Electrical System Problems of Volvo S40 - part 1

The contact wife owns a 2005 Volvo S40. The contact stated the vehicle was hard to start for several days before not starting at all. The check engine light was illuminated. The vehicle was repaired by the contact, a previous Volvo technician. The contact stated the failure was due to the pump electrical module being located out of the vehicle. The contact spoke with the dealer. The contact referenced the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

See all problems of the 2005 Volvo S40 🔎.

I got into a car accident today. The electrical wiring is constantly giving out and I had no idea my airbags wouldn't work until today when they did not deploy. My car hit the other car enough to move it several feet and no airbags.

See all problems of the 2010 Volvo S40 🔎.

After buying the vehicle on 7/9/21, the car started having problems with the cooling system. I took it to a repair shop and they said the cooling system was overfilled. The air problem continued. I took it back to the dealership who said they fixed it but it continued. I contacted the prior manufactuer service center who informed me the computer chip was recommended to be replaced when the dealer had it serviced but they declined, causing all the electrical and cooling issues. I called the dealer and they said they had the alarm disconnected also which was why the computer system wasn't working. The alarm system doesn't work and I have had to replace the key fob 3 times. I took it to another repair shop who diagnosed the following as permanent failure codes: 6 cem codes, 1 ecm code, 6 srs codes, 2 dim codes, 11 cem-hs codes, passenger and driver door codes, 4 climate control codes, 1eps code, 4 swm codes, dd11, all of which are safety hazards.

See all problems of the 2008 Volvo S40 🔎.

Having a coolant leakage, crash mode and safety alarm system check keeps coming on. . . When crash mode comes on. . . Car just shuts off.

See all problems of the 2004 Volvo S40 🔎.

Me an my husband was driving the car an it started to run hot so we went an got the part to go on the car an when when we got back to my father in law house the car cut off an started to smoke real bad then went into flames an when we first got the car we got everything fix on it an then when you plug the montior to the the car it said we had ten codes up there an they was the same codes that was on the car an we know we had got everything fix on the car an we was still having problems with the car no we out of a car cause it went into flames.

See all problems of the 2001 Volvo S40 🔎.

On or about 12/04/2019 during a flash rain storm last winter, my husband and I was headed home on the 215 fwy northbound in san bernardino, CA when the center dome area and the electric sunroof inside our car begin pouring in huge amounts of very cold rain water on us and on the dashboard, stereo console, gear shifter, floor and seats. Until it was safe to exit the freeway, my husband tried to soak up as much of the leaking rainwater as he could with his coat but the water continued to pouring into the car. Once it was safe to exit the freeway, we pulled into a gas station and examine the sunroof to make sure it was shut properly, which it was, not understanding why this was happening, he and I used as many pieces of napkins and cloth that we could find to sop up as much water as we could and as best as we could. We drove on the streets the remaining few miles to get home because it was much safer to do so at this point. Later, we researched as much as we could find out about the problem via online complaints and reviews from other Volvo owners. We then tried one of the fixes offered: clearing potential debris from the sunroof drain hoses. However, when we took the car to a drive-thru carwash shortly afterwards, the exact same thing happen. We are looking forward to selling the Volvo, but due to the leaky center dome and sunroof, there is no way we will consider selling the car without disclosing this safety issue to the next buyer, even though when we purchased the car in 2013, the dealer who sold it to us did not tell us about the safety defect. Undoubtedly, if caught off guard while driving (I. E. Without a passenger's helping hand), not knowing about the defect may result in a major accident or fatality. Please help!!!.

See all problems of the 2007 Volvo S40 🔎.

Ignition key will not turn past position 2 allowing for engine starting. The vehicle with stationary in park.

