2001 Volvo S40 weak and sluggish brakes

Discussion in 'Volvo S40' started by Lindsay Pallickal, Nov 15, 2005.

  1. The brakes on this car just don't respond with the force I expect, even
    when slammed. In the moring when descending a steep driveway, the
    brakes need moderate pressure to come to a rolling stop, especially
    during the first couple presses of the pedal.

    The car is my dad's and when he bought it used from a Honda dealer, the
    pads and rotors were changed by them with original Volvo parts, and it
    was also given a complete inspection & tune up by Volvo. The car was
    still under warranty at the time and I noticed the sluggishness back
    then, but it seems to have gotten worse - it's difficult to slam the
    brakes to the point where abs kicks in.

    I've bled the brakes and that hasn't helped, and after reading some
    postings here, I suspect the brake booster is not working properly.

    http://groups.google.com/group/alt.autos.volvo/browse_frm/thread/f3fcffab08f9d7b1/c67cdfe97ed6c501

    The postings above specifically talk about a recalled brake booster on
    an '01 S40, but the local Volvo dealer insists there are none on this
    car. I'd appreciate if someone with access to recall information could
    get me specific information on brake recalls from 99-Present.

    It seems as if there are widespread S40 brake booster issues, as I've
    also read that the 2003-2004 models have had their's recalled. I feel
    Volvo should foot the bill for this, on my dad's last visit they
    charged $140 to change the rear pads and another few hundred in
    overpriced tune up work, after he complained of poor braking
    performance and pointed to the brake booster.

    Any S40 owners care to chime in?
     
    Lindsay Pallickal, Nov 15, 2005
    #1
  2. Lindsay Pallickal

    Mike F Guest

    I suggest you try another car the same as yours to see if it feels any
    better.

    --
    Mike F.
    Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

    Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
    (But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)
     
    Mike F, Nov 16, 2005
    #2
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