Life expectancy 3.2 vs T6

[cattlecar]

I don't know of any car manufacturer that will attempt to repair an engine that uses a quart of oil in 3K miles. Most have a usage rate of twice that as their level of recognizing oil consumption as a problem.

[prisoner]

I wish I could just get some more opinions on which engine is more reliable.

If they are equally reliable I could do either one. The 3.2 seems much easier to find in used models, 2008-2011.

[prisoner]

I wish I could just get some more opinions on which engine is more reliable.

If they are equally reliable I could do either one. The 3.2 seems much easier to find in used models, 2008-2011.

[snakebitteninPA]

2011 T6 owner here... Two and a half years owned, 73k mostly hway miles. Started seeing the "Low oil" warning at 46K. Dealer had the car in the shop for about a week, replaced valves and assured me the problem is taken care of. 73k miles, car back at the dealer, was told they will replace the engine. The engine in my (previous) 2004 XC70 had died at 124k. I know it was a different engine, but I wonder whether it's just my luck with these cars or if Ford does not know how to make good turbo charged gasoline engines. Why don't they sell diesels here??? I love the way this car drives, the engine is powerful and well matched to the transmission, but...

[x70jwo]

Complying with EURO-5 emission limits, XC70 diesel models actually should be permitted in Canada (but not in the US). Volvo does not market diesels in Canada presumably because of low demand; however, according to my colleague in Calgary, nothing should stand in the way of private import. My XC70 D5 AWD manual 6-speed is effectively as powerful as the T6 auto: With Polestar remap it delivers 347 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 mph in 7.6 seconds, and fuel economy of 45 mpg (16 km/liter). The D4 and D5 (2.4-litre single and bi-turbo) diesel engines will easily last 300,000 miles with negligible oil consumption. So will its 6-speed manual gearbox which is much stronger than those used in gasoline models - actually so strong that it is used in the 508-bhp Polestar S60 concept w/o modification. So if you want a XC70 diesel, buy one in Sweden or Netherlands (cheapest) and import it yourself... You'll never look back.

XC70 D5 AWD manual 230 bhp Polestar MY 2013
S60 D5 FWD manual MY 2002
850 T-5 CD auto MY 1995
340 DL 2.0 gasoline, manual MY 1984

[Stabone33]

No could not agree more, however & seriously Dick, there is something called 'MTBF' that organisations use when looking at reliability of components/items used, that predicts 'how long'.

But.....

P.s. I haven't got a clue what the 'MTBF' is for a Volvo Turbo!
Maybe someone can 'Phone a Friend' and find out?

I'm a systems engineer by education and trade...assessing the system-level MTBF for a complex system with millions of parts, thousands of them electrical or mechanical/moving is a very complex math problem given the various series/parallel relationships. My guess is most manufacturers assess MTBF at the major subsystem level, such as engine (further broken down within to turbo, valves, fuel system, etc), transmission, ECU, etc -- and my guess is they have vast databases from dealer service shops. VW has its own diagnostic system (I assume Volvo does too) that connects directly to VWUSA -- in some cases, the diagnostic screen goes black for the service tech while the VWUSA tech does something or other, no doubt collecting fault codes and operating hours/cycles in the process. Then the screen pops back up, and the service tech now knows what to replace and how long VWUSA says it should take.

I don't think any auto manufacturer these days can afford to just build stuff without assessing failure modes and MTBF, otherwise they would have no idea what to charge for replacement parts, or even how many of what kind of replacement part to make and stock either at the dealer, distributor, or factory. It's also why the factory offers a warranty limited by time and mileage -- they've done the math to ensure they are offering a cost-effective warranty (for them) with a term that's acceptable to the customer. They're balancing design against time and money, assessing the time period that covers a sufficient number of small repairs (let's say 3-sigma) that would be too expensive to design out, but virtually none of the big ones that would be too expensive to do for free that are going to happen eventually. So, they're focusing the six-sigma design to get the MTBF for "critical" failure modes to go beyond the warranty period they can afford to offer. It's not quite "design for obsolescence," but there is definitely a point past which there's no point in designing a longer MTBF because it's too expensive. Suffice it to say, for 99.99...% of the cars they sell, they're going to last longer than the warranty period without major defects.

But at the same time, I don't think you're ever going to hear an auto manufacturer say, "This is a 300K Mile Engine" because other variables such as quality and frequency of preventive maintenance, driving conditions, and so on are outside the control of the manufacturer, and then that's also an implied warranty that would have to be honored in some locales.

So that's why I always buy an extended warranty to get me in the vicinity of 100K miles, and I take good care of my cars with all scheduled maintenance (most done myself after it's not "free" any more). After 100K miles, I figure if I still have it, it's probably disposable if the repair is too expensive.

[engine42]

I would say not so good . My 2012 xc 60 is currently getting new pistons at 45k miles. Once repair is done .trading car in and going back to lexus or acura. Very disappointed in the t 6 engine. Problem is it is a carry over from ford ownership and there are numerous problems with oil consumption with the engine. At least volvo is taking care of and aware of the issue plauging these engines. If u do get a volvo go with the 5 cylinder.

[cattlecar]

Oil consumption is plaguing Subaru, chevy, VW, Audi, and a bunch of them. The methods used to reduce fuel consumption and emissions includes low friction pistons with very short and narrow skirts and low tension rings. The rings are failing to seal. New pistons with a different wider ring set is often the fix. The repairs are being made when oil consumption is at levels that previously would not have been considered for repairs. how many miles per quart for your?
They don't broadcast this. Go trade and cross your fingers.

[Forkster]

My friend had oil consumption issues on his 2011 Lexus 350. Same issue as yours engine42 - so running off to another dealer may not result in a better experience.

[hamilton65]

Our 2012 XC70 T6 has not had any oil issues. In fact, between changes it doesn't seem to loose any oil. I recently replaced the front tie rod ends and front sway bar links with Meyle HD for good measure. So far so good fingers crossed from an engine that won Wards 10 best engines award.
http://www.volvocars.com/middleeast/...aspx?itemid=84