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2016 Needs pistons replaced

70K views 275 replies 67 participants last post by  kristofszucs 
#1 · (Edited)
2016 T6 Needs PISTONS Replaced

Hello everyone. I have a 2016 XC-90 T6. I'm the only owner, and I've kept it serviced regularly. I currently have approx. 52k miles on it. Around 40 to 45k, my car started prompting me to add a quart of oil every so often. This seemed a bit odd, but I have owned and currently own German cars so I didn't think much of it. I figured it had something to do with running a little hotter than your average engine.

Before my warranty expired at 50k, I took it in for its scheduled service, and I gave them a laundry list of minor things that I wanted fixed under warranty. One of the things I noted was the oil consumption. BOY AM I GLAD I COMPLAINED. They told me to drive it another thousand miles and bring it back. I did so, and my car had used a quart of oil. They then said I had to drive it another 1000 miles and bring it back per Volvo protocol. After checking it out, they said the pistons need replaced. Luckily, this will be covered under warranty.

I asked if any other cars had this problem, and he said there are 2 XC-90s currently in the shop needing the same repair. He said it has to do with the oil rings wearing out/getting gunked up. Apparently Volvo recently changed their oil viscosity recommendation because of this.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what is you understanding of the cause. I'm a little gun-shy now to keep the car if it's going to need another major repair done.
 
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#2 ·
Where are you located?
In the US, viscosity is higher than the rest of the world:
US - 5W30
WORLD - 0W20



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#6 ·
Hello everyone. I have a 2016 XC-90 T6. I'm the only owner, and I've kept it serviced regularly. I currently have approx. 52k miles on it. Around 40 to 45k, my car started prompting me to add a quart of oil every so often. This seemed a bit odd, but I have owned and currently own German cars so I didn't think much of it. I figured it had something to do with running a little hotter than your average engine.

Before my warranty expired at 50k, I took it in for its scheduled service, and I gave them a laundry list of minor things that I wanted fixed under warranty. One of the things I noted was the oil consumption. BOY AM I GLAD I COMPLAINED. They told me to drive it another thousand miles and bring it back. I did so, and my car had used a quart of oil. They then said I had to drive it another 1000 miles and bring it back per Volvo protocol. After checking it out, they said the pistons need replaced. Luckily, this will be covered under warranty.

I asked if any other cars had this problem, and he said there are 2 XC-90s currently in the shop needing the same repair. He said it has to do with the oil rings wearing out/getting gunked up. Apparently Volvo recently changed their oil viscosity recommendation because of this.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what is you understanding of the cause. I'm a little gun-shy now to keep the car if it's going to need another major repair done.
Where are you located?
In the US, viscosity is higher than the rest of the world:
US - 5W30
WORLD - 0W20

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm located in the USA (Ohio)
 
#8 ·
Is it available in the US now? I've been using LiquiMoly's vtec (0W20 Volvo Spec) since the first oil change as I couldn't find the Castrol flavored one. Figured it'd be more important on a T8 given how it will turn on and off more frequently, for shorter cycles (depending on driving conditions) and at speed than a T6 would every experience.
 
#9 ·
It's been discussed. It happens.

After repair, you will need to use Castrol Edge Professional V 0W-20 Synthetic. It can also be used in all Drive E engines in the US now.
Is it available in the US now? I've been using LiquiMoly's vtec (0W20 Volvo Spec) since the first oil change as I couldn't find the Castrol flavored one. Figured it'd be more important on a T8 given how it will turn on and off more frequently, for shorter cycles (depending on driving conditions) and at speed than a T6 would every experience.
It is, but I think only from dealers at this time. The spec changed for 2019 MY.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Same problem; expensive outlook

Hey all, first time poster newish lurker, and just to get this out the way, nearly all of this is my own fault and I have no one to blame other than myself and whoever designed this engine. I am the 'proud' new owner of a 2016 XC90 T6 Inscription (all the things) and having the exact same issue, confirmed by the dealer, four months in to having it. That said, mine is no longer under warranty*, and it looks like I'll be either be paying for a new (used) engine or new rings on the current. I could pay ~$11k and have the rings done, but the dealer pointed out that God knows what they'll find when they get in there, and then you're already in to them for a bunch of labor. Replacing the whole engine (with a ~30k mile used) is ~$12k, and at least you have some basic warranty on that and newer SC and turbo. That said, the used engine would have the same old bad rings. Anyone's thoughts on this choice is really appreciated.