Prior to latest incident, the car had occasionally gone into "limp" mode, sticking in 3rd gear but drivable. That problem would go away after a day or so. Local shop couldn't find anything definitive. Bigger problem was yesterday evening's loss of throttle control and multiple electrical issues. Idle throttle setting (eg stopped at lights) became unstable, occasionally revving upto to ~2000rpm. Moments later on suburban divided main street, throttle stuck at ~2200rpm which meant I was doing 45mph (straight line) without any pressure applied to gas pedal. Slowed on the brakes until I shifted into neutral at which time everything died (electrical) and came to a stop, short of traffic lights. Time of incident approx 8pm est (dark), roadway fully lit thankfully. Car was pushed off street. Some electrics came back on when tried but full christmas tree lights (ie everything) across entire dash. Towed home. Removed ignition key (was inserted to ensure steering was unlocked) but radiator cooling fan remained on (engine hadn't run for 2. 5 hours by that time). Pulled a fuse under the hood to stop it dumping the battery. Car is no youngster, manuf 2003 in netherlands, purchased second hand in 2005 with approx 20,000 miles on the clock. Currently at 108,000 ish. Other issues with car (not safety related) means I wont be having it fixed given its age and general cosmetic condition. It will be donated for scrap.

See all problems of the 2003 Volvo S40 🔎.

Fuel pump control module (pem) fails during wet conditions. Car will crank like normal but will not start. Let car dry out for a few days and then the car will run normal again.

Driving down the highway at 55 mph when instrument panel went completely blank I heard a sizzling noise behind the dash board. I lost the speedometer, gas gauge, light indicator, blinker indicators, all of the instruments you depend on while driving down the road. I immediately pulled over and shut the car off, it continued sizzling sounding like it was burning. After a few minutes I started the car and nothing on the instrument panel works, I turned on the flasher and limped to a local mechanic, as an elderly female this was very nerve racking as I did not know if my flashers were working nor what speed I was traveling. The mechanic told me that he knew exactly what it was something called the dim had went bad and that only a Volvo dealer could replace which will cost over $1800. He said I should feel lucky that the car had not caught fire as that was usually what happened in these situations and Volvo had ignored this problem for years so they would not have to spend money on a recall. This part is not something that is a wear and tear item it is faulty from the manufacturer yet they continue to charge people outrageous amounts to replace them. I now have to drive an unsafe car as I cant even tell if I have a working blinker over 40 miles to the nearest Volvo dealer, I am not sure what will happen after that as I do not have the money (social security) to fix something that Volvo should be repairing for free. I do not understand why this problem has not been recalled as I have researched and see this has been an issue with Volvo for many makes and model year cars not just 2011.

See all problems of the 2011 Volvo S40 🔎.

The air pump has a faulty switch, started ringing when I turn the engine off. The mechanic says the switch isn't shutting off correctly.

The contact owns a 2005 Volvo S40. The contact stated that the key was unable to turn and prevented the vehicle from starting. The battery was tested by an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was to be taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was unable to be driven. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.

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 is that the electrical ghost also affects the braking system and accelerates, this is a main concern when you're on an expressway especially, it accelerates and you cannot hold the brake down hard enough to slow down, and it'll do it at random, and I know this is a problem with this year Volvo because I have a 1990 when it was Volvo and not bought my an american company and that car is perfect, and a cop talked to me for about an hour just before these bigger issues started happening, he'd owned a dealership and said this year Volvo has nothing but problems, and at that time I knew he was onto something because the air and heat buttons were doing all kinds of strange things, I was even in an accident once, a little fender bender thankfully just on a side street, my car wouldn't slow down and it skidded all t he way to the light and I dented someone's bumper, they let me slide because their car was a jalopy, but I've had this same electrical failure happening on expressways at various speeds.

This happened yesterday 1/28/16 and in April 2015 (the dealership "fixed it" but it didn't work!!!!) yesterday, while driving home from work, the car did the scariest thing I've ever experienced while driving. All the lights on the dash, all the warning lights flashed several times and the car came to a complete standstill. No power at all. It didn't slow to a stall, no weird sounds. . . It just literally stopped in it's tracks. Right there, in the road. All of a sudden my car shut off. When I say shut off I mean the headlights, dome lights, engine. . . . Anything that was electrical completely shut off. This would include the steering wheel locking up. Imagine driving on the freeway/highway in the middle of the night with traffic around you and your lights going out, steering wheel locking and having no way to control the vehicle. This could have killed me and my baby. Last night, I has nightmares all night long of that happening on the freeway or the trestle with my baby. Where I drive frequently. Had that have happened there, I could have been killed especially if a semi truck was behind me, as is often the case. They can't stop that fast. Most people can't stop that fast going 55-75 mph. I had been on the trestle about 15 minutes before it happened. And I am petrified to think what could have happened since I often have my baby in the car. The car is at the dealership in service. They cannot find anything wrong with it. The check engine light didn't come on, so there are no codes. They cannot get it do it again.

