Rear brake pads needed replacement at 13,500 miles. This is unusually early and when I stated that I was upset Volvo said "they were having problems with the S40 pads being too soft." Although, they still made me pay for the replacement.they said Volvo was making the new pads better but because it was too early they did not know how long they would be lasting.

- Alexaandria, VA, USA

My 2001 Volvo S40 has a little over 16,000 miles. The front brake pads have been replaced 3 times, once by the dealer under warranty and twice at my expense. We also have another S40 in the household with the same problem of brakes needing replacement frequently. I have noticed allot of people on internet sites with S40's complaining of the same frequent brake replacement problem. I do believe there is some sort of brake pad defect or design defect on S40's. there is no reason why owners of these cars should be constantly replacing brake pads. Please check into this complaint for me and the thousands of other people with the same complaints.

- Easton, PA, USA

I had my Volvo S40 into the dealer I bought it from (keystone, pa) 5 times for a squeak in the rear of the car. Each time we were told they couldn't locate the problem but they could hear the squeak. On the 6 visit they gave us a loaner and took the car for a couple of days and then called us and told us they found the problem.... the rear brakes needed to be replaced. All those visits and they just figured out it was the brakes plus the car only has 14,000 miles. What kind of small, light sports car needs rear brakes at 14,000. This car is only driven by my wife to her job that is about 5 miles away. After all this mess I will be trading in my S40 and never recommend or purchase a Volvo again. So much for Volvo's reputation. I read other people's complaints about the brakes on this site and it only strenghthen the consumers case about the brake problems.

- Lansdale, PA, USA

At 19,600 miles the rear brake pads wore out on my wife's 2001 S40 Volvo sedan. We were told by the dealer this is normal and that they have seen some S40S wear the rear brakes out as early as 12,000 miles. Based on a reasonable persons experience this is much too early for brake pads, especially the rear ones to be wearing. This must be a design defect and should be covered under warranty or better quality pads should be installed on the car. Searching the web I have this is a common complaint about S40S. Below is one example I found: 9th May 2002, 14:41just had my Volvo rear brake pads replaced at less than 20,000 miles (at my cost!). at inspection the rear pads had 0% remaining, while the front still had 70%. when I told the dealer that this was unacceptable, they said "this is normal for the Volvo S40". so my response was, and still is, "if it is normal to have to replace brake pads on the Volvo S40 every 15,000 to 20,000 miles, then the the Volvo S40 is unacceptable". Volvo refused to cover this abnormal wear under warranty. Please register my complaint with Volvo and add this complaint to your growing list of product defects. Thanks.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

Consumer had to replace two rear brake pads after 10230. In addition, headlights burned out and needed to be replaced. Power steering wheel shaft.

- Whitestone, NY, USA

The rear brake pads are wearing prematurely and had to be replaced at 12500 miles. The dealer says this is typical of this model, and that they are to small. It costs $135 each time these have to be replaced. I believe this could be a safety issue since the rear brake pads could fail much at relativly low mileage.

- Carrollton, TX, USA