Why I bought this vehicle is a different and retrospectively stupid story, but suffice it to say, mileage didn't strike me as particularly important because, 'Volvos are incredibly reliable.' I mean, how many high-mileage Volvos are out there, that's their whole reputation. I had it looked at and checked the service history (truly flawless), exterior and overall condition is perfect and everything else is functioning perfectly. Honestly the idea that it might be consuming oil did not even cross my mind; I didn't even know what a piston ring was until a month ago. So I essentially knew exactly enough about cars to get myself in to a lot of trouble.

I've already been turned down by VCUSA once for any help on this (I'm in no way surprised), though the dealer (FYI Volvo Manhattan has been great and very helpful and open thus far) is reaching out to them again to get their rationale and try and work something out to make it somewhat less painful, and I'm going to open another case just to provide them with more info. If their rationale is that this is an uncommon problem and the car must have been abused, that's bull****, there's multiple tech journal entries for this exact problem for this exact vehicle, and there's multiple mentions of it here. If its that its not under warranty so we don't have to do anything, I guess I get that, but big-picture, that doesn't strike me as doing the right thing. I understand needing to check basic stuff on a car you're buying (and burning oil over long-ish distances isn't really going to appear in a prepurchase inspection or a test drive), and replacing consumable things like tires, brakes, etc. But is a normal person really supposed to consider piston rings? Am I crazy thinking that? If they did the right thing and fixed it, I'd be quite vocal about that. Of course if they don't, it seems like VCUSA is saying, "our cars' most fundamental components don't last more than 4 years, good luck" and I'd be very vocal about that, too.

tl'dr I am a huge idiot and have no good options now. Apologies for the lengthy post.

*As a side-note, the Steingold extended warranty explicitly does not cover this particular issue now. It might have in the past, but the fine print to the fine print in the brochure now notes: "No payment or reimbursement for the correction of oil consumption, repair of worn rings, or any repairs for reduction in engine efficiency that must be performed on your vehicle when a Mechanical Breakdown has not occurred." So my reading of that is that they want to engine to completely fail before they do anything? Why they don't initially cover it is obvious: its apparently a common and really expensive problem that they've probably been burned on (as it were) a bunch now. But why would they then offer to do the really expensive repair after something potentially dangerous occurs?
 
#29 · (Edited)
Hey all, first time poster newish lurker, and just to get this out the way, nearly all of this is my own fault and I have no one to blame other than myself and whoever designed this engine. I am the 'proud' new owner of a 2016 XC90 T6 Inscription (all the things) and having the exact same issue, confirmed by the dealer, four months in to having it. That said, mine is no longer under warranty*, and it looks like I'll be either be paying for a new (used) engine or new rings on the current. I could pay ~$11k and have the rings done, but the dealer pointed out that God knows what they'll find when they get in there, and then you're already in to them for a bunch of labor. Replacing the whole engine (with a ~30k mile used) is ~$12k, and at least you have some basic warranty on that and newer SC and turbo. That said, the used engine would have the same old bad rings. Anyone's thoughts on this choice is really appreciated.

Why I bought this vehicle is a different and retrospectively stupid story, but suffice it to say, mileage didn't strike me as particularly important because, 'Volvos are incredibly reliable.' I mean, how many high-mileage Volvos are out there, that's their whole reputation. I had it looked at and checked the service history (truly flawless), exterior and overall condition is perfect and everything else is functioning perfectly. Honestly the idea that it might be consuming oil did not even cross my mind; I didn't even know what a piston ring was until a month ago. So I essentially knew exactly enough about cars to get myself in to a lot of trouble.

I've already been turned down by VCUSA once for any help on this (I'm in no way surprised), though the dealer (FYI Volvo Manhattan has been great and very helpful and open thus far) is reaching out to them again to get their rationale and try and work something out to make it somewhat less painful, and I'm going to open another case just to provide them with more info. If their rationale is that this is an uncommon problem and the car must have been abused, that's bull****, there's multiple tech journal entries for this exact problem for this exact vehicle, and there's multiple mentions of it here. If its that its not under warranty so we don't have to do anything, I guess I get that, but big-picture, that doesn't strike me as doing the right thing. I understand needing to check basic stuff on a car you're buying (and burning oil over long-ish distances isn't really going to appear in a prepurchase inspection or a test drive), and replacing consumable things like tires, brakes, etc. But is a normal person really supposed to consider piston rings? Am I crazy thinking that? If they did the right thing and fixed it, I'd be quite vocal about that. Of course if they don't, it seems like VCUSA is saying, "our cars' most fundamental components don't last more than 4 years, good luck" and I'd be very vocal about that, too.

tl'dr I am a huge idiot and have no good options now. Apologies for the lengthy post.

