2003 S40, 47K. Virtually problem-free. Spent around $800 getting front and rear brakes replaced, which was probably a ripoff but I was desperate.

1) It appears my fan might not be working. When I turn the speed all the way up, I'm not hearing anything. Also, when I turn on defrost on the climate control, it switches the ac on as normal but I don't hear the blowing of the fan. Any thoughts?

2) On a small handful of occasions (3-4), when I'm cruising in slow traffic, I've noticed the rpms go all the way down as if the car's shutting off (maybe it is) and then I shut the car off and re-start and it runs fine. I was thinking plugs/tuneup. What could it be?

3) The immobilizer light has plagued me for many months. It turns on more than half the times I start the car. It doesn't actually prevent the car form moving, though. It comes on, stays on, and the car drives as normal. I've done the unlock on the keys repeatedly and then tried, which works rarely. I also switched keys and still have the problem. Someone mentioned a bad battery in a previous post. Could be- mine is the original. Thoughts?

I'm hesitating paying big bucks to a Volvo mechanic right. Any suggestions on what I could do on my own would be helpful. Bear with me, as I'm not so familiar with repairing Volvos, on anything made in the 21st century.

Thanks in advance.

 

1: Lookup blower motor resistor. Mine failed due to a clogged cabin air filter. Replaced it with a new one and all is well with the blower motor.

2. I replaced my plugs at 100k. They were worn quite a bit though. Made the car run much better. I had to replace the wires and coil-on-plugs shortly thereafter too. The car had a miss and set the check engine light though. Does the car start up right when you turn the key?

3: No idea as I've yet to have this problem.

The car is very easy to work on with the right tools. There are only a few things that are beyond the home mechanic, IMHO. A code reader is a very handy tool but the local parts store will read your codes for free. Plus this forum is a great help most of the time.

 

Many thanks to all who replied on this one. I now have working fan in my S40. Just as was mentioned here, my cabin air filter clogged and blew out the resistor.

Less than an hour of my time and total parts- $90 ($75 or so for resistor and $15 for the cabin air filter). I ended up having to remove a bolt in the bottom right front of the dashboard to allow enough room to pull the resistor out.

Next time I will use an OEM air filter as the one made by TYC is a bit flimsy (harder to push in).
It's great to know that these cars are easy to repair as I plan to avoid the mega bucks of mechanics and do it myself with the help of this forum.

Thanks again!