D4 D5244T

Volvo's own five-cylinder diesel and the reason people keep these cars. It's torquey, distinctive to listen to and genuinely long-lived, and what it asks for is a healthy particulate filter and an oil trap that hasn't clogged.

Overview

The D4 is the D5244T diesel version of the Volvo XC60 SUV (DZ), sold 2011–2014 with 163 PS and manual or automatic. Demands diligence at level 3. The same oil trap and gearbox fluid questions as the D5, at slightly lower cost to run. 4 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Volvo XC60 SUV (DZ) · photo Volvo XC60 D3 – Frontansicht, 16. April 2011, Hilden by M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Power163 PS

Torque420 Nm

Years2011–2014

Fueldiesel

DriveFWD / AWD

EnginesD5244T

Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 4 recorded in total.

66Solid

DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800partly checkable
Oil trap and crankcase ventilation clogging€300–€700partly checkable
Front suspension bush and link wear€300–€700partly checkable

Risk level −22 · Likely spend vs price −12 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 6 with no recurring fault reported

EnginewatchOil trap and crankcase ventilation clogging, €300–€700.

Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Intake & air✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Cooling✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Emissions⚠ attentionDPF clogging and forced regeneration, €250–€1,800.+1 more in this system

Transmission✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Electrics✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Suspension & brakeswatchFront suspension bush and link wear, €300–€700.

Body & interior✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

The same badge either side of the changeover. Bands are split at the facelift year from the generation record.

Phase	Years	Low	Average	High	Good buy	What differs
pre Pre-facelift	2011–2012	€7,500	€11,000	€16,000	€9,250	The specification the car launched with.
LCI Facelift (LCI)	2013–2014	€8,200	€12,000	€17,450	€10,100	Revised nose and lights; Updated interior and infotainment; Drive-E four-cylinder engines from 2015

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

DPF clogging and forced regenerationDPF€250–€1,800

Warning light, limp mode, oil level rising above the maximum mark from fuel dilution. The filter needs sustained hot running to regenerate. A car used for short urban trips never completes a regeneration cycle.

Check: Read the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.

EmissionscommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–250k km

Oil trap and crankcase ventilation cloggingD5244T 2.4 D5€300–€700

Oil pushed past the crankshaft seals, a rising oil level in the catch area, and in bad cases a whistling from the crankcase. The oil trap and the ventilation system silt up with age and short-run use. Pressure then builds in the crankcase and finds its way out past the seals. It's a maintenance item rather than a design fault, but it's routinely ignored.

Check: Ask when the oil trap was last changed, look for oil around the crank seals and the sump line, and treat a car with no record as due.

EnginecommonPartly detectableevidence: documented130–220k km

Front suspension bush and link wearXC60 platform€300–€700

Knocking over bumps and at low speed, vague steering, and uneven wear across the front tyres. These are heavy cars and the front bushes and links wear accordingly. It's ordinary wear rather than a design fault, but it turns up sooner than owners expect and on a set of tyres too.

Check: Drive over rough surfaces listening for a knock, then on a ramp lever each front bush and link for play and look at the inside edges of the tyres.

SuspensioncommonPartly detectableevidence: documented110–200k km

EGR cooler leakEGR cooler€400–€1,000

Coolant loss with no visible external leak, white smoke, sweet smell. The EGR cooler cracks internally and leaks coolant into the intake. BMW recalled affected diesels over a fire risk from glycol deposits igniting.

Check: Check coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.

EmissionsoccasionalPartly detectableevidence: manufacturer120–250k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once.

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

4 checks · saved in this browser ·

1Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

Oil trap and crankcase ventilation cloggingAsk when the oil trap was last changed, look for oil around the crank seals and the sump line, and treat a car with no record as due.

2On the driveInclude low-speed manoeuvring, not just an open road.

Front suspension bush and link wearDrive over rough surfaces listening for a knock, then on a ramp lever each front bush and link for play and look at the inside edges of the tyres.

3PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.

EGR cooler leakCheck coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.

4OBD scanMandatory. A seller who refuses a scan has answered the question.

DPF clogging and forced regenerationRead the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

It's the same durable five-cylinder in a milder tune, so high mileage on a serviced car isn't a concern. The breather and the gearbox fluid are still the questions.

Service item	Interval	Cost
Engine oil and filter Breather and turbo protection.	15,000 km or annually	€140–210
Gearbox fluid The Aisin automatic lasts far longer with fresh fluid.	every 80,000–100,000 km	€220–350

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

median €11.5k

€7.5k€9.3k€17.4k

Cheapfind the reasonGood buyif it checks outFairnormal moneyOverpricedneeds justifying

Asking price (€)Mileage (km)

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD · 2026-07

🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€9,250band €7,500–€17,450

🇺🇸 United StatesNot soldD4 D5244T was never a US-market car

What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

ModelVolvo XC60 D4
ChassisDZ
EngineD5244T
Years2011–2014
MarketCentral EU
Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07

Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the dz median, all 2 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record

This is the 2.4 five-cylinder at lower output, and it gives up very little in the real world. Front-drive versions were sold to keep the tax down, so check which one you're looking at if you need four-wheel drive. Ask about the oil trap and the gearbox fluid as you would on the D5. So look at the front suspension bushes and the tyre wear, because the platform is heavy and the front end shows it.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine code	D5244T 2.4 D5
Configuration	I5, turbocharged · 2400 cc
Fuel / injection	diesel · common rail
Model years	2011–2014
Facelift phase	Sold either side of the 2013 facelift, 2011–2012 pre, 2013–2014 LCI
Power / torque	163 PS · 420 Nm
Transmissions	6-speed manual · 6-speed automatic (Aisin)
Gearbox families	Aisin AWTF-80 SC six-speed automatic
Drivetrain	FWD · AWD
Economy (real-world)	6–7.5 l/100 km mixed
Markets	EU