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2000 Volvo S40

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most S40 years

Owner complaints for the 2000 Volvo S40 are substantially higher than the model-year median of 26.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

47 reports with mileage · 75 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 49 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Suspension. Review the 14 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

12 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports

Equipment complaints

3 reports
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44,191 miles · Mar 7, 2004
EquipmentService Brakes, HydraulicSuspension

I OWN A 2000 VOLVO S40. WE JUST HAD OUR FIFTH TRIP TO THE DEALER TO CORRECT KNOCKING NOISE/RATTLE IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION. PROBLEM STARTED AT 44,191 MILES. NOW AT 59,800. TWO SETS OF CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS AND TWO SETS OF SWAY BAR BUSHINGS REPLACED. NOISE RETURNS WITHIN 2000 MI OF SERVICE. ALSO, I HAVE HAD THE REAR BRAKES G…

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I OWN A 2000 VOLVO S40. WE JUST HAD OUR FIFTH TRIP TO THE DEALER TO CORRECT KNOCKING NOISE/RATTLE IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION. PROBLEM STARTED AT 44,191 MILES. NOW AT 59,800. TWO SETS OF CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS AND TWO SETS OF SWAY BAR BUSHINGS REPLACED. NOISE RETURNS WITHIN 2000 MI OF SERVICE. ALSO, I HAVE HAD THE REAR BRAKES GO OUT AT 17,500 MILES. PADS WORE THIN AND CUT INTO THE ROTORS. THAT ONE COST $335. ALSO, AIR CONDITIONER WENT OUT AT 9000 MILES. I PAID THE EXTRA MONEY TO GET A VOLVO BECAUSE I KEEP MY CARS FOR A LONG TIME. (I ALSO OWN A 18 YEAR OLD AUDI 4000.) I BOUGHT VOLVO FOR ONE WORD: RELIABILITY. I HAVE FOUND THAT VOLVO DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS. THIS S40 IS HUGELY EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN. I AM MAKING FAR TOO MANY TRIPS TO THE DEALER TO KEEP TRYING TO GET DEFECTS FIXED. *JB

NHTSA ODI #10060610

Mileage unknown · Oct 31, 2001
Electrical SystemEquipmentPower Train

WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, MY CAR ENGINE STOPPED. AFTER BEING IN THE SHOP FOR A MONTH, THEY DETECTED THAT THE TACKOMETER WAS BAD AND REPLACE IT. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR ANYMORE. IT HAS NOT OCCURRED AGAIN BUT I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE RESEARCHED. REGARDING THE RADIO, WE HAVE …

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WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, MY CAR ENGINE STOPPED. AFTER BEING IN THE SHOP FOR A MONTH, THEY DETECTED THAT THE TACKOMETER WAS BAD AND REPLACE IT. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR ANYMORE. IT HAS NOT OCCURRED AGAIN BUT I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE RESEARCHED. REGARDING THE RADIO, WE HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS OVER THE LAST YEAR. I HAVE HAD THEM LOOK AT THE PROBLEM AT LEAST 12 TIMES. WE ARE HAVING STATIC THROUGHOUT THE CHICAGOLAND AREA.*AK

NHTSA ODI #753950

Mileage unknown · Jun 15, 2001
Engine And Engine CoolingEquipmentStructure

THE VEHICLE CONTINUALLY PULLS TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT, THE DEALER HAS PERFORMED NUMEROUS ALIGNMENTS BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST. NLM

NHTSA ODI #561662

Official recalls

1

03V474000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:power Assist:vacuum

Nov 17, 2003

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, WATER CAN ENTER THE ELECTRICAL BRAKE VACUUM PUMP, CAUSING THE PUMP TO FAIL.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THIS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF POWER ASSIST AND AN INCREASE IN NEEDED BRAKE PEDAL FORCE, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE PUMP WITH A NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION AND MOVE THE PUMP TO A NEW LOCATION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON MARCH 15, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT VOLVO AT 1-800-458-1552.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

2

EA02026 · Volvo S40/V40 My 2000-2001

Opened Sep 10, 2002 · Closed Nov 21, 2003

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic

IN A NOVEMBER 6, 2003 SAFETY DEFECT REPORT, VOLVO INDICATED THAT THEY WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT RECALL OF THE 2000 MODEL YEAR (MY) SUBJECT VEHICLES (ABOUT 36,000 VEHICLES).VOLVO WILL ALSO CONDUCT A SERVICE CAMPAIGN OF ABOUT 31,000 2001 MY SUBJECT VEHICLES.ODI INVESTIGATED BOTH THE 2000 AND 2001 MY VEHICLES AND DETERMINED THAT THE 2001 MY VEHICLES EXPERIENCED SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER RATES OF FAILURES BASED ON THE NUMBER OF OWNER REPORTS AND WARRANTY CLAIMS SUBMITTED TO ODI.ODI BELIEVES THAT THE PROPOSED ACTION IS SUFFICIENT TO RESOLVE THIS INVESTIGATION'S SAFETY ISSUES. FOR THE CRASHES, IN ADDITION TO THE 22 SUBMITTED BY VOLVO, ODI FOUND 10 ADDITIONAL CRASH ALLEGATIONS IN THE OWNER REPORTS, FIELD REPORTS, AND WARRANTY CLAIMS SUBMITTED BY VOLVO.OF THESE 32 CRASHES, ODI BELIEVES THAT 10 ARE CLEARLY RELATED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT, AND 5 APPEAR TO BE RELATED.OF THE 17 REMAINING CASES, TWO DID NOT INVOLVE A CRASH AND THE OTHER 15 COULD NOT BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT.ODI WILL SUPPLEMENT THIS RESUME WITH A CLOSING REPORT AND ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL DETAILS CONCERNING THE DEFECT.

PE02009 · Brake POWER-ASSIST

Opened Jan 29, 2002 · Closed Sep 10, 2002

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic

No summary supplied.