I bought a 2001 volvo s40 in june 2009. I noticed right away that the brakes didn't seem to work properly, as the stopping distance was far too long. They assured me the brakes were brand new. After driving it a few weeks, I became very nervous about the brakes because I had come close to rear ending several people. I brought it back to the dealer where I purchased it and asked them to double check the brakes. They did so and stated that they were fine. So, I drove extra cautiously from then on. Unfortunately, they never gave me any documentation and I never asked for it. They just checked the brakes and sent me on my way, reassuring me there was not a problem. However, on december 28th, 2009, the brakes failed when coming to an intersection. I was just beginning to slow down (not even trying to stop yet) and the brake would not go down further. I took my foot off the brake, and it did not release. I again tried to push down the pedal, and it did not go down. I rear ended the car in front of me. I looked online and found that several people with my same year and model had the same problems, both with the stopping distance and the brake failure. The next morning, I took my car to the volvo dealer in indianapolis. They inspected the brakes and found nothing wrong. They also verified that the recalled vacuum pump had already been replaced. From there I took my car to the body shop for an estimate of the damage from the accident, which was $2,2604.96. Upon leaving the body shop, I braked at a yellow light, and once again, my brakes would not go down and I went through the intersection. I had my car towed back to the volvo dealer. I made a claim with volvo company, who had someone look at it and said the vacuum pump and pressure valve needed to be replaced, which would cost approximately $750. I asked for an estimated trade-in value after the car was completely fixed. They stated that they.
2001 Volvo S40: brake failure
6 of the 84 complaints about the 2001 Volvo S40 describe brake failure.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- recalls
- 0
Brake failure by model year
What owners say
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 volvo s40. Whenever the vehicle was parked longer than 2 hours the contact noticed that the brakes failed to operate. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer and there were no prior warnings. The current mileage was 112,131 and the failure mileage was at 88000.
Volvo model s40 vacuum brake failure. My 28 year old daughter was making a low speed turn at intersection and brakes failed and she hit a telephone pole. In 2003 she was coming to a stop behind another car and the same thing happened. Subsequently they replaced the vacuum pump at the 30,000 mile service on 8/14/03. We just read about recall on vehicles made during 2000.
I had the brakes serviced on my 2001 volvo s40 at the volvo dealer. At only 21,500 miles the rear brakes were grinding loudly. I complained to volvo consumer services from their web page. They were not only not surprised at the rear brake failure at 21,500 miles, but said that they usually go out between 10k and 20k miles. The rear brakes on that vehicle are poorly designed, creating a potential accident hazard because of consumers' ignorance of their under-engineering. An american car would likely get as much as 80k miles out of the rear brakes, being replaced only the third time the front brakes are service. An american car company that is as obviously aware of a failure of this nature would likely have done a redesign and recall. The rear brake pads on the volvo s40 are no bigger than those of a motorcycle. This is an unsafe vehicle and volvo should be forced to recall them.
Brakes went out on vehicle going down a hill at 35mph. When applying brakes consumer heard a snap. Brake pedal went straight to the floor. Consumer put vehicle in low, and pulled emergency brake up. Volvo dealer came and towed vehicle to dealer.
Brakes failed (2nd time) when being cut-off on the road. If I turn right and hit the brakes quickly, they fail and skid for a while.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2001 Volvo S40 brake failure
Is brake failure a common problem on the 2001 Volvo S40?
6 of 84 owner complaints about the 2001 Volvo S40 (7%) mention brake failure. The model year with the most reports is 2000.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2001 Volvo S40?
There are 0 recalls and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2001 Volvo S40
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