See all problems of the 2000 Volvo S40 🔎.

While driving down the road at approximately 50 mph I noticed my dim ( driver information module) had completely stopped working. I was unable to read my speedometer, rpm, fuel level, and engine temperature while the car was still running . After researching this online, it appears that this seems to be a common problem.

See all problems of the 2006 Volvo S40 🔎.

2008 S40, car was placed in park and turned off while running errands, no problems. Came out of the store and placed the key into the ignition and received this error message, "turn steering, try start again. " prior to this, the car was completely operable. Removed the key and inserted key into the ignition again and nothing happened. I noticed the following: when the key is turned to 1 and 2, all dash light and headlights come on. At three, the headlights go off, the arm rest buttons go off and only check engine stays on. Once the key is released, all indicators and headlights come back on. Obd shows no codes. Turned the wheel all the way left and right, message persists. This has never happened before and I had a minor child with me in the scorching heat. Had the car towed and surprisingly the individual towing the car was a mechanic for years and stated the wheel was not locked at all, after moving the steering wheel to the left and right as well. This raises some serious safety concerns, as there were no prior warnings and the wheel was never locked and thankfully I was not not in motion.

Inserted key in ignition and nothing happened. Computer reads key error try again. Kept trying and finally started. Next day same thing happened.

This is the 3rd time that my car has completely stopped and gone idle when I have children in my car. Since March of 2015 my car stops in the middle of the busy highways in houston. It starts shaking and also won't let me accelerate when I press on the gas and it is so scary for me and my kids. I have had the throttle body repaired at first and and just last week I had it completely replaced. I have paid over 1,000 dollars within the last month on this electronic throttle body issue and I would like for it to be known that this car isn't safe. It has put my life at risk and my kids as well! we were almost killed tonight because our car idled again in the middle of highway 45 and the people who almost ran into us swerved into another lane and missed us literally by mere inches and we caused a collision between two other vehicles. I am tired of dishing out money and I have receipts to show for it. It hasn't even been a week since the throttle body was replaced. Something needs to be done about this! I have children and this car is not safe! I was told that this was a safe car and the car fax was clean. I want to know why I am having so many problems and why my money is going to waste. I see where this etm issue isn't uncommon in Volvo's and that there was a recall a few years ago. I have receipts from all of these repairs I've had done and I would appreciate if someone would reach out to me and let me know what can be done. I have to get to work and I also have to get my kids from point a to b safely. I can't afford a brand new car and I can't afford to lose my life or my kid's either. So an explanation would be nice.

Tl-the contact owns a 2006 Volvo S40. The contact stated that the sunroof leaked water causing the electrical functions to fail. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the drain hose failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 89,000. The VIN was unavailable. Djr.

Water leaked into my vehicle through the sunroof, destroyed the computer and air airbag system. The carpets are soaked with standing water sitting in the body of the front passenger side of the vehicle. I took my vehicle to the dealership and was told the sunroof drainage tubes where clogged. I was then quoted a price for repairs which totaled in excess of $2000. 00.

Sunroof drain became clogged. This caused the poorly designed drains to leak at a junction inside the vehicle along the door pillar and behind the instrument panel. The water collects on the rear passenger floorboards and around the drivers seat. The car owner is unaware of the leak until a large amount of water has accumulated. I am very concerned about the potential for an electrical fault or short circuit that could potentially result in a fire, malfunction or could lead to an accident. Volvo should make checking these drains a regular part of it's service procedures or consider a redesign or recall. This issue is widespread.

