1.7

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
101,000 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 2003 Volvo S40:

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

problem #2

Jan 302018

S40

  • 108,000 miles
Prior to latest incident, the car had occasionally gone into "limp" mode, sticking in 3rd gear but drivable. That problem would go away after a day or so. Local shop couldn't find anything definitive. Bigger problem was yesterday evening's loss of throttle control and multiple electrical issues. Idle throttle setting (eg stopped at lights) became unstable, occasionally revving upto to ~2000rpm. Moments later on Suburban divided main street, throttle stuck at ~2200rpm which meant I was doing 45mph (straight line) without any pressure applied to gas pedal. Slowed on the brakes until I shifted into neutral at which time everything died (electrical) and came to a stop, short of traffic lights. Time of incident approx 8pm est (dark), roadway fully lit thankfully. Car was pushed off street. Some electrics came back on when tried but full christmas tree lights (ie everything) across entire dash. Towed home. Removed ignition key (was inserted to ensure steering was unlocked) but radiator cooling fan remained on (engine hadn't run for 2.5 hours by that time). Pulled a fuse under the hood to stop it dumping the battery. Car is no youngster, manuf 2003 in netherlands, purchased second hand in 2005 with approx 20,000 miles on the clock. Currently at 108,000 ish. Other issues with car (not safety related) means I wont be having it fixed given its age and general cosmetic condition. It will be donated for scrap.

- Boynton Beach, FL, USA

problem #1

Jun 292012

S40

  • 94,000 miles
The contact owns a 2003 Volvo S40. The contact stated that while sitting at a traffic stop, the vehicle accelerated abnormally. The contact had his foot on the brake pedal and then had to shift into neutral to get the vehicle to slow down. The contact pulled the vehicle over, shut off and tried to restart the engine but it failed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for inspection but the cause of the failure was unknown. The manufacturer was notified and they informed the contact that there were no recalls for the failure. The failure mileage was 94,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- West Henrietta, NY, USA