2004 Volvo S60 motor oil requirements(150k miles)

[dunamis]

Hi Folks, what is the recommended oil for the S60 Volvo? The owners manual is confusing and leads you to believe you can go with either a regular oil or synthetic. And, do you have to change every 3K or wait till the oil change light comes on?

[RSAmbassador]

Is it a turbo? I have a 06 2.5T and I'm strictly sticking to synthetic after changing the oil out from the previous owner.

[oragex]

As above, for turbo stick with synthetic, that being the hot Texas a 5W40 or 10W40 would be better.

Important, if you think the old owner put non synthetic, survey religiously the oil level after switching to synthetic. I also suggest replacing the filter only, after 500 miles.

For non turbo you can use non synthetic but keep in mind it may clog the PCV faster. Anyway, at 150k a PCV check is important.

3k change interval is too short for a synthetic oil. If you drive over 20 min. each time, you can change the oil at 6k miles or more.

[June]

3k change interval is too short for a synthetic oil. If you drive over 20 min. each time, you can change the oil at 6k miles or more.

I don't suggest leaving any oil in one of these engines for 6k in a hot climate. If you're car is turbo like mine synthetic only. My car the oil starts to turn dark around 2k and is dark by 3k with full synthetic oil. My car is a 2004 and I live in Florida where it is hot most of the year. 10w30 synthetic Castrol Edge is what my dealer uses. The manual states 5w40 or 10w30 full synthetic must be used when the stable ambient temperature is above 86°F otherwise 5w30. Last year the rear cam seal started leaking while on a road trip and I took the oil cap off to add oil for the first time and I was shocked at the dark crud under the cap. My car has 135k and almost all of the oil changes have been done by my dealership full synthetic at 3k change time and look at the pic under my cap. I never kept any other car this long and maybe this is normal. I am not impressed with Castrol Synthetic. Imagine how bad 6k or 7.5k changes would crud one of these engines up. Good luck, June

[oragex]

June, you don't mention the PCV box, how is yours? Mine is clean and it's night now to take a picture but the grid under the oil cap is very clean. 125k miles. I use 0W40 Edge and replace it once a year/about 4k miles but it's harsh climate with long cold winters and only city driving. After 4k miles I can still see the dipstick under the smear of oil. Another thing that can affect the oil is the mixture combustion.

[June]

June, you don't mention the PCV box, how is yours? Mine is clean and it's night now to take a picture but the grid under the oil cap is very clean. 125k miles. I use 0W40 Edge and replace it once a year/about 4k miles but it's harsh climate with long cold winters and only city driving. After 4k miles I can still see the dipstick under the smear of oil. Another thing that can affect the oil is the mixture combustion.

The OP lives like me in a hot climate. For the first eleven years I put five or six thousand miles per year all city. Until last year all oil changes were done at Volvo who uses Castrol. I took a flashlight at night and looked through the grates and it is only slightly amber color beyond the grates. My pcv is fine according to Volvo. I put the glove on it as I read on here recently and it sucks to the grate immediately and stayed that way above idle too. My dealer has a tag on the stick that says 10w30 Castrol Edge to remind mechanic not to use 5w30. I always have a partial bottle left in the seat after the changes usually about a quarter missing. Maybe the impurities rise to the cap area? The under hood temperature gets really hot during the summer especially if I fight traffic. I have had the outside temperature say 120° on a really hot day in five o'clock traffic 105 to 110 is not unheard-of with four lanes of stop and go. That may be a big difference between our cars. June

[dunamis]

Thanks guys lots of great info.

[Cookie-the-Swede]

My '03 S60 2.5T AWD's owners manual 'only' recommends using either 5w30 or 10w30 for all conditions. Also, Volvo specifically recommends using Castrol engine oil for some reason.
I live in a colder environment in the mountains of Colorado, so I'm running Castrol Edge full synthetic 5w30 year-round. I change my oil and filter every 4,000 (+/-) miles.
All is good.

[June]

Here is the oil page from my 2004 owners manual.