IllustrationWHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE.*JB
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.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all S40 years →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
50–25K
1025–50K
1050–75K
1175–100K
9100–150K
2150K+
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
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
49 reportsTHE RELAY THAT CONTROLLED THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED.*JB
THE RELAY THAT CONTROLLED THE MASTER CYLINDER WAS REPLACED.*JB
BOTH THE FRONT AND REAR BRAKE PADS ON MY CAR ARE WEARING PREMATURELY, AND THE REAR BRAKE PADS ARE WEARING MORE QUICKLY THAN THE FRONT. MY CAR HAS ONLY 14,171 MILES ON IT AND I ALREADY HAVE TO REPLACE THE PADS, I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SIGN OF EITHER DEFECTIVE PADS, OR A MANUFACTURER PROBLEM WITH THE ENTIRE BRAKE SYSTEM. ALSO, TH…
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BOTH THE FRONT AND REAR BRAKE PADS ON MY CAR ARE WEARING PREMATURELY, AND THE REAR BRAKE PADS ARE WEARING MORE QUICKLY THAN THE FRONT. MY CAR HAS ONLY 14,171 MILES ON IT AND I ALREADY HAVE TO REPLACE THE PADS, I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SIGN OF EITHER DEFECTIVE PADS, OR A MANUFACTURER PROBLEM WITH THE ENTIRE BRAKE SYSTEM. ALSO, THE DASHBOARD WARNING LIGHT IS FAILING TO GIVE THE PROPER WARNING OF THE WEAR, THUS PLACE THE DRIVER AT RISK FOR ADDITIONAL COMPONENT FAILURE, AND RAISING SAFETY CONCERNS. DT
DEFECT EXISTS WITH VACUUM SEAL ON BRAKE PUMP. WHEN VEHICLE IS "COLD" THERE IS NO PRESSURE ON BRAKES, AND PEDAL GOES TO THE FLOOR, BUT VEHICLE WILL NOT STOP. VEHICLE HAS BEEN CHECKED BY DEALER 3 TIMES. *AK
IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS I HAVE LOST TOTAL BRAKING ABILITY 3 TIMES WHILE DRIVING. THE DEALER IS SIGHTING A BROKEN T-CONNECTOR ON A LOW PRESSURE HOSE AS THE PROBLEM. CONTACTED THE REGIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE. AFTER 3RD TIME, WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD REPLACE WITH A BRASS T-CONNECTOR, WHICH TO DATE THEY CAN N…
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IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS I HAVE LOST TOTAL BRAKING ABILITY 3 TIMES WHILE DRIVING. THE DEALER IS SIGHTING A BROKEN T-CONNECTOR ON A LOW PRESSURE HOSE AS THE PROBLEM. CONTACTED THE REGIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE. AFTER 3RD TIME, WITHOUT ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD REPLACE WITH A BRASS T-CONNECTOR, WHICH TO DATE THEY CAN NOT FIND. THEY CONSIDER THE CAR SAFE TO DRIVE SINCE BRAKES WORK CURRENTLY, HOWEVER THEY FAILED WITHOUT WARNING THE LAST 2 TIMES. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE IN PLACES WHERE NO ACCIDENT OCCURED. I DID ROLL THROUGH A TOLL BOOTH, STOP SIGN ON THE FIRST TWO OCCURANCES. DEALER WILL NOT REVEAL IF THIS IS A DESIGN DEFECT, PARTS DEFECTS OR SOMETHING SPECIFIC IN THIS AUTOMOBILE. THIS CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE ON THE ROAD BUT VOLVO SEEMS TO NOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.*AK
WHILE DRIVING AND WITH NO WARNING BRAKES WENT OUT. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. CAUSE UNKNOWN. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
REAR BRAKES ON THE VEHICLE WILL WEAR OUT EVERY 12000 MILES, THERE IS EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. ALSO, A SQUEAKING NOISE WHEN APPLYING BRAKES. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AK
WHEN APPLYING BRAKES VEHICLE WOULD SLOW DOWN, BUT WOULD NOT STOP, CAUSING TO LOSS OF CONTROL. *AK
WHEN APPLYING BRAKES THEY WOULD MAKE A GRINDING NOISE. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND HAD TO HAVE BRAKES REPAIRED. THIS WAS THIRD TIME.*AK
Official recalls
103V474000 · 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
2EA02026 · 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.