1996-2004 S40 & V40 Buyer's guide - What to look out for?
 

Quite a few people have been asking for tips of what to look for when buying a 1996-2004 S40 or V40, so I decided to collect all the information I could find from this forum and put them in one post. I am not a professional, nor do I have any training. I am just an S/V40 enthusiast who likes these cars and all my knowledge stems from this forum and taking a few S/V40 cars apart. So please read this guide and use it as an amateur guide and not as a professional guide of what to look for. You can find this guide in PDF format attached at the bottom of the this page so you can download it and print it out.

Many thanks go to stephend, Technician, Robmac999, phil_r, Alex121, 960kg, The Improver, GaryS40, cornishv40, S40 Squared, ciaranr, Haizum74 and biotoxic for their contribution in this guide, as well as to many other members here, whose posts have helped me learn everything I know about these cars.


1. General buying tips

• Comprehensive service history either main dealer or recognized independent with as many receipts as possible
• Timing belt should be done at around 80,000 miles or 8 years for all petrol cars and 72,000 miles or 6 years for the diesel cars. Check when the timing belt was replaced and ideally ask for receipt as proof
• Don't view the car in the rain or in the evening as you might miss scratches, dents and other problems
• Listen to the engine for any rattles or squeaks
• Check engine gets up to the correct temp after a 4-5 minutes or 2 or so miles (Temperature needle should be at the middle)
• When test driving listen for knocking on rough road surface/bumps (suspension top mount bush or drop links failing)
• Listen for clicking on full lock left and right (CV joint wear)
• Make sure the gearbox changes are nice and smooth. Phase 1 (1996-2000) 1.8 and 2.0 and Phase 2 (2000-2004) 1.6 and 1.8 S/V40s have the Renault M3P or M5P gearboxes were the gear lever bushes get worn and the gear lever feels sloppy. Cheap and easy to fix. See here: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=80433
• Feel for a pulsating clutch pedal. If it pulses, that could indicate a failing DMF (Dual Mass Flywheel)
• Apply and release the handbrake and make sure the car rolls easy, to check the rear calliper hand brake mechanism is not seized
• Having driven the car, touch the wheels with your finger tips to see if any of them is hot. If yes, then this could indicate a faulty/seized brake calliper
• Make sure all electrics/heater/headlight controls are working correctly and that AC (if fitted) is blowing nice and cold. Hazard light switch, heater controls panel, windscreen wipers , headlamp wipers as well as the rear wiper not touching the screen in places are common failures. if front windscreen wipers are squeaking, it could indicate worn wiper linkage.
• Lock and unlock the car with the fob to check the alarm arms correctly. Also, unlock the car with the fob, but don't open the doors. The car should lock itself after a few minutes. If not then there could be an issue with the alarm
• Check the spare wheel are for any signs of water ingress
• Look for wear on driver’s seat and interior trim as an indication of how the car has been looked after internally
• Ask the seller if he knows when the suspension bushes and top mounts were replaced (if they have been replaced)
• Check if the turbo has been replaced and when (Applies to Turbo models only)
• Get the engine at the correct temperature and drive the car a bit harder on 2nd or 3rd gear with high revs and check for smoke out of the rear view mirror. If any present, this could indicate possible turbo issues (Applies to the 2.0T and the T4)
• If the car has a Volvo original stereo, make sure you ask where the 4-digit code for it is. You will normally find it in the owners manual or on a card in the pouch the owners manual is in. If the seller does not have the code, you can get it for free by calling a Volvo dealer
• If the wheels of the car have locking wheel nuts make sure the locking nut socket is present
• Ask how many car keys and alarm fobs are there. Spare keys and/fobs are quite pricey to get from the Volvo dealer
• If you have access to an OBD2 code reader check for any codes coming up on the car

2. Engine bay area

• Check for any obvious signs of oil or other fluid leaks in the engine bay and on the ground as well as any oil deposited on the underbody floorpan
• Check for any signs of emulsification (white thick creamy substance) under oil filler cap and / or oil in the radiator header tank (coolant in engine, indicating failing head gasket)
• On petrol cars only, lift the oil filler cap with the engine running and see if there is suction or a blowing air. You should expect a bit of suction; otherwise PCV may be blocked
• Check the dipstick for emulsified oil as this might indicate blocked PCV
• Check the engine mounts - bonnet up, into gear with handbrake on and let clutch part out quite quickly. If it knocks, will need doing
• Check lower radiator hose jubilee clip as it's prone to rusting and can break causing major engine damage. Stainless steel replacement one is cheap and easy to do
• With the engine running, check the exhaust manifold (at the rear of the engine) to see if it's blowing any air. Applies to the turbo models only
• Check for any smoke from under the car when driving. If there is smoke, it could be leaking turbo oil from the oil return pipe splashing oil onto exhaust which burns and gives out blue smoke (Applies to Turbo models only)
  

3. Exterior

• Look for smokey/blowing exhaust on start up and idling
• Check for uneven tyre wear
• Check front suspension by grabbing the wheel and pushing/ pulling on either side to check for any play
• Check the suspension by rocking the car/pushing down at the front and the rear(specially the rear) and listen listen for any creaky sounds. If you hear anything, visually inspect the springs to see if they are broken
• Check brake discs to see how worn they are and if there is excessive rust. Also check the left and right pads to see if wear is even side to side
• Check all four brake flexi hoses for any cracks or splits
• Check for rust the edges of both front wings near the wheel arches and specially close to the sideskirt
• Check for rust the edges of both rear wheel arches and specially close to the sideskirt

4. More detailed things to check

• Check the metal brake pipes running from the engine bay and all the way under the car for signs of corrosion
• Check the wiring harness directly beneath the radiator for water ingress and subsequent corrosion of the wiring leading to electrical faults
• Check that the VVT (Variable Valve Timing) solenoid connector is plugged in. Applies only to the Phase 2 (2000-2004) Petrol cars 1.6, 1.8 2.0, 2.0T, T4). If the VVT pulley has failed, there will be a rattle with a cyclic clicking noise. By unplugging the VVT solenoid, the noise dissapears and some dodgy sellers have used this trick to hide the problem. If there is any rattle in the engine area, it also might be that some exhaust manifold bolts are loose or missing, so you could have a look to see if that is the case. For the VVT pulley/solenoid, see guide here for more info: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...ighlight=guide

RADIO CD PLAYER V40 2004 Station Wagon
 

I burned a cd on a RealPlayer. However, the radio cd player in my V40 does not read my burned cd. I can listen in my pc on my friend's car cd player. My friend's car is a pick up truck 2010 Chevy.
What do I need to do to have my cd player in my v40 read my burned music
on my cd ?
Thanks
: )

Nothing you can do. The stereo will only play normal music CDs. Only option is to upgrade the stereo with an aftermarket one that reads .mp3 or .rm formats. Not sure about the .rm format though as it is very 90s, restrictive and is becoming obsolete.

Just copied a CD myself, ASDA disc and used Roxio Burn to burn it. Plays fine in my original stereo.

what format? Standard copy of a CD or compressed mp3s?

Just copied direct from CD, not mp3's.

That will work. Compressed music files will not

Very useful information, I wish I'd read this before I purchased my V40 several months ago, there was is a lot of things wrong with it. :(

They don`t work either in my SC805 that was using Nero to compile a CD.

I did read that it is something to do with ....codecs!!!! whatever but apparently just plain Windows player will work to make your own CD but i haven`t tried it.

That is why i did the hack to play anything from my iPod or phone etc.

Perhaps worth adding:

Check rear shock absorbers on the V40 for leaks as the self levelling ones are expensive £360 Discount

On Lux models? with headlight wipers check they actually motor as replacement is a pig and no doubt expensive

Thanks fellows for your help during ownership

v40
 

hi iv had my v40 1.6 for about 10 days now and im new to volvos when my car is running its always got alot of steam coming from the exhaust what is that ??

Try posting in the main section http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=17 and you will get more replies

Could it be because of the cold weather we are experiencing at the moment?

Great Post. But for the uninitiated in acronyms, what is a PCV please?

I think it is like the vapour trails on high flying jet aircraft, hot exhaust gases hitting the cold atmosphere, my '98 V40T does the same and I have had mine for 9 yrs.

PCV - Positive Crankcase Ventilation

burn mp3 with windows media player it will convert them to wav. file that the stock CD plays ;)

V40
 

I bought a v40 on a 51 plate. I had it 2 weeks when the engine light came on and I limped home. Code of P1221 was displayed on the obdII reader. After purchasing a second hand throttle body and fitting it myself (yes I made sure it was the exact same part number on the replacement as it was on the old one). I fired it up and it shot up to 2000 rpm. Over the course of the following 2 weeks it did settle down to 645rpm. Also the near side rear wