Owners have filed 388 complaints on the Volvo S40, covering 2000–2011. The system named most often is Service Brakes (84 reports). Worst years by volume: 2000, 2001, 2005; cleanest: 2011, 2010, 2009. 39 reports describe a crash, 12 a fire. On average the car was 6.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Volvo S40
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 388 S40 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 84 Read
New 2009 volvo s40 sedan brake fire 1. Vehicle was driven 3 miles from a high school parking lot to the owner's home. 2. There was a fire between the brake pad and the rotor in the rear passenger side wheel well. 3. The rotor, brake caliper and brake pads were replaced
The rear brakes on this vehicle caught on fire after a short drive (1 mile) having to be extinguished with a fire extinguisher. The rear brake assembly (left rear) completely failed and overheated to the point of causing flames to appear needing to be extinguished. This car had 2939 miles on it as a new volvo s40.…
The contact owns a 2007 volvo s40. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph the brakes failed causing her to crash into the rear of a vehicle. The driver sustained minor injuries, whiplash and was not transported to the hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was inspected by an insurance…
Electrical System 61 Read
A cold, wet, wintery morning; pulled into coffee shop parking lot, parked car, turned engine off, removed key, got out of the car, locked doors, went into the coffee shop. The car was stationary, nothing left on in the car. While waiting for coffee glanced out coffee shop window. Saw that the car was filled with…
I got into a car accident today. The electrical wiring is constantly giving out and I had no idea my airbags wouldn't work until today when they did not deploy. My car hit the other car enough to move it several feet and no airbags
The horn failed to function properly when horn button was pressed from the left side. The horn did not work at times or excessive force was needed.*ak consumer was involved in a rear end collision in which he tried to use the horn but it didn't work. Vehicle was brought in several times but not repaired to working…
Engine And Engine Cooling 39 Read
My wife was driving home from a grocery store 3 miles away. A quarter mile from the house she noticed a burning smell. She thought it was from the outside since brush fires are common around south fl. She parked onto our driveway and noticed smoke rising from around the hood. She took the key off of the ignition and…
I was driving when the car start to accelerated by itself, accel pedal went to the floor. I could not keep a car even by the hand brake, so as it was jumping ahead. Then the car began to blow black and white smoke out under the hood. Some how I turn off the engine, took the key and run away from the car in the middle…
The contact owns a 2001 volvo s40. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle suddenly caught fire. The fire department extinguished the fire and the vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle had not been inspected for the cause of the fire. The current and failure mileages were approximately 86,000. Prior to the…
Vehicle Speed Control 26 Read
The contact owns a 2008 volvo s40. She stated that while driving 2 mph and parking the vehicle with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated on its own and crashed into a store window. There were frontal damages to the vehicle. She suffered chest injuries. A police report is available. The vehicle was…
The contact owns a 2006 volvo s40. While driving approximately 5 mph and applying pressure to the brake pedal, the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The contact continued to apply pressure to the brake pedal and was able to stop the vehicle. The failure recurred two different times. The second time the failure recurred,…
The contact owns a 2004 volvo s40. While attempting to park the vehicle with the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle accelerated on its own and crashed into a telephone pole. The contact was uninjured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they repaired the damages at the cost of $8,000. The cause of the failure…
Power Train 21 Read
The key has been sticking in my ignition when I park. This time when I could not get the key out, I restarted the car in park, of course with my foot on the brake. The car jumped into reverse and flew backwards out of my garage at a high rate of speed. It crossed the road and ended up knocking down a garage and…
The contact owns a 2010 volvo s40. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift from reverse to drive as the gear shifter was stuck in neutral. The contact was unaware of any warning lights illuminating. The dealer alan byers (1230 w genesee st, syracuse, ny 13204) was notified of the failure however, the…
The contact owns a 2009 volvo s40. While driving approximately 25 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle independently decelerated and stalled. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission fuel line was fractured. The transmission…
Fuel System 21 Read
The contact owns a 2006 volvo s40. The contact was driving up an incline at approximately 35 mph, the engine revved excessively and began to buck. Suddenly the engine stalled and restarted. The vehicle resumed for fifteen seconds before the failure recurred. The failure would occur every 100 to 200 miles. The vehicle…
The contact owns a 2006 volvo s40. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated that the fuel pump and pump electronic module (pem) needed to be repaired. The dealer also informed the contact that her VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign…
The fuel control module failed, causing an immediate stall. There is a TSB concerning the placement of this module. It is to be moved from the engine compartment to behind the back seat. Water got into the module causing it to melt down!!!
Air Bags 20 Read
The contact owned a 2007 volvo s40. The contact called on behalf of the driver. The contact stated that the vehicle was struck on the front passenger side by another vehicle. The speed was unknown. The air bag failed to deploy and the seat belt detached. The driver sustained leg, back, and shoulder injuries that…
On november 14, 2007, my daughter, had a accident with my car, a 2005 volvo s.40, 24.1. She hit a medium size tree head on. The airbags did not deployed
On october 4th I was involved in a car accident in which a driver hit my car on the driver's side pushing my car down a pth in the woods in fairfax, va. My airbags did not deploy although the sensors were activated according to the collision center
Engine 16 Read
My wife was driving home from a grocery store 3 miles away. A quarter mile from the house she noticed a burning smell. She thought it was from the outside since brush fires are common around south fl. She parked onto our driveway and noticed smoke rising from around the hood. She took the key off of the ignition and…
Car caught fire without warning as I was driving it. Car had 93,000 and had passed va inspection in august. I pulled over and called 911. By the time the fire department arrived 3 minutes later, entire engine was engulfed in large flames. The temperature gauge never indicated the engine was running hot. Usaa removed…
The contact owns a 2008 volvo s40. The contact stated that the oil trap and ventilation hose were damaged. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated, the vehicle made an abnormal noise, and there was an oil leak in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and it was…
S40 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2009 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting | — | 3 | |
| 2008 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control,engine | 5 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 7 | 4 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 171 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.3 |
| Worst single series | 13 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.0 years |
A model average of 2.3 hides a worst series at 13. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the S40?
By complaint volume, 2000, 2001, 2005 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which S40 years are the cleanest?
2011, 2010, 2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Volvo S40 have?
388 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2011. Of those, 39 describe a crash and 12 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.