty work but there wasn't any way for me to check that one. Zip tie used instead of a hose clamp. Yep - made them change that one. If they didn't replace an easy hose, I'd lay money they didn't replace the gaskets.

Same dealer that all brake pads were good except front right was down to almost the disc. Odd? They gave me a price to fix. I looked it up and lo and behold there was a TSB out on that brake problem. Still under certified warranty and we had a talk. Ya think the service people didn't know about the TSB? Really??????

I spent 45 years in the securities business and if I did the $hit dealers do I would have gone to jail. Not one bad mark on my CRD in all those years. So I take exception when people coddle dealers. Why? Because most people don't know a thing about cars and rely on dealers to fix cars the correct way.

The garage I use are good ole boys and I use them when I can. I trust them 100% and that is how it should be with dealers, sadly that doesn't seem to be true. When I had my certified Subaru I went round and round with a service manager about it using coolant. The reservoir would be bone dry. His response, "that is how they work."

Maybe we can start reusing brake fluid. Hey it looked clean so we just used the old fluid.

Getting rid of the car is high up on the list. Cars are too inflated in price right now but my wife just recently received her oncology discharge, after over 3 years of darkness, a marrow transplant, now has clean bone marrow. Car shopping wasn't in the cards while living in different hospitals but we don't need any problems. What I can say is that our 2011 Honda CRV never, ever gives us trouble and Lexus is year after year top dog on reliability. Anything to keep us away from dealers.

So to those that say "you expect new oil" can say that but these dealers underhandly take enough of the public's money that they should be ashamed.

I share your dissatisfaction with the situation.

Scott

 

[urdrwho]

So, the oil had 2,450 miles on it, you didn't pay for new oil, but you thought you would get new oil anyway?

Look, I wouldn't keep this car - that model year had poor oil control rings. It will likely never stop drinking oil.

But you were entitled to a consumption test. They did that. Nowhere did they say that you would get new oil as part of the measurement process, you assumed that.

You won't get anywhere on this issue. They did what they were supposed to do to measure consumption.

He had his oil changed last summer. Who put it in? From his description, it was the dealer. Sounds like the dealer does his work.

The oil consumption check is a service.

An oil change is a service.

If the factory paid for the first, then, it would be up to the owner to pay for the second, if they wanted it.

Throwing away the oil at 2,450 miles is something an owner might do, but unless the owner is paying for it, then the dealership isn't going to do it.

Finally, and this is really important - if you have a known oil burner - you should check the oil more often than every six months/1,400 miles. If this one gets low on oil, it's done.

Let me clear this up. The oil consumption test was done on brand new oil, the service report said how much they put in the car. Yeah I get it about the cost but **** it, I didn't like the idea of oil going back in top side from a techs oil collector pan. That is just bad, bad protocol. I guess I have to trust that the tech wiped that pan clean, that there wasn't any nasty crap that came out of the bottom of the sump and the oil was pristine clean when they put it back into the top side.

This started as an oil question as to how people feel about putting used oil back into a car. I had to explain the why and then it got deep into the weeds. You are correct. My older Volvo's, the S60, the V50 were great cars. My 1964 P544 was a fun car. Talk about an easy car to replace the engine, ya could do the P544 in your sleep.

Since purchasing this car with 19,000 miles on it the service records add up into the $6,000 range. The maintenance file is as thick as any older XJ40 or SIII Jags that I owned. I'm just a bit PO'd about this car and if you read my other post, the past three years of cancer crap put me into a space that I don't want any nonsense from dealers. I've gone from the friendly dog to a rattlesnake in a moment. I'm burnt out and life got hard for a while.

Looking at the new cars, I'm not thrilled with everything being touch the screen to change heat, AC, music., etc. I don't like CVT transmissions. Not a fan of low profile tires and it seems far too many cars have those tires. So my list of what I can find isn't as open as it once was and then there is the inflation factor. The Manheim used car index chart has the line moving downward but very slowly.

