Hey guys, I am currently having an issue with my 2005 S40 T5 AWD (manual transmission) that's stressing me right out. Just finished replacing a module a couple weeks ago that ran me $1000.00 so I'm desperate for a simple fix.

It all started about 4/5 weeks ago when I was on my way home from Toronto when I hit a decent pot hole and had a warning come into my message board which read "Immobilizer Check Manual" Immediately, I told my friend sitting in the passenger seat at the time to grab the manual and search for everything pertaining to "Immobiliser" in the manual. The only thing we came across was instructions for the ignition key itself. Given this information I assumed that the battery in my remote could be weak. I drove the car for about 2 weeks before replacing the battery as the immobilizer warning would turn on and off sporadically. After changing the battery in the remote I was still receiving the same warning for about a week. During this time I was also noticing my car seemed to be starting up slowly taking about 4-5 seconds for the engine to actually fire up. I just did some work on the car a few days ago by a friend of my fathers who is a mechanic. I replaced my 2 rear break pads and both strut bearings. Immediately after the repairs I noticed my e-break had become very stiff. Today I was running some errands and noticed the smell of tar and quickly located the issue to my rear driver side break pad. The pad as well as my rim itself were extremely hot. I assume this is because my e-break never actually released? causing the extra strain on my pads. I drove home to eat before heading to my local dealer and my car was now refusing to start. I turn the key over, all my dash lights and electronic accessories come on, I hear a bunch of clicks (which I believe is the starter if I'm not mistaken?) but nothing happens after that. The engine doesn't even attempt to turn over and start.

I have been searching the forums for solutions for almost 2 hours now and have tried everything I could find. I tried the lock/unlock 5X trick, the start while holding the odometer button trick, and even checked the module located under the glove box to ensure everything was clipped in properly and nothing had become disconnected when I hit that pot hole. Unfortunately no luck. During my reading I can across a post suggesting to check the starter connection to ensure it has not come loose which I have not yet tried. Could this be a possibility?

I'm not sure where to turn right now. Currently I'm in a position where I'm going to have to tow it to the dealer and fear drastic repairs which I am hoping to avoid.

Please if anyone has any answers to some of my questions or if anyone has had this issue and knows a way to resolve it or even some general/basic knowledge please post.

Every comment is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

Ok, 2 issues. My first guess. The immobilizer, slow cranking, then click, click, click is due to low voltage. I'd bet when you hit that pothole you either damaged the battery internally or loosened either the power cable or the ground cable. First check the battery voltage, key OFF, with a multimeter set to DC volts. (These are like 9.99 at hardware stores and you can keep it forever.) You want ~12 volts. Now have someone try to crank the car while you check the voltage at the battery. If the voltage drops to below 8 or 9 volts all you will get is click, click, click. This is a bad battery. If the voltage stays high then check the power cable and ground cable are clean and secure.

For the rear brakes. When changing the pads did you retract the piston into the caliper bore by rotating it? Or did you try to force the piston in with pressure like the front pads? Since the rear calipers have the parking brake work through the piston it must be retracted by screwing it back into the caliper. I'm guessing you didn't retract it properly and it's extended or , hopefully not, damaged.