My serpentine belt broke on 6/6/2014 and was replaced. On 6/20/2014 I was driving about 60mph on the interstate in chicago, IL when my vehicle stopped accelerating and eventually stopped. This nearly caused an accident on the interstate, but I was able to pull to the left shoulder before being struck. I had to have the vehicle towed to a shop where it was determined that when the serpentine belt broke, shards of that belt went in to the timing belt area. This is due to a flawed design on my make of Volvo. The timing cover is not sealed, allowing particles to enter this area causing severe damage and nearly causing an accident. I have 20 bent valves that now need to be replaced due to this design flaw. There is no technician service bulletin that would have notified mechanics to be aware of this potential problem when a serpentine belt breaks, so my mechanic would not have known to look for this, which would have prevented the almost $3,000 worth of damage. This caused my car to completely shut down in the middle of traffic, which could have resulted in not only my death, but potentially other fatalities. I have requested Volvo correct what has occurred due to their design flaw, and lack of public notification but they have not agreed to do so. This is a known concern at the local Volvo dealership level, as my mechanic contacted a local Volvo dealership in orland park, IL and was advised by the mechanic that they are seeing this issue on not only my model, but other Volvo models as well. This problem, if it is not known to mechanics, can and did cause a complete loss of power in the vehicle. This increases the risk of a crash or potential fatality. As you can tell, I have few miles on my vehicle for it being 6 years old, so there is no reason for having to replace 20 valves in the engine, other than due to the design flaw. Thank you so much for your time.

(s40 2. 4i) initial car message: "brake failure, pull over safely. " I continued to drive home since I was a few blocks away. Message changed to "anti skid service required" then back to brake failure again. Difficulty accelerating after stopping, felt like the parking brake was on but drove ok once accelerated. Attempted to turn off car but message changed to "immobilizer, check manual" and could not turn key to off position. From what I read in the manual, it appeared that the card didn't recognize it was in park. Turned parking brake on and off a few times and was able to turn off car. Brought to local mechanic who replaced brake pad sensor and anti-stop switch. --in and out of auto repair shop 4x over the past month w/the same issues and new symptoms: wipers turned on automatically and don't shut off and new message: engine system service urgent. --mechanic replaced some rusted wires, brought to a Volvo dealer who reset computer and did not find any problems. --still having same issues. Cannot put car into drive or turn off car when brake failure or anti-skid message appear but if I wait a few minutes, I can turn the car off and on a couple of times to get to the engine system service urgent message and I can then put it into drive. Sometimes all messages go away and it is fine for a few days but then the car jerks forward as if someone bumped the car and all messages appear again. New message: power steering message flashed briefly . . Although there was no problem w/the steering. Bringing to another Volvo dealer. . The saga continues. --I read prior consumer complaints on this site and I also had the sunroof leakage problem in 2013. Entire floor of car was soaked, especially passenger side. Took 3 visits, weeks and $900 to get it fixed. Volvo first cleaned out the clogged line but carpets were wet again so they then replaced the entire line.

The sunroof leaks and causes puddles in front driver side and driver side passenger side, rust and mill-dew smell also electrical issues in the vehicle why? even after short time of purchasing a car. Volvo shouldn't make customers pay for this expense cost since most of these issues seem to plague many Volvo customers.

This car has developed an electrical problem where the dash lights start flickering on and off displaying various failures on the dashboard display, like immobilizer failure and crash mode and various other warnings. At the same time, the radio cuts out and an audible "clicking" is heard underneath the dash board. On several occasions the vehicle has stalled out completely while driving causing a dangerous driving condition and I have had to coast to the side of the road without power steering or power brakes. Sometimes the vehicle will start back up, other times it simply won't click or turn over at all. I fear an incident where the steering column will lock automatically when the vehicle dies, as the steering column is unlocked by the immobilizer key fob to initially start the car. If this were to occur I fear this could create an unsafe condition for the occupants of the vehicle and others motorists or pedestrians. I have just had two new remotes programmed to the vehicle and this procedure was performed at weiss brentwood Volvo in st. Louis missouri. I have owned this vehicle for one week prior to taking this car to weiss Volvo without issue and this problem only arose since this service was performed at weiss Volvo. The previous owner told me this problem did not exist prior to the sale of the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2006 Volvo S40. The contact stated whenever the air conditioner was activated, hot air emitted throughout the vents. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. The technician stated that the failure was contributed to the air compressor. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.