 

[Astro14]

Lunacy to put used oil back in a car. I would have paid for the new Freak'in oil. For $45 worth of oil, they put oil back into a car that could have had crap in the oil. This is the same dealer that tried to sneak past a warranty on another Volvo I had but they made the mistake in not knowing I am a car guy --- I checked their work. Hey that PCV hose is supposed to be new, Volvo paid you to replace it. Dealer - oh we only replace that when it is needed. Yeah when it soon cracks that is another charge for service but not warranty work. Intake gasket was also part of the warranty work but there wasn't any way for me to check that one. Zip tie used instead of a hose clamp. Yep - made them change that one. If they didn't replace an easy hose, I'd lay money they didn't replace the gaskets.

Same dealer that all brake pads were good except front right was down to almost the disc. Odd? They gave me a price to fix. I looked it up and lo and behold there was a TSB out on that brake problem. Still under certified warranty and we had a talk. Ya think the service people didn't know about the TSB? Really??????

I spent 45 years in the securities business and if I did the $hit dealers do I would have gone to jail. Not one bad mark on my CRD in all those years. So I take exception when people coddle dealers. Why? Because most people don't know a thing about cars and rely on dealers to fix cars the correct way.

The garage I use are good ole boys and I use them when I can. I trust them 100% and that is how it should be with dealers, sadly that doesn't seem to be true. When I had my certified Subaru I went round and round with a service manager about it using coolant. The reservoir would be bone dry. His response, "that is how they work."

Maybe we can start reusing brake fluid. Hey it looked clean so we just used the old fluid.

Getting rid of the car is high up on the list. Cars are too inflated in price right now but my wife just recently received her oncology discharge, after over 3 years of darkness, a marrow transplant, now has clean bone marrow. Car shopping wasn't in the cards while living in different hospitals but we don't need any problems. What I can say is that our 2011 Honda CRV never, ever gives us trouble and Lexus is year after year top dog on reliability. Anything to keep us away from dealers.

So to those that say "you expect new oil" can say that but these dealers underhandly take enough of the public's money that they should be ashamed.

I get why you’re upset with the dealer. And upset with this particular Volvo.

But that doesn’t change what is happening here.

From what I have seen about this oil consumption test on the Volvo forums, yes, they re-use the oil. Basic process - weigh what is in there. Put it in for 1,000 miles. Weigh it again. Determine the weight difference. Far more precise than a dipstick measurement.

Big question - who paid for this test?

Because, again, my understanding is that Volvo paid for it.

If so, they followed the published procedure.

And it cost you nothing. Am I wrong, did you pay for this? And if you did, did they explain what was going to be done?

Because I don’t pay for things, for anything, unless I know what I am getting.

Sounds like this is a case is mismatched expectations. You assumed, emphasis on assumed, that they would put fresh oil on both times. Was that clear in the service description?

Are you letting your overall frustration with this car, and this dealer, color your feeling about this procedure?

My drain pan is spotless. I clean it every time. So, while I haven’t done this procedure, I would be OK doing it if it were the only way to measure consumption.

I carefully drain, and then reinstall coolant, if the coolant is clean, and fresh, using that same pan.

 

[urdrwho]

I've been fortunate in my life to have only one oil burner - and it was a car I liked. I had a '91 Taurus SHO with a 5-speed manual. The SHO motor was Ford's Vulcan V6 block, but the four cam heads and two stage induction system were designed by Yamaha. 3 liters, 220 horsepower, and a 6,500 rpm redline. At the time this engine had the highest horsepower per liter of any car sold in the US, including all the exotics.

Anyway, that motor always lost oil somehow. It didn't leak and it never smoked but it would go through a quart every 600 or 700 miles. I never liked it but I kept the car until 90K miles and never had any problems with the engine or the cats.

That was a nice car. I still think about it on occasion. Prettiest motor I've ever owned. The valve train noise at high rpm was freaking music.

