Volvo S40 ==> Reliable?

I'm thinking of buying an 01 s40 but Consumers Reports says electrical &
brakes are a problem. Have the cars been reliable?

I've owned several Volvos, all RWD, and have been happy with them. I wish
they still made a contemporary 940.

thanks to all . .

Rick

 

I have an '01 S-40 w/ 80+ K miles. The only electrical problem was early on
with head light bulbs burning out - there was a service bulletin to replace
part of the harness and that fixed it up.

Brakes are a different matter. The joke w/ my mechanic is that I bring it
every 3 K miles to change the brakes and check the oil. It wants to chew up
rear brakes (I heard it has something to do with how the front and rears are
proportioned). After I first got the car, I ran through pads and disks
pretty fast but found that by taking my foot off the accelerator, I didn't
need to push the brakes as hard and they started to last a bit longer.
The S-40 definitely likes to eat-up brakes. That said, I just love this
car. It's fast (enough for me), pretty nimble, small enough to make parking
easy, and generally a very nice car to drive.

Rob MacTurk

 

Is all true, but I have to say also that brakes works in a wonderful way
and saved me at least two times from accidents (I've got a V40), so I'm
not so disappointed to spend some money for them.

Hi

Jorge Luis

 

You are right about that - I find the brakes on the S-40 to be excellent so
I don't mind ALL that much. My real gripe is the amount of brake dust - I
know it's a problem w/ virtually all cars now but it would be nice if the
wheels could stay clean for at least a day after washing. I've tried all
the aftermarket pads and they are only moderately better than stock Volvo
pads.

Rob

 

Hi:

I live in Bahrain ( Middle East ) and own a S40 with about 12000
kilometers ( not much mileage ).

The car has been fine so far until last week when it started to overheat
quite badly. Took it it the garage and they said the ac fan fuse had
blown. 3 days later, I have the same problem and I am really unhappy -
feel like dumping this car and moving over to a Honda.

Dont know if you have had such issues and if this is a known problem ?


Amir