Oil overfill warning

[Macv60]

I have now had a second oil overfill service under warranty on my 2019 V60 D4.

The dealer service staff seem very nervous when I try to discuss this problem with them. I suspect they may be under pressure from Volvo to downplay the problem.

The starting point for this post is to get confirmation of what the problem is. Various posts suggest it may be due to a software error, a sensor error, recalibration of the oil level after servicing or more worrying, the contamination of the oil with diesel when the DPF cleansing cycle is aborted.

I am currently working on the basis that my problems may be due to the DPF cleansing cycle being aborted. When the warning first appeared in 2020 the service staff seemed to understand the problem by asking if I was doing lots of short journeys.

The first incident happened during lockdown when I did no long journeys. I had to cancel a trip away as I was told that I would be driving at my own risk whilst waiting around 6 weeks for the oil to be changed.

Having been caught out I have subsequently kept a close eye on the oil level and have tried to prevent the problem by making, often unnecessary, longer trips driving in lower gears to clear the filter on each new tank of fuel.

Very annoyed to report that the problem came back in September after a 5 hour journey to Devon. I have to assume the software decided to cleanse the DPF during the one hour that I sat in a traffic jam.

When I was mistakenly offered a service slot over a month away I complained that I did not want to run the car (at my risk) with diesel in the oil. I was told that there shouldn't be any damage as the level of contamination was very low.

The service was actually carried out relatively quickly but on checking I spotted that the oil was refilled to 3/4 of the range between min and max. The three previous services filled the oil to maximum. I am waiting for a reply to find out if the underfilling was deliberate or a mistake.

If the oil has been underfilled deliberately it doesn't solve the problem it merely hides it and could leave the car running with a considerably bigger volume of diesel contaminating the oil before the overfill warning appears.

Has anyone managed to get Volvo to provide a long term solution to this problem? Other threads suggest there has been an issue for years without a solution and I suspect Volvo have little interest in sorting this out as we move towards electric cars.

I face the prospect of having to pay for further oil changes and possible engine damage when the car runs out of warranty in March 2022