2001 Volvo S40 problems
Owners have filed 112 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Volvo S40. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. After that come engine (15%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 112 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 64 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 8 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 64 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 65,000 miles. For brakes specifically, the median reported mileage is about 60,000 miles (13 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 9 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 85% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2001 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Volvo S40 with enough data (60 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Dt: consumer was driving on the highway at 75-80 MPH and rear ended the vehicle in front. When this happened the driver side air bag did not deploy.
Tl* the contact owned a 2001 volvo s40. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 35 MPH when the brakes were applied but the vehicle would not stop until crashing into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the seat belt failed to retain the driver. A police report was filed and the driver suffered serious injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an independent repair shop, but the cause of failure was not diagnosed. The failure and current mileage was 114,000.
I've contacted volvo and demanded my money back and they refused, this is my next step before taking them to court for a measily 2,500. This car has caused me a headache unlike any other, the electrical system fails in this car and passes through it malfunctioning one thing after the next, my back window went up and down on its own, heating and cooling systems do whacky things which ruined the car making it overheat even after shops replace sensors and radiators, the main safety concern which volvo is suppressing…
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 volvo s40. Shortly after purchasing the vehicle, and driving at any speed, there was excessive vibration inside the passenger compartment. The failure occurred mostly while idling and has progressively worsened over time. The dealer stated that there were no failures with the vehicle and the vibration was typical. Recently, the vehicle was taken to a volvo specialist and he diagnosed that the motor mounts needed to be replaced.