Owners filed 12 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic › pedals and linkages. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Pedals and Linkages | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Power Train › Automatic Transmission | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline › Fuel Injection System › Injectors | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electrical System › Starter Assembly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
STARTED CAR WHEN PARKED IN PARKING SPACE, AND CAR WENT FORWARD WHEN SHIFT LEVER WAS IN REVERSE. MOVED SHIFT LEVER THROUGH 'GEARS' TO REVERSE TWO MORE TIMES. THREE TIMES CAR MOVED FORWARD WHEN LEVER WAS IN REVERSE. TURNED OFF ENGINE AND RE-STARTED CAR, THEN CAR WOULD GO BACKWARDS WHEN IN REVERSE. *JB
I OWN THE 2005 S40. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN 2.5 MONTHS THAT MY CAR HAS JUST DECIDED NOT TO START. THE FIRST TIME, IT HAD JUST BEEN SERVICED AND I DROVE ABOUT 20 MINUTES TO A GAS STATION, SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND THEN IT WOULD NOT START. AFTER A FEW TRIES IT DECIDED TO START. I TOOK IT IMMEDIATELY BACK TO DEALER AND THEY KEPT IT FOR A DAY AND SAID NOTHING WRONG. IN THE MEAN TIMES, A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE NST TIME THE CAR FAILED TO START, I THOUGHT I SMELLED SOMETHING FIRE-LIKE SMOKY, BUT FIGURED MUST BE MY IMAGINATION. SO THE SECOND TIME, I PARKED THE CAR AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 45 MINUTES AND THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART. I DID NOT CONTINUE TO TRY TO START IT, BECAUSE I WANT THE DEALER TO SEE WHAT IT DOES AND HAD IT TOWED THERE. THEY SAID IT COULD BE A KEY MALFUNCTION OR SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE STARTER. I DID FIND A RECALL ON THE 2005 S80 THAT SEEMS TO FIT THE DESCRIPTION OF MY PROBLEMS. I WONDER IF THE S40 HAS THE SAME STARTER PROBLEMS AS THE S80. MY CAR HAS BEEN IN REPAIR FOR 2 DAYS NOW. *NM
THREE ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE SO FAR TO CORRECT A BRAKE PROBLEM. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON HAVING THE CAR SERVICES A FOURTH TIME IN THE COURSE OF 6 MONTHS, MY CAR HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP A TOTAL OF THREE WEEKS. *NM
TWO ISSUES: 1) CAR STALLED ON THE 495 BELTWAY AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT LIT AND CAR WOULD NOT START. A VOLVO TEMPORARY SW FIX WAS APPLIED TO THE COMPUTER TO FIX 2) OEM LICENSE PLATE BOLTS ON THE FRONT OF CAR A VERY SHARP AND CAN CAUSE HARM TO PERSONS AND PROPERTY
ON THE 2005 VOLVO S40 T5 AUTOMATIC ONLY, THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO THE GAS PEDAL. IN FACT, A SIZE 9 SHOE OF MEDIUM WIDTH WILL BARELY FIT ON THE GAS PEDAL WHILE TOUCHING THE BRAKE PEDAL. IN ADDITION, THE BRAKE PEDAL IS ABOUT 1.5 INCHES HIGHER THAN THE GAS PEDAL SO MANY TIMES THE FOOT WILL BE CAUGHT UNDER THE PEDAL. THIS IS A HIGHLY DANGEROUS DESIGN AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE. OTHER DRIVERS HAVE REPORTED THIS BUT VOLVO IS NOT WILLING TO RETROFIT THE PEDALS. