Volvo Trucks North America announced last week it will offer a new factory fill engine oil for the Volvo D11, D13 and D16 engines, meeting new Volvo VDS-4.5 engine specifications and also exceeding the new API CK-4 specification. Volvo models running the new VDS-4.5 will be able to travel for longer intervals between oil changes, saving customers money on service costs and increasing uptime, said Volvo.

Volvo said its VDS-4.5 underwent careful analysis and testing to ensure changes met Volvo’s stringent reliability and performance standards. It is the same viscosity (10W30) as today’s factory fill. However, it will have enhanced performance for oil oxidation and oil aeration control. VDS-4.5 is compatible with and can be used in older, previous emissions-level engines, said Volvo.

For engine oil and filters, the new recommended maintenance intervals add extra miles to the previous life of an oil change for each of the three duty cycles – long haul, regional haul and heavy haul – as defined by fuel consumption. Those intervals were increased to be 55,000 miles for long haul, 40,000 miles for regional and 30,000 miles for heavy.

“Assuming a 600,000 mile vehicle life in over-the-road applications, the new engine oil intervals will allow truck owners to skip between four and 16 oil drains, depending on duty cycle, compared with the prior maintenance schedule,” said John Moore, Volvo product marketing manager – powertrain. “In oil costs alone, that represents a savings of hundreds of dollars per year, even for the lightest duty cycles. Those savings would be substantially larger for operations that do not perform preventative maintenance in-house.”

For owners that decide to use the current Volvo VDS-4 oil, current lower mileage oil change intervals will remain. If engine idle time is greater than 30 percent, operators should use the next shorter drain interval.

Volvo VDS-4.5 will be available beginning in October.

OEM/Lube News contacted Volvo for additional detail including the oil manufacturer, but as of press time received no response.

Volvo Trucks has a global network of 2,200 dealers and workshops in more than 125 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 15 countries across the globe. In 2015 more than 113,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, and drive systems for marine and industrial applications.

Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Volvo Group, which employs about 100,000 people, has production facilities in 18 countries and sells its products in more than 190 markets. In 2015, the Volvo Group's sales amounted to about $37 billion.