Volvo S40 headlights problems

Filed Aug 13, 2019 · Fuel system, Steering · KY

I bought a 2001 volvo s40 from tom blevins owner of popples garage. The odometer quit working as soon as I bought it. The key would get stuck in the ignition and would have to be left in the ignition. The drivers side window got stuck in the down position because of a faulty controller. The hood hydraulic arm that holds the hood up when it's raised does not work and has to be propped up with a wood block. Headlights and turn signals do not work. There are more problems to discuss but I am out of space.

Filed Dec 4, 2018 · Electrical, Lights · AL

Headlight wiring- made an attempt to change light bulbs for headlamps. Covering around electrical wiring harness which connect to headlight crumbled in my hands and electrical wiring is exposed. Worries that this may be potential fire hazard to my vehicle and myself. My vehicle was stationary in my driveway.

Filed Apr 10, 2018 · Electrical, Suspension · CA

The key does not turn all the way to turn the ignition - it's locked after turning I and ii (not to iii). I had to have the car towed. I could have been stranded in an unsafe area. I called volvo customer service, but I was told it's not under warranty anymore. I went to youtube as to how I could fix it and found out quite a fee s40 owners have similar problems. I was told that the cost to fix this would run about $1000. I found a way to get around making it work by removing the steering cover, pull the ignition switch with a screw driver. Without the key on the ignition, it still poses a safety issues because what if the steering locks while I am driving? Another issue is the suspension: the car feel as if it's falling apart. Twice we spent over a thousand for each occurrence. I'm quite certain there have a few complaints on similar issues. I would appreciate it very much if you could keep me in the loop if issues come up on this make, model and year we still own and keep on driving. I almost forgot, one of the head lights does not and even simple replacing with one after a bulb, still does not work. I guess it needs a trip to the dealership for them to figure it out. After all, sudden headlight failure while driving at night, is a serious safety issue. Thank you in advance for considering to take my issues.

Filed Jan 6, 2017 · Lights · 140,000 miles · MA

The issue of no headlights (low-bulb failure) is dangerous & expensive. Nor is there a viable permanent repair as the "low-bulb failure" always re-occurs & has been an ongoing problem for me since my car was new. Suddenly having no headlights causes a serious & immediate safety issue for occupants of the car & for oncoming traffic who can't see a car without headlights. It can be 1 headlight or both that fail without warning; leaving no time to bring a vehicle to a stop safely. The experience is frightening & dangerous in those tense moments it takes to stop a moving car on the road without headlights. I have even been issued a violation ticket from the police for equipment failure despite numerous repair bills that I keep in the car. After repeated attempts at getting volvo to fix this issue, I reported the problem to the federal safety agency several years ago but was told there had not been enough complaints about the headlight failure problem to do anything. Now, years have gone by and I am still dealing with a car that is essentially a daytime only car as it is not safe to drive after dark due to the unpredictable loss of headlights. Each time the headlights fail I bring the car for service and every time the headlight fails again and again within weeks of the "repair". Repair cost are in the $500 range. There is no recourse for the repairs other than to try something new. It has become a problem that is widely known at repair shops; and aftermarket repair kits are now common because volvo has ignored the issue stating that there is not a problem to me. It is easy to find many car owners with the same issue and frustrations on the internet as well as suits brought against other auto manufacturers for the wide-scale failure of these useless, defective headlights. The federal safety agency should prohibit these headlights and force action for those responsible to address this known safety issue.

Filed Jan 29, 2016 · Electrical, Fuel system · 103,000 miles · WA

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.

Filed Sep 6, 2015 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 69,000 miles · IL

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.

Filed Aug 9, 2014 · Electrical, Lights · 37,000 miles · PR

Often, the headlamps bulbs fail, after a few years changing bulbs, I found out that due to contact between detachment of the wiring harness cover is the cause of the failure bulbs in right and left headlamps. The wiring harness installed by the manufacturer do not resist voltage and heat.

Filed Mar 16, 2011 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · AL

2006 volvo s40, fwd t5: my wife was driving on the interstate around midnight going approx. 75-80 MPH when all of a sudden her 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. So imagine driving in the middle of the night at 80 MPH with traffic around you and you're lights going out, steering wheel locking and having no way to control the vehicle. To me this sounds like a 80 MPH invisible torpedo that could have killed a few people including my wife. I had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership which was a ford dealership and the next morning they diagnosed it as a dead battery, which they were correct. Now I'm no rocket surgeon by any means but to me this sounds like a flaw in the safety dept. Somewhere. Something as trivial as a dead battery would cause a catastrophic failure like that? I think it's something that needs to be brought to the attention of the manufacturer and some sort of quality control as well.

Filed Jan 5, 2009 · Lights · 120,000 miles · GA

Noticed decreased visibility driving at night. The aiming mechanism on both headlamps has disintegrated causing loss of the headlamp calibration and allowing the headlamps to aim downward to a point approximately 30' in front of the vehicle. The failure is continuous, results in reduced visibility. Nothing has been done to correct the problem. Replacement parts are prohibitively expensive and volvo customer service has disavowed any responsibility for the failure due to the age and mileage of the vehicle, (2000 s40 with 130k mi.) the service manager at my local volvo dealership has said that he has seen this failure on other volvos of similar age and mileage including one owned by his son.

Filed Jan 16, 2008 · Lights · NY

Two different mechanics informed me that the casing in both of my headlights was deteriorating and would need to be replaced.