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NON-T5 VERSION DOES NOT SUFFER FROM THIS BAD DESIGN NOR DOES THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION. THIS SAFETY DEFECT, IF NOT CORRECTED, WILL CAUSE AN ACCIDENT FOR DRIVERS OF THIS SPECIFIC CAR. ON JULY 27, I ALMOST GOT IN AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE MY FOOT GOT STUCK UNDER THE BRAKE PEDAL. WHILE I WAS ABLE TO AVOID A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER CAR AND ALMOST CRASHING ONTO THE SIDEWALK, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT MANY ACCIDENTS CAN BE AVOIDED IF VOLVO WAS TO REDESIGN OR RETROFIT THE SPACING OF THE GAS AND BRAKE PEDALS ON THE VOLVO S40 T5 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. PLEASE INSPECT THE SPACING OF THE PEDALS AS THEY ARE NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH MINIMUM STANDARDS. *JB
WHEN ATTEMPTING TO START VEHICLE IN THE MORNING THE FIRST TRY RESULTS IN LOUD SHAKING AND SHUTTERING. SOUNDS LIKE CAR IS NOT RUNNING ON ALL CYLINDERS, OR HAS BAD TIMING. INITAL PROBLEM IS THAT HOOD INSULATOR FASTENERS ARE COMMING OFF WHICH COULD COME IN CONTACT WITH ACCESSORY DRIVE BELT AND CASUE ENGINE FAILURE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO DEALER TWO TIMES. DEALER SAID THAT THE PROBLEM COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. PROBLEM OCCURS AT LEAST ONCE EVERY TWO DAYS.
2005 VOLVO S40 HAS A WIDE METAL JOINT/BAND ABUTTING THE REAR GLASS PANE AND THE ROOF ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CAR. THIS OBSTRUCTS THE DRIVER'S VIEW OF APPROACHING REAR TRAFFIC.*MR *NM
ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS TOO CLOSE TO BRAKE PEDAL; POSSIBLE INTERFERNCE WHEN WEARING CERTAIN SHOES. *NM
I OWN A 2005 VOLVO S40 2.4I THAT WAS PURCHASED IN DECEMBER 2004. THE ISSUE IS THE SEPARATION OF THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS AS WELL AS THE SEPARATION OF THE BRAKE PEDAL/ARM AND THE TRANSMISSION TUNNEL, WHICH PROVIDES OVERALL CLEARANCE FOR THE RIGHT FOOT. THEY ARE TOO CLOSE TOGETHER AND WHILE DRIVING, MY FOOT TENDS TO HIT THE BRAKE PEDAL SLIGHTY WHEN I WANT TO PUSH ON THE ACCELERATOR. IN ADDITION TO THIS, THE WINDSHIELD IS QUITE EASILY CHIPPED. I HAVE 4000 MILES ON MY CAR AND THERE ARE ALREADY 9 CHIPS IN THE WINDSHIELD. MY PARENTS HAVE MORE THAN 150,000 MILES ON TWO DIFFERENT CARS AND ONLY TWO CHIPS IN ONE OF THE WINDSHIELDS. THIS IS NOT A DEFECT BUT MORE OF A QUALITY ISSUE. COULD YOU LOOK INTO THIS AS WELL. THANK YOU.*AK
SEPERATION BETWEEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND BRAKE PEDAL IS TOO CLOSE. I CONSTANTLY TOUCH THE BRAKE PEDAL AS I ACCELERATE.*AK
I OWN A 2005 VOLVO S40 AND THE GAS PEDAL AND BRAKE PEDAL ARE TOO CLOSE TOGETHER. THIS HAS CAUSED AN ISSUE WITH MY FOOT CATCHING THE BRAKE FROM BEHIND AS I MOVE MY FOOT FROM THE GAS TO THE BRAKE. AND IF I NEED TO BRAKE IMMEDIATELY AND MY FOOT HANGS UP THIS COULD CAUSE A MAJOR ACCIDENT.*AK
THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE TUNNEL WAS 5.1 INCHES WHICH DID NOT LEAVE ENOUGH ROOM FOR HIS FOOT TO MANEUVER. THE CONSUMER FELT THAT THIS WAS A DESIGN DEFECT. *AK (VOLVO S40 2005) *SC *JB
12 of 12 complaints, reproduced as filed.
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.