One problem related to starter has been reported for the 2005 Volvo S40. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
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.