Anyone out there drive and S40???

 

No, but am hoping to get one at some point.

 

i just got a s40 (2000 63k) and it is making a small motor noise from the front drivers side just under the battery. when i pulled the vacum motor fuse it went away. that is the only way to stop it, other wise it will wear down my battery.. any ideas on how to solve this?

 

no i would call volvo about this problem

 

I hate to be the party crasher, but I have a 2002 S40, and I absolutely positively HATE it. <IMG src=smileys/smiley11.gif border="0"> Between the 5-6 headlights that its blown out, the check engine light constantly being on, the brake light on the dashboard always being on, the brakes grinding at 2,500 miles, whistling at 7,500, and the calipers, rotors and pads needing to be changed at 18,000, I hate it. I was told today to expect to have to change my brake pads, if not the rotors as well, every 12-15,000 miles. Good quality? Yeah, right.... another company that Ford is taking down the drain. 23 months left in my lease, and you can bet that I'm counting them down.

 

wow your the only one who seems to have a problem. how do u drive it? Check for recalls. Volvos are not bad cars and the s40 is definately not bad. (and how about we dont post negative things on this board?)

 

I had a 2000 black S40, got her with about 30k on it and drove it up until about 2 months ago, totaled it with about 80k on it. By far one of the best car's I have owned. Did alot of tunning with it and it could deff keep up with my buddies WRX. Not only that but it was a great looking car. I would recommed it to anyone. Can't wait till I can afford the new one! But for now I got a S70 T5 and she seems to be fine, not to slow either. Anyways wanted to just put a positive post about my S40 cause I loved it!

 

i have just bought an s40. when i first got it the sips warning light was on so i enquired with the seller. He tells me that it came on when the battery was allowed to go flat. i have been told by my local garage that they are the only ones who can reset the switch to stop the light being on. Is all this bull? a, can the battery disconection have caused the light to come on and secondly is there an easy way to reset it.javascript:AddSmileyIcon('<img border="0" src=smileys/smiley19.gif border="0">')

 

The sips light can only be reset by your local volvo dealer and yes the light can come on due to the battery being dead.If the car is within 4 years or 50k miles it should be able to be reset by the dealer under warranty.

 

What is this...a kinder gentler forum where nobody gets their feelings hurt? I'm considering an S40, V50 or S60 at this time and want to know about recurring serious problems. Our 2004 Lexus RX330 has issues the dealer can't fix and I don't want to work through. So, I want to gather info (good & bad) about Volvos before I hand over money.

 

With any car you buy, you will run into problems, it is unavoidable. But, the way you drive the car will affect when or what problems occur. Consider talking to the previous owner and asking them if they had the same problems. If they drove it hard, they will not likely tell you that, but it's worth a shot.

 

Let's not get mixed up here. We are talking about the old S40 and the new S40 which are COMPLETELY different beasts. I own a 2003 S40, so it is the older style. I hated it for a long time. If you go to a place like consumer reviews or Epinions (a great one!) you will find more negative reviews than positive ones for the OLD S40, and take these people seriously because I have not met ONE local S40 owner who hasn't had many of the same problems as me! I have had so many problems (everything from engine lights to light bulbs to clinking cracking pinging vibrating noises to cruise control problems to fuel pump issues to TERRIBLE WORST BRAKES EVER IN THE WORLD! The service costs are a joke! The speakers in the "premium package" are a joke, and the seat heaters are WEAK sauce compared to even other Volvos, this is only the beginning of my problems with this car, so I wont dwell on it here) I often hope that the car gets totaled, since Volvo is never that helpful here in Utah when you don't drive at least an S60. Snobby snob snobs. However, there is some information that needs to be presented. As far as the OLD (2000- early 2004) S40 goes, the car is not exactly of true Volvo blood. It is a Mitsubishi/Volvo joint production built in an old Mitsubishi factory in the Netherlands. The engine and turbo as well as transmission and various other components are Mitsubishi (not necessarily a bad thing) but there is a good deal of Volvo in the car too, especially in the safety systems obviously, which are top grade for an entry level car. This model has been available in Europe since 1996 and was a cheaper less sophisticated Mitsubishi model before. If you want a safe cheap car with a pretty fun turbo, this is one good option among several others, as long as you realize that there is a HUGE REPAIR COST and some problems that everybody runs into a one point or another. However, you were asking about the NEW S40 it seems because you mentioned the S40/V50 and the V50 indicates the NEW style. This NEW S40 (2004.5 to present) shares almost nothing with the OLD S40. This is the first generation of S40 to see FORD assistance. Because of Ford's ownership of Volvo, the companies do share much technology, however, Ford actually TAKES technology from Volvo more than it gives it. Example, the NEW S40 platform is used by Ford in its European version of the Focus (totally different from what we know to be a Ford Focus in America, it's a much better car over there...) as well as sharing a platform and technology with the Mazda 3 produced by the Ford company. The NEW S40 was built from the ground up with new technology, so the car is made to be 100% Volvo! It is quite a car too. Everything, including the engines and all-wheel drive as well as transmission and interior/exterior styling are great! The old S40 could never even hope to compare to other cars as the new S40 does. This is a totally new purer Volvo, and I give it a huge thumbs up, except in the price category. Although it can be a good value when comparing next to cars such as the Audi A4 or the C-class and Bimmer, it is (at least at my local dealership) just a tiny bit less than a new S60 AWD T5 Turbo, which I enjoy just a bit more (strictly a matter of taste I think you can ignore that point). I like Volvo, and I support their newer models, but the old S40 is 50% Volvo, 25% Mitsubishi, 25% Junk. I would NEVER recommend somebody buy an Old S40 w/out a warranty of some kind, but I would say yes to the NEW S40, totally different car, different blood, better all around in every way. Hope this helps.

 

I agree the 2004.5 blows away the 2000-2004(early) S40 in every possible way.Yes they are awesome to drive and handle great.

 

I will say one thing about the 2004.5 S40s....the seats are REALLY uncomfortable. I found that the interior didnt give a good sense of the road or of the spacial dimensions of the car. The power is definitely there though. I own a 2001 Volvo S40 and I like it alot. Though I do most of the work on it myself, so ive managed to save a lot of money for all maintenance. I will say one thing, THESE CARS GO THROUGH BRAKE PADS LIKE IT'S THEIR JOBS!!! holy cow, replaced my Brake pads and lathed my rotors, ive never seen wear like this before.[&:]

 

This is what I HATE about my S40.

1) The right front speaker rattles, I hit it and it stops. It still sucks though.
2) It takes FOREVER to heat up in the morning.
3) The antenna is a joke, and there is NO way to replace it with an aftermarket one, unless you want to have a huge hole in the back side of your car. (Very fashionable, cough cough.)
4) No room in the back seat. I sit so far back because I have long legs and I like leaning back, so basically the people in the backseat are either legless, or I have to move forward.
5) Mine is automatic [:@]
(Basically in the summer, AWD doesn't mean anything because it's made for winter, and starting fast off the line, in which I can't do because I have an automatic)
6) Can I please have a clock on my radio, JEEEZ!


Anything else and I'll edit my post.

 

1) A pain to fix
2) You might have a sticking thermostat.
3) Why do you need to replace it?
4) I'm 6ft 5in and my rear passengers have enough room though I have a V40 not a S40 the seating plan is the same I believe.
5) Don't know much about the auto AWD models.
6) Don't know of any Volvo radio with a clock, but you have got a clock on the dash right?

 

I have one in the dash, yes, but it's a bother for people to look from the backseat over your head.

I need to replace it because my parents are **** about the resell value, and I need to keep it nice.

It doesn't take - FOREVER - to heat up, but I mean, I used to drive a Lincoln Aviator, so I was livin' the high life.

 

Hi I have a 2000 S40 1.9T i bought it with 36k on it and i had the same problem noise stays on without key being in the ignition (like a humming noise?) so what i did was i brought it to my mechanic to take a look at it and he hit the plastic guard from underneith the car towards the area from the battery and the noise stop and hasn't came back on sense so try it out and let me know.

 

Most of the time when that happens water gets into the brake vaccum pump relay and keeps the vaccum pump on.There is a recall on the S40's for that problem.I would check with your local dealer and see if your car is under the recall.