New 08 XC90 3.2 AWD - Stage 0 - Oil viscosity in HOT climate Topic is solved

[Roger_850T]

To add, (or repeat) what others have said... The first number (0W or 5W or 10W) is the cold viscosity. W is for Winter. If you think you're going to see very cold temperatures before the next oil change, then worry about it, otherwise probably not. The second number is the viscosity at a fixed higher temp, which is what it sees when the engine is running. If you're going to be running in hotter temperatures, then thicker (40) is a better plan than 30. To me, hotter means >100°F. If you're not going to see hotter than 90F (ok, 86F?) then 30 will probably be fine.

The second item is how long are you going to leave the oil in. Some people like to leave it in a long time, and not change it for 7500 to 15000 miles. That's when the synthetic is useful. I personally prefer to change it often, every 3,333 miles, so I put in regular mineral oil and do just fine. (2 different Volvos over 300k miles on mineral oil, so it's certainly not harmful.) Many people have reported that when they switch from mineral oil to synthetic, all the old oil seals start to leak horribly, and didn't stop until they replaced the seals. Again, I just stick to mineral oil and change it often.

For the longest time, Chevron was my favorite oil - because I could buy it cheaply at Costco. Now I've moved, and my local Costco now has Havoline (which is actually made by Chevron, so it seems to be the same thing.) Again, it's cheap, and I change it often. Second choice is Shell, which is available inexpensively at Home Depot. I tried using the Castrol at Walmart, but actually ran into some problems with the Castrol Magnetek and the oil level sensor on my XC90, so I'm back to the Chevron (Havoline) again.

But back to your original question - I think most of the viscosities you listed will be fine, and would recommend to pick the one that is convenient. The most important thing is to change it regularly.

Roger

[abscate]

Just don't mix Shell and Mobil oils...its on the internet as to why..

[oragex]

I drive through Oklahoma occasionally. In July 2016 my last pass through my dash said it was 121° during the heat of the day flying down the interstate heading North through the northern part of the state. Opening the door was like opening the oven. June

That sounds convincing.

[dandan]

Last week I went ahead and change the oil with Mobil 1 0w40. the oil in the vehicle had about 500+ miles on it and came out strong coffee black. I also changed out the drain plug and the oil filter housing.

The old oil filter looked decent, but replaced it with a mann filter. I'll drive it about 1000 miles and replace the filter and top off with fresh oil, then keep the oil maintenance steady from here on out. I'm not sure if i'll go to the 7,500 mile service or just change it everything 3,500-4k miles.

I also had an overheating issue a couple weeks ago and changed out the cooling fan..

I also tried to gut the old fan motor to see if I could replace components as its kind of what i do for a living. but this motor is built to tear apart but not service...

I looks as if a few cold solder points are there but I didn't even bother to repair as I had to rip the shroud apart to get to anything.

[dandan]

Also getting this in vida, not sure how to approach it, one user did mention to go ahead and change the thermostat. This is a good indicator for this? Or should i tinker with the coolant temp sensor first?

[oragex]

Maybe look at the temp gauge needle, as the car is warming up, does the needle climb at a steady rate? Also inspect the wires to the coolant temp sensor, in particular right where they go into the electrical connector, sometimes they can crack at that point

The old oil filter looks really clean. Perhaps the car was already running on synthetic oil before. Maybe just keep an weekly eye on the oil level just to be safe

[dandan]

Maybe look at the temp gauge needle, as the car is warming up, does the needle climb at a steady rate? Also inspect the wires to the coolant temp sensor, in particular right where they go into the electrical connector, sometimes they can crack at that point

The old oil filter looks really clean. Perhaps the car was already running on synthetic oil before. Maybe just keep an weekly eye on the oil level just to be safe

That filter & oil had about 500 or so miles on it before I changed it. I had the dealership do an oil change, they forgot the rock guard and did not have a proper tool to get the oil filter housing off. They didn't tear it up too bad so I am keeping it as a backup. then they couldn't even tell me what oil they even put in the vehicle . (the tech was off when I had to fight to get my rock guard back)

This dealership was run-of-mill crap fest. Sales guy was awesome, but once we hit financing the experience turned from good to bad pretty fast. the week after I bought the car it when into full overheating mode. I took all the proper steps not to damage it. They said I'd have to replace the READ assembly... They didn't have Vida, I did. It was a $200 fan replacement, 2 bolts and took an hour. They tried to buy the car back thinking they were going to have Volvo replace the READ gear @ $2900. They signed me a check for $1500 and I signed my warranty rights away (3 months/3000 miles) They couldn't do an oil change right so signing that was sweet relief that I could start digging into this thing.

As for the hot/cold needle... It takes a fair bit of time to reach neutral position. Lets just say 30-45 minutes from cold engine. It gets up to the quarter mark fairly quickly then takes its sweet time getting to neutral.

[Rattnalle]

I should only take a few km to reach the top so it sounds like you have a thermostat that doesn't close