2008 Volvo S40 problems
Owners have filed 27 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Volvo S40. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. After that come engine (15%) and steering (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 27 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 73,000 miles 21 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 21 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 73,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 4 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 97% 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 2008 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Volvo S40 with enough data (3 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.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 volvo s40. She stated that while driving 2 MPH and parking the vehicle with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated on its own and crashed into a store window. There were frontal damages to the vehicle. She suffered chest injuries. A police report is available. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they are waiting for the diagnostic test results. There have been no repairs done to the vehicle. The failure and current mileage were 10000.
I was driving my 2008 volvo s40 stopped in traffic when I was in major/severe rear end collision. The force of the impact (70+ MPH) pushed me into a vehicle ahead which caused severe frontal damage that went all the way past my radiator. Property damages over $17k and airbags failed to deploy resulting in injuries.
I was driving on a main route at night around 730 and a car was trying to get in my line and I assume they did not see me. I tried to move to the left to get out of the way but my steering wheel was so tight I could not veer away from the curb. Due to this I have numerous repairs that need to be paid and my power steering was tight for several weeks, it was almost hard for a strong man to turn the wheel. I tried power steering fluid when I started to notice the problem and it did not help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 volvo s40. The contact stated that the sun roof was leaking water into the vehicle. The vehicle was involved in a front end collision while driving 25 MPH. The air bags did not deploy. There was a warning indicator illuminated. The dealer stated that water may have stopped the air bags from deploying. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.