Hey all, in the span of about 12 hours, found out about a friend trading in a XC60 and ended up buying it at a very good price. I know nothing about volvo's and have zero experience working on them but online reviews and carcomplaints.com showed very few problems. It's the 3.2 non turbo. It has 200K and was very well maintained by a local Volvo focused mom and pop shop. Seems like a cartridge filter and 5w30. Anything else I should know from fellow volvo lovers?
Just bought a 2012 Volvo XC60
- Thread starter jayjr1105
- Start date
Paging the resident Volvo guy. @Timmastertech
Make sure the transfer case, aka angle gear I think, fluid has been serviced and find out the history of the timing belt if that uses one. Otherwise nice cars, except the leather tends to be on the fragile side.
Not leather, timing chain I'm 99% sure of. Not sure of the transfer case. I can probably do that on my own though.
On some, the access is miserable. I gave up trying to change it on an older S40, it was so hard to get to the plugs.
Here is the OEM Mann oil filter specifications & efficiencies. Disregard the Purolator naming b/c it's the same filter.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/l25692-purolator-classic-specification-sheet.375069/
If you start hearing a grinding rattle noise it's the top passenger side engine mount. You can wiggle yours to see if it's loose & if so get you an ebay one to replace it with.
I think this engine is an upgrade from the last 5 cylinder engine. No turbo parts to go bad & more power but to be fair I've never owned a turbo Volvo. It's a Ford manufactured engine in the U.K.
Keep it maintained & drive it.
PCV comes to mind, TX case should be easy and takes little fluid, clean screen well while in there, check spark plug wells for oil in them.
From my 2008 manual they preferred Castrol ACEA A3/B3 or API SL. I don't have the manual in from of me but that's what I remember. They aren't too picky but seemed to prefer a European oil. I think the latest spec is A3/B4 that replaced previously mentioned. I never seen any specific oil specification number though.
Get a copy from the service place, when the cabin fan starts making a noise it a real pain to change.
Absolutely needs a Euro oil. Thousands of Volvos were ruined by dealers that didn’t use the proper oil.
Find one that meets the spec in your manual, and A3/B4 is a good one. You can’t go wrong with one that meets MB 229.5.
I was curious about this and called the local Volvo dealer. They said pre 2015 the use Castrol Edge 5w30 full syn.
That's a pretty solid drivetrain that doesn't work too hard. The older XCs used to have a lot of drivetrain problems if you didn't keep up with them. But most of the issues were ironed out by 2012.
As others have mentioned, just keep using a 5w30 synthetic on a regular interval, and it should give you few problems for a lot more miles. You don't need to be too picky about the brand on that one.
For the rest, if you already have a respectable Volvo independent, they'll know what to do. Treasure your Volvo Indy. Avoid the dealers except for recalls or for something that the Indy doesn't have the computer for.
Years ago, you could get medallions from Volvo on the mileage intervals, 100,000, 200,000, etc. I had a NA 855 that was covered with them up to past 300,000 when I finally got rid of it. Old time Volvo owners used to take pride in achieving those things. I think they might offer you a sticker now, but who knows.
As others have mentioned, just keep using a 5w30 synthetic on a regular interval, and it should give you few problems for a lot more miles. You don't need to be too picky about the brand on that one.
For the rest, if you already have a respectable Volvo independent, they'll know what to do. Treasure your Volvo Indy. Avoid the dealers except for recalls or for something that the Indy doesn't have the computer for.
Years ago, you could get medallions from Volvo on the mileage intervals, 100,000, 200,000, etc. I had a NA 855 that was covered with them up to past 300,000 when I finally got rid of it. Old time Volvo owners used to take pride in achieving those things. I think they might offer you a sticker now, but who knows.
So, you quote me telling you about dealers getting the oil specification wrong, destroying people's cars…
and then say you called the dealer for information?
You don’t see the irony in that?
Look, “synthetic” is not a specification, merely a description of the base stock.
The additives and performance of the oil are determined by specification.
You need more than just “synthetic” you need an oil that meets specification.
I will likely take it to my local shop for inspection since I trust them and have used them for years but if they deny working on it, I have a great backup as the local indy volvo shop has a 4.9 google review in my area. This is where the previous owner took it for the past 12 years.
I'll have to disagree with you there. The old white blocks were surprisingly durable. Dare I say almost as sturdy as the old red blocks. And they had an odd cylinder rumble like no other. Sort of a muted growl.
I was well into the 300,000s on one without a blower, and the engine still pulled very strong and used virtually no oil between changes.
The durability of the turbos depended more on maintenance, whether it was tuned, how much it was tuned, and driving habits. Those can be a little more sensitive to oil choice, depending on those factors. It's not uncommon to see T5s doing just fine at 200,000+, provided the dealer didn't pump too much bulk tank into them. OTOH, I've seen people crack upper cylinders on them with a too aggressive tune and driving it non-stop like a scalded cat.
Lititz! Well, if they ever close shop, Marco Motors out in Collegeville is just a short trip down the Turnpike for you. It's second generation now. Howard was a master Volvo mechanic, but has long retired. But his sons now run it, and learned well from Dad. The only place in S.E. Pa. that knows how to correctly fix an R.
I own five Volvos with the white block turbo engine. The low mileage one has 125,000 miles. The high mileage is 298,000.
They are all original, engine, transmission, and turbo charger. It’s a good powertrain.
Two of the cars have the IPD cat back and stainless steel exhaust. They have a unique growl. When you’re winding through the gears, or heel and toe downshifting, a manual transmission with that growl, in the mountains, they can also be a lot of fun.
I don't think it's quite so dire with that 2012. That 3.2 is a normally aspirated, regular fuel, lower output engine, with a 7 quart sump. As I mentioned above, that one just doesn't work too hard. Ford had dumbed them down a little from the older ones by then (no offense intended to the OP).
While Volvo used to be notoriously lazy about fluid specs., the A1/B1 requirement that they recommend for that one seems fine. Any major brand synthetic, whether III or IV, should be fine. And all the major brands in that tier have reasonable add packs for that sort of service. M1, Castrol, SOPUS, take your pick. They'll all be fine in that one. Just avoid the dealer's bulk tank ... and now that Volvo is on to them, they don't pump the mystery bulk juices much anymore anyway.
If there is any concern, just drop the interval down to 5,000, which is what most turbo owners were doing anyway.
I doubt the guy is going to be tracking this one.
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