Newbie with question . . .

[TCN]

Greetings, I've been a lurker for a bit, and having just bought an '01 Volvo XC70 (still under warranty) , I am pleased to be able to say hello and participate. The car is actually being driven by my wife, although I just drove it from Des Moines, Iowa, through Chicago, and home to Detroit, and must say that I am very very impressed.

My question is regarding oil changes; first, are they free at Volvo dealers during the warranty period? I know that Audi and BMW have offered this service in the past, but I'm not sure about Volvo. Assuming that it is not covered, I like to supply my own oil for oil changes, and like using Mobil 1 synthetics. I am curious as to what weight of oil those of you that use Mobil 1 have used, and your thoughts on the subject. I have been using Mobil 1 zero weight oils on my Audi A6 (2 changes per year; 0w30 in the winter and 0w40 in the summer) instead of the usual 5w30, and this has worked out well. It would seem as though the Volvo's 5 cylinder turbo would be a candidate for zero weight oils as well.

Thanks!

[tooberand]

Welcome and congratulations on your purchase!

I am pretty sure that the free regularly scheduled maintenance offered by Volvo only applies to 2004's and later.

I'll let those with more experience than I address your questions about oil weight.

[Raynald]

I've been using Mobil 1 5W30 in my neck of the woods with great results on my '01 XC since I bought the car in Sep.'03. We had a pretty tough winter last year, with colder temperature than usual. Didn't have any problem starting the car at -40ºC. Oil consumption is minimal and the engine works fine. I bought the car at 73,000 km and it now has 110,000 km. I suppose there would be no problem using 0W30. I think many forum members do. :)

And BTW, welcome to the forum! If you can, don't forget to add pictures of your new ride in the VolvoXC.com Photo Galleries (http://www.xc70.com/pics/). http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif Always fun to see pictures of new family members! ;)

[TCN]

Thanks for the welcome, and the advice. I think I'll go with the 5w30, as 0w30 is getting to be tough to find at a decent price around here.

I'll add a quick little human interest story re: obtaining the car, I hope I don't bore anybody with it. I flew from Detroit to Des Moines, picked up the car, drove to Chicago, where I stayed the night, and then headed back to Detroit. While in Chicago, the only place the car was parked was at my hotel's "valet only" garage (I hate those places where you're not allowed to self-park, or even access your vehicle). I left Chicago the next morning, and drove back home to Detroit. My wife was pretty much waiting in the driveway when I pulled in, and I began to show her the car. All was well until we noticed a pretty scratched up tailgate (right around the "Cross Country" writing). Obviously, I checked out the car pretty extensively at the dealership, and the hotel garage was the only place where the car left my sight. I'm in negotiations with the parking service and garage over this as we speak, and I expect things to turn out well, but what a pain in the you know what!

At any rate, once that gets taken care of, I'll gladly post pics. Now if I can just figure out how to wrestle the keys away from my wife . . . :)

[Raynald]

... I think I'll go with the 5w30, as 0w30 is getting to be tough to find at a decent price around here.
Funny that you mention this, because it's also the case up here. Matter of fact, the Mobil 1 5W30 is often on sale at CDN$25.00 for a 4 liter canister at Canadian Tire. At CDN$6.25/liter, it's a good deal.

[TCN]

Funny that you mention this, because it's also the case up here. Matter of fact, the Mobil 1 5W30 is often on sale at CDN$25.00 for a 4 liter canister at Canadian Tire. At CDN$6.25/liter, it's a good deal.

Just a little update re: oil. I ran over to the local Kmart during lunch to pick up a jug of Mobil 1 5w30. They were out of 5w30, but unbelievably had plenty of 0w30 in stock, and on sale . . . I think it was $4.39/qt. How fortuitous. :D

[Art]

Funny that you mention this, because it's also the case up here. Matter of fact, the Mobil 1 5W30 is often on sale at CDN$25.00 for a 4 liter canister at Canadian Tire. At CDN$6.25/liter, it's a good deal.

You’re right about the deal on Mobil 1 at Canadian Tire Raynald! For a limited time, buy a 4L jug and get 1L free for $29.79 Cdn. Works out to $5.96/L! :D