I have a 2016 Volvo S60 which I purchased in July 2016 with about 6000 miles. I started having problems with excessive oil consumption about a year ago. I was adding oil. I received a letter from Volvo about 6 months ago. They were aware of the excessive oil consumption. They were offering an oil consumption test. They also extended the warranty a few more months and a few more miles. I took it into the dealer shortly after I got the letter. I was told that they did not find any problem. I took it in again today, July 7, 2023. The light was on indicating that I needed to add a quart of oil. I did not add oil because I wanted the dealer to see it. The light was on when I got there. About 45 minutes into the repair, the service advisor told me that the service technician could not find any problem, that the oil was not low and the message about low oil/add a quart of oil was not on. Mind you, the light was on when I drove it in. The service advisor told me to come back in after 1200 miles and do not turn the car off. She also said that it could be the pistons, which I found out on this sight is the actual problem. I also found out on the reddit site that there is a class action suit filed against Volvo for this problem. My service advisor said that if my car fails the oil consumption test, Volvo would replace the pistons and in extreme case, replace the engine. My advice to anyone who has a service light come on, please take a picture of it.
That’s good advice, gives you some evidence in case of a dispute. sorry you are having this difficulty. It’s good of Volvo to send you a letter asking you to come in for an oil usage measurement. It’s possible that the low oil warning light that you saw turned off by itself, no way to tell. Suggest if that occurs again to take a photo of the oil level on the dipstick too (if your Volvo uses a dipstick, some cars these days don’t have a dipstick).
Also suggest to measure the oil usage rate yourself if such a thing is possible on your car. It should be possible provided you have a dipstick or other method to accurately measure the amount of oil in the crankcase; i.e. just record how much oil is in the crankcase vs miles driven. 1000 miles or more per quart of oil usage is probably ok, nothing to worry about. Less than 500 miles per quart indicates a definite problem that needs correction. Between 500 and 1000 miles per quart, that’s a leaner, may or may not indicate a problem deserving correction.
Note that there are several reasons an engine’s oil usage might be too high. Some are minor and relatively easy to fix, like incontinent valve stem seals. Others are not so easy to fix. Suggest to not simply assume, take the process step by step. The first step is to measure the oil usage rate. The second step is to determine why.
By way of comparison, both my 50 year old truck and 30 year old Corolla use about a quart of oil per 5,000 miles.
If the dealer has begun the oil consumption test, the dipstick will be sealed. Break the seal and invalidate the test.
It sounds like Volvo is involved, which is not a bad thing. At least they are not ignoring you with the old “Oh, burning up all the oil between oil changes is totally normal” act.