While driving on the highway my car began to show signs of an electrical problem. Different warnings were coming up on the control panel, alerting me to brake fluid low, as well as my current mileage disappearing. When I pulled off the highway, shut the car off, and removed the key the windshield wipers continued to run. The display messages including "brake failure, stop car safely" and "immobilizer see manual. " the brakes are fine, because they worked when stopping the car and work while this message is displayed. I believe this was an electrical problem, as I was driving the car earlier in the day and no issues were arising. When I tried to restart the car it would be start saying to see the "immobilizer see manual" and would not recognize the problem. The car is now stuck in a parking lot until it can be towed to a dealer. I would appreciate this matter being investigated and recalled if possible, as this is not the first time the car has not recognized the key.

Vehicle passenger rear floor flooding continuously. One day the windshield wipers wouldn't turn off and none of the interior electrical equipment would work, no power windows or locks. Drove to Volvo, they stated clogged sunroof drain and that floormat had affected the ecm under the steering column. They cleared drain and cleaned floor for $1k. A year later the front drivers seat floor started flooding. Experienced many electrical problems since. Including an instance entering the highway when the power steering seemed to go out and the car stalled. The screen told me to pull over safely. Very scary.

Flooded car. Caused extensive damage that ins. Says is a mold problem. Well without water there would be no mold.

Engine stalled while the car was in a moving motion. A cracked case of the breather sensor damaged idle air control valve and blown the fuse for the engine sensors. This is a very serious problem. Luckily, I was not on high way and running 65 miles a hour. My son and I would be killed. Without warning, one failed sensor blown other engine sensors' fuse that on the same circuit. No doubt there is an electrical designing problem with this kind car.

Whilst driving, the instruments on the instrument cluster dropped to zero and the warning lights started flashing. After shutting down the car, and then restarting, the fault cleared. Ever since, the electric windows and door locks have worked only intermittently. Volvo diagnosed the problem to the a-pillar connectors, which they said were old, and newer ones had been made. Volvo will not pay for the replacement since the car's warranty has expired. After doing some research, I found out that Volvo had issued a service bulletin addressing the a-pillar connectors, and I also found quite a few Volvo owners that experienced the same problem. Volvo knows they have defective a-pillar connectors in some of their cars, why has a recall not been issued?.

The vehicle exhibited stalling and misfires the first time at 65 mph. The check engine light (cel) came on and the diagnostic indication was that fuel pressure sensor needed replaced. It continued with stall and misfire at intermittent times with the cel staying on and off intermittently. I bought a fuel pressure sensor and replaced the original, which has remedied the problem. When I replaced the fuel pressure sensor, I examined the original part and noted that it had a part number of 8699448 instead of 31272733 like the replacement part. Putting in fuel pressure sensor 8699448 on the internet, I quickly found Volvo recall 181 which covers this part for Volvo 2003 - 2004 s60/v70 cars (48,000 plus). My motor is a slight variant of the motors used and not included. It is obvious that the major part of consideration is the fuel pressure sensor 8699448 but Volvo did not see their way to include all motors using this part and the danger is no different for the S40 than the s60/v70. The internet shows many other examples of this failure within 2005 S40s. This is probably the tip of the iceberg with many more to follow and possible potential dangerous accidents impending. All information I relayed in this complaint has been told to my local Volvo dealer and Volvo customer service (national).

My 2006 Volvo S40 has had numerous and intermittent electrical issues including gauges that go haywire, false airbag failure or brake failure messages, locks that don't engage or disengage and traction control that seems to stick or malfunction. On a few occasions the speedometer and rpm readout go completely dead while I'm going 70 miles per hour on the highway. These issues are intermittent but they tend to be more pertinent during the winter months, and on December 6, 2010 all these false readouts were happening one after another, followed by a "reduced power" reading and the engine briefly decelerated. Volvo dealers have been unable to diagnose or fix the issues in the past and I'm hesitant to spend hundreds more only to be told that "no codes were found. ".

While driving at night without warning: ?interior lights, wipers on ?all gauges went to zero ?all warning lights, airbag, stability ctrl, abs, others-on ?no turn signals or hazard lights ?no door locks ?no window operation ?random messages such as trunk open ?all problems continuing cannot drive car during previous incidents gauges started jumping, lights blinking, warnings flashing, car has completely shut down while driving.

When driving my car, he start going faster without pressing a gas pedal when I press the brake the car turn off, I put the gear changing on park and start the car again, the rpm start going crazy, the car have only 30000 miles.