Scott

View attachment 212307

That's a clean looking and cool looking engine.

 

[kschachn]

Let me clear this up. The oil consumption test was done on brand new oil, the service report said how much they put in the car. Yeah I get it about the cost but **** it, I didn't like the idea of oil going back in top side from a techs oil collector pan. That is just bad, bad protocol. I guess I have to trust that the tech wiped that pan clean, that there wasn't any nasty crap that came out of the bottom of the sump and the oil was pristine clean when they put it back into the top side.

This started as an oil question as to how people feel about putting used oil back into a car. I had to explain the why and then it got deep into the weeds. You are correct. My older Volvo's, the S60, the V50 were great cars. My 1964 P544 was a fun car. Talk about an easy car to replace the engine, ya could do the P544 in your sleep.

Since purchasing this car with 19,000 miles on it the service records add up into the $6,000 range. The maintenance file is as thick as any older XJ40 or SIII Jags that I owned. I'm just a bit PO'd about this car and if you read my other post, the past three years of cancer crap put me into a space that I don't want any nonsense from dealers. I've gone from the friendly dog to a rattlesnake in a moment. I'm burnt out and life got hard for a while.

Looking at the new cars, I'm not thrilled with everything being touch the screen to change heat, AC, music., etc. I don't like CVT transmissions. Not a fan of low profile tires and it seems far too many cars have those tires. So my list of what I can find isn't as open as it once was and then there is the inflation factor. The Manheim used car index chart has the line moving downward but very slowly.

So you're generally unhappy with most everything about the vehicle, and the oil reuse was a touchpoint?

 

[urdrwho]

I get why you’re upset with the dealer. And upset with this particular Volvo.

But that doesn’t change what is happening here.

From what I have seen about this oil consumption test on the Volvo forums, yes, they re-use the oil. Basic process - weigh what is in there. Put it back in for 1,000 miles. Weigh it again. Determine the weight difference. Far more precise than a dipstick measurement.

Big question - who paid for this test?

Because, again, my understanding is that Volvo paid for it.

If so, they followed the published procedure.

And it cost you nothing.

There was some consternation about who was going to pay. I was still within warranty and yep - Volvo USA paid for the test. If I was out of extended warranty, I would have paid.

I was supposed to have received a notice of the extended warranty, but I never received one. The previous owner probably received the notice. And if I am correct, in the USA we received the extended warranty because of the Class Action? Is that correct?

I can't with a good heart sell this car to the open market. When I sell me cars, the buyers are always getting a car that is in good shape and a car that almost all buttons and bells work. Our S60 had 225,000 on the clock, didn't use any oil and you could have driven that thing coast to coast without any worries. So I guess I'll have to take the hit on trade in pricing for the V60 and let the dealer take the hit from whoever they sell it to????

Most people won't even know if their car is burning oil because the new Cats are so efficient that you don't see that tell-tale blue smoke like we did in the old days.

There is a reason I use the independent guys to work on my cars. Which is another place I find myself. Into my 70's now and I don't work on my cars anymore. Well I will do the spark plugs, coil towers, anything that all I have to do is stand and look into the engine bay. So more than ever in my life I am now at the mercy of other's.

 

[Audiman]

I’m surprised Volvo doesn’t do the measurement using the oil level sender, draining and weighing oil is the messy way of doing something that can be done with a diagnostic tool.

 

[JavierH19]

If I was a stealer looking to scam a customer I'd use 20w-50 and overfill by a quart then lie anyway. If i was going through this with my escalade that's still under warranty but running out of time I'd pull the entire dip stick tube without putting scratches down there and vacuum 1-1/4 quarts out.

 

[urdrwho]

So you're generally unhappy with most everything about the vehicle, and the oil reuse was a touchpoint?

You've hit the nail on the head. My fault, I fell for the looks of the car and my mistake for purchasing it. My wife has bad peripheral neuropathy in both legs, hard time walking and to her, the pain produced from the low-profile tires are like riding on bricks.