*As a side-note, the Steingold extended warranty explicitly does not cover this particular issue now. It might have in the past, but the fine print to the fine print in the brochure now notes: "No payment or reimbursement for the correction of oil consumption, repair of worn rings, or any repairs for reduction in engine efficiency that must be performed on your vehicle when a Mechanical Breakdown has not occurred." So my reading of that is that they want to engine to completely fail before they do anything? Why they don't initially cover it is obvious: its apparently a common and really expensive problem that they've probably been burned on (as it were) a bunch now. But why would they then offer to do the really expensive repair after something potentially dangerous occurs?
Don't really have the time atm to deal with this... But Mileage? Service History (All Volvo Serviced)? How long ago did Warranty end?

Depending upon the Mileage and Service history (less than 100K and All Volvo Serviced with NO GAPS), I'd speak to Dealer General Manager and get him/her involved. And email Volvo Executives to request good will. They've bent the rules plenty. But this only happens if this car has a track record of Volvo only Service / Repairs and mileage isn't over 100K.
 
#12 ·
Also once the car has been repaired (replace pistons and rings) I would believe this fixes the problem. So you should not think it will occur again?
 
#17 ·
But it's interesting to know about oil specs change. Dealer did not tell me anything about that..
Because oil viscosity is not the issue.

Anyone claiming 5w30 synthetic oil causes piston ring failure at ~50k miles and 0w20 is the "cure" is full of it. The rings in early drive-e engines (including 2016 XC90s) have an abnormal failure rate (clear design defect) that was rectified in '17+ engines and oil viscosity is a poor excuse, at best.
 
#14 ·
Note to all noobs: This is the kind of thing that happens with the 2016 model.

You're all going to ask this question: "Should I buy a used 2016 model?"
The answer: Search for 2016 in thread titles

I'm glad you got it fixed under warranty OP! :D
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
Having mentioned that, my preferred choice is the Liqui-moly ‘V’ spec 0W20


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#18 ·
When you say ‘clear design defect’, can you point me to docs that confirm that please.
I’d be interested to read about that


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#21 ·
#33 ·
I have/had the same issue. 1st owner 2016 XC90. Had 48000 miles when it was finally properly diagnosed. Brought it in at 45000 miles when it first wanted 1 qt of oil. Pistons/rings...$6500...My warranty was over by 3 months but I argued as this was clearly a defect. Dealer got Volvo to cover the repair. Then as the repair commenced, there was noticeable scoring. Dealer called me and told me a new motor was now needed...and Volvo covered it. They had the car a month, thankfully we had a 2020 XC60 Inscription loaner to ease the pain. Seems ok (just got it back 5 days ago). I was not told anything about using different oil. Funny when it 1st started to lose oil around July, I couldn't find anything about it for 2016 models....now there are plenty of stories. Volvo better make good or a class action is in their future.
 
#55 ·
Remind me please, I now the 2015 and 2016 Drive-Es were affected, but was this only a FWD vehicle issue? Or did AWD also have the piston ring / oil consumption problem, too?
 
#35 ·
Former engine builder here and as of tomorrow, holding my breath, owner of 2020 xc60 T6. My wife HAD to have a luxury car so here we go...... To have rings fail like this is bizarre and should not ever happen. First, to check excessive oil usage by adding some and driving another 1000k twice is ridiculous. Since there was no obvious leak it was burning oil!! Oil leaks or it is burned!! Ring failure at that mileage is either due to inferior parts or incompetent engineering design. Other posts have mentioned "design flaw." I would tend to agree with that as the alternative is a large batch of the poor quality rings Volvo bought failed in many engines. Reminiscent more of US made cars.

I am glad your car was under warranty. I could say a lot more, but will restrain myself.
 
#36 ·
Read this link from one of the posts above. https://www.knowyourparts.com/techni...mption-issues/

Engine design and building practices have changed dramatically in the last few years, due to increasing demands on performance, mileage, and pollution controls. They are literally trying to squeeze the last possible drops of performance from IC engines. Yes, they got the design wrong, the margin for error has gotten astonishingly small. Machining like this was really not possible for a mass produced product not that long ago.
 
#37 ·
Now I am concerned. We bought a 2016 XC90 Back in March. Good price, couldn't resist. Reading all of this makes me second guess myself. I hate buying or owning flawed stuff. I should have waited for a newer model year ! Who knows if it's gonna fail or not. And even if it doesn't fail at 50 k, could fail at 80k out of the warranty...

I have CPO covering until Jan 2021. 35k on the car, bought it at 27k. No major issues so far. Only fuel pressure sensor that failed. So I guess time will tell. But I am bracing myself and will be watching the oil level closely now.

Is this problem sure to affect all 2016 T6 at some point? Is there anybody here with 100k on a T6 with no oil consumption issue ? Because if some cars are unaffected then it's more of a quality issue. And if it's a design flaw shouldn't there be a recall ??

Last oil change I did myself at 32k. Put Mobil 1 5w30 extended perf (acea a5/b5). I wonder now if I should flush it out and put some 0w20 or just go to the dealer and see. The reason I changed was that there was a debate and uncertainty on what type of oil is actually used by dealers during service (since Castrol edge pro was not offered in US)
 
#40 ·
Volvo must be acutely aware of the issue, since their Platinum extended warranty contract specifically excludes covering:

17. THE CORRECTION OF OIL CONSUMPTION, REPAIR OF WORN RINGS, OR ANY REPAIRS FOR REDUCTION IN ENGINE EFFICIENCY THAT MUST BE PERFORMED ON YOUR VEHICLE WHEN A MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN HAS NOT OCCURED;

The kicker to me is that out of 22 exclusionary points, this is pretty much the only specific item, the rest is generic and more or less common sense stuff you wouldn't expect any warranty to cover, such as race track use (!), abuse, maintenance, water submergence, liability for property damage, commercial use, etc. and then specifically making a point about not covering worn rings?!

seeing how a lot more 2016 models are now approaching 50K miles milestone, if this truly becomes a widespread issue, it might be time to lawyer up in a collective way
 
#56 ·
Simply put, drive the vehicle til the engine fails, if you suspect oil consumption. Then if it dies, it'll be covered?
 
#41 ·
I am no lawyer, but reading into MUST BE PERFORMED part, it sounds like you better fix it out of pocket when the issue is first detected, because if you don't then extended warranty won't be on the hook to cover the eventual mechanical breakdown?
 
#43 ·
That's not how I read it. "that must be performed" to me indicates the dealer saying the work "needs" done to correct the issue (oil consumption or performance issues due to worn rings), but if vehicle still drives, you're probably just going to have to deal with it until a mechanical failure occurs, which the warranty would then cover.
 
#46 ·
Update on my car. Today makes the 4th week my car has been in the shop. I have been provided a loaner T6 XC-90, which is nice, but I can't bring my dog anywhere (part of the loaner agreement) or use my hitch. They've been behind, but finally got to my car on Monday. Cracked the engine open, and they found severe scoring. I've been told that I, too, need a new engine. Since the original repair was covered by warranty, the service manager said this should also be covered by warranty, but I'm just waiting for confirmation.

Obviously, there is a significant design flaw in the 2016 engines. My question to you who have had a new engine put in is whether it's a new-from-factory, crate engine or if Volvo puts some type of refurbished engine in. I want to make sure that they aren't just sticking another defective engine back in. I wouldn't assume they'd be dumb enough to do that, but you never know what companies will do to save some short-term $. Also, does a new engine come with a new warranty?

Last, just spitballing here, but I may just sell this thing. Whoever gets it, gets a good deal, and I can just move on from the whole thing. How would you come up with a reasonable value considering it would have a newer engine than the mileage indicates?
 
#88 ·
Update on my car. Today makes the 4th week my car has been in the shop. I have been provided a loaner T6 XC-90, which is nice, but I can't bring my dog anywhere (part of the loaner agreement) or use my hitch. They've been behind, but finally got to my car on Monday. Cracked the engine open, and they found severe scoring. I've been told that I, too, need a new engine. Since the original repair was covered by warranty, the service manager said this should also be covered by warranty, but I'm just waiting for confirmation.

Obviously, there is a significant design flaw in the 2016 engines. My question to you who have had a new engine put in is whether it's a new-from-factory, crate engine or if Volvo puts some type of refurbished engine in. I want to make sure that they aren't just sticking another defective engine back in. I wouldn't assume they'd be dumb enough to do that, but you never know what companies will do to save some short-term $. Also, does a new engine come with a new warranty?

Last, just spitballing here, but I may just sell this thing. Whoever gets it, gets a good deal, and I can just move on from the whole thing. How would you come up with a reasonable value considering it would have a newer engine than the mileage indicates?
Having a rebuilt engine wouldn't hurt the value, and if anything enhances the appeal. Someone purchasing would be getting a rebuilt engine and the assurance that your ride won't be an oil burner in the future.
 
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