Volvo S40
Owners filed 491 complaints across 12 model years of the Volvo S40. The 2000 drew the most (122).
Model years12
Complaints491
Recalls29
Fires12
Deaths0
Which Volvo S40 years should you avoid?
Going by 491 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Volvo S40 years to avoid are 2001 and 2000.
- 20012.1× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (4 fires, 11 crashes).
- 2000122 complaints, 2.1× a typical S40 year, most often about the brakes.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Volvo S40 model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2010 | 9 | 2 | — | 1 | Structure › Body | Routine | |
| 2009 | 10 | 3 | 3 | — | Power Train | Routine | |
| 2008 | 16 | 2 | — | 5 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2007 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 4 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2006 | 58 | 3 | — | 1 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2005 | 69 | 3 | — | 2 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2004 | 48 | 6 | 1 | 5 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2003 | 18 | 2 | 1 | — | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 2002 | 27 | 1 | — | 4 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2001Avoid | 84 | 2 | 4 | 11 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 2000Avoid | 122 | 1 | 1 | 12 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.