2001 Volvo S40 Brakes Problems

“I have a 2001 Volvo S40 with brake problems. In the mornings when I get in my car and back up I have to almost stand up on the brakes to stop my car. I have almost went out in front of others cars because my brakes will not hardly stop. This occurs daily. If my car sits for a few hours it does it all over again. This to me is a safty issue because one day they are not going to stop and I'll have a wreck. I have two small children in my car. I thought Volvo was suppose to be one of the safest carss one the road but someone didn't do enough research. …”

“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. …”

“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. …”

“At 19,600 miles the rear brake pads wore out on my wife's 2001 S40 Volvo sedan. We were told by the dealer this is normal and that they have seen some s40s wear the rear brakes out as early as 12,000 miles. Based on a reasonable persons experience this is much too early for brake pads, especially the rear ones to be wearing. This must be a design defect and should be covered under warranty or better quality pads should be installed on the car. Searching the web I have this is a common complaint about s40s. …”

“I had my Volvo S40 into the dealer I bought it from (keystone, pa) 5 times for a squeak in the rear of the car. Each time we were told they couldn't locate the problem but they could hear the squeak. On the 6 visit they gave us a loaner and took the car for a couple of days and then called us and told us they found the problem.... The rear brakes needed to be replaced. All those visits and they just figured out it was the brakes plus the car only has 14,000 miles. What kind of small, light sports car needs rear brakes at 14,000. …”