4.3

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,250 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2004 Volvo S40:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #2

Nov 182017

S40

  • miles
The key does not turn all the way to turn the ignition - it's locked after turning I and II (not to III). I had to have the car towed. I could have been stranded in an unsafe area. I called Volvo customer service, but I was told it's not under warranty anymore. I went to youtube as to how I could fix it and found out quite a fee S40 owners have similar problems. I was told that the cost to fix this would run about $1000. I found a way to get around making it work by removing the steering cover, pull the ignition switch with a screw driver. Without the key on the ignition, it still poses a safety issues because what if the steering locks while I am driving? another issue is the suspension: The car feel as if it's falling apart. Twice we spent over a thousand for each occurrence. I'm quite certain there have a few complaints on similar issues. I would appreciate it very much if you could keep me in the loop if issues come up on this make, model and year we still own and keep on driving. I almost forgot, one of the head lights does not and even simple replacing with one after a bulb, still does not work. I guess it needs a trip to the dealership for them to figure it out. After all, sudden headlight failure while driving at night, is a serious safety issue. Thank you in advance for considering to take my issues.

- French Camp, CA, USA

problem #1

Dec 132006

S40 5-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 52,500 miles
Car was serviced on 25-Oct at ~49K miles. No computer updates were done to the vehicle. 12-Dec, I had new tires put on the car. 13-Dec the car reported "reduced engine performance" and oil light came on. Pulled over, stopped car, waited a few minutes and restarted with no problem/lights. Drove a few miles, same exact thing happened again. Then drove for ~45 minutes when the car reported something like a "system engine failure" and the check engine light came on. Car was sputtering with no response from the gas pedal. Was towed to my dealership. Sm informed me that the "main" computer had failed, "two other computers" had "stopped communicating" and the "throttle module" failed. He told me they could fix the car for ~$300 with computer upgrades. He didn't know if that would fix the throttle module as well. It was fixed in their opinion after they road tested it for ~7 miles. He said available computer upgrades are always applied at their dealership when the car is under warranty but never when the car is out of warranty unless there's a problem. Was told my extended warranty did not cover the upgrades and was charged ~$300. I asked if the upgrades could have been applied 25-Oct since I was under warranty. He felt that they could have been, assuming the upgrades were available then but couldn't tell me if they were. Spoke with the sm at the dealership where I was on 25-Oct and he said they never apply computer upgrades unless there's a problem with the car, warranty or not. Drove the car home on 13-Dec and noticed "electrical" issues. Drove the car on the morning of 14-Dec and a headlight went out and came back on later in the day. Car failed again that day in traffic. Filed a case with Volvo customer care. Dealership has cleaned the throttle module but problem persists. They ordered a new ETM at ~$800. I was told that they will use the $300 as a 25% payment on the parts/labor for the ETM replacement and there will be no additional cost to me.

- Bridgeport, PA, USA