I have been driving my 2005 S40 T5 since new. Each winter and spring swapping out my winter tires (on rims) for my performance tires. This spring after changing out my wheels I noticed that my the ride is extremely rough. I am used to the stiff suspension that the car usually had (I have the sport package which includes the dynamic suspension) but this year has been noticeably bad, almost difficult to drive. Especially on these brutal Alberta roads. Going over minor bumps will rattle/vibrate the steering wheel. I have only 130,000kms on the car and am wondering if a new suspension is in order or is there something else I should be looking at? Also is this something an idiot like me could handle? Although I am mechanically inclined, up until now the only work I have done myself is changing the wheels. Any advice? I am cheap so if it is something that I can do myself I'll give it a try.

 

Is the steering wheel turned when going straight? Could be a severe alignment issue.

How inflated are the summer tires? Over 32psi it gets pretty stiff. Also too worn tires have an incidence.

Was the suspension stiff during the cold days? Worn shock absorbers get stiffer on cold weather.

As a side note, the shocks don't last on these cars, 130000 it's about it. The shocks get stiff at these miles.

 

It isn't an alignment issue.

Recommended tire inflation is usually 35 or 36 on the P1s.

The shocks don't get stiff.

Check the front struts. They leak all the time.

 

In the cold weather the ride was fine. It seems to be just recently an issue in the warm weather. I don't think it is an alignment issue either. The car steers and drives great except for the rumble in the steering wheel and rough ride.

I will check the pressure in the tires to see if that fixes the problem. If not, I will go to the front struts. What exactly should I be looking for there?

Thanks for the advice.

 

Before the struts, have a look at the lower arm bushings as well as at the sway bar (stabilizer) mounting bushings - the ones in the mid section of the bar. All those are known to fail as well at this miles.

 

If the struts are leaking, you'll see it. There will be fluid at the base of the spring. It may be covered in dirt and dust that has stuck to the fluid.

Control arm bushings are also common but sway bar bushings are not.

 

Just an update from last spring. My tires were a little bit over inflated to about 40 psi so I deflated them a little to the mid 30s and that helped some. Also, it seems that my power steering fluid was low so I topped it up and that resolved the rough ride. I would have never thought of this but I guess it makes sense since the steering wheel was shaking so hard on bumps that it was difficult to hang on to. Thanks for all your other ideas but thankfully this was a very easy and inexpensive fix. That power steering fluid ain't cheap, like $50 bucks for a litre from the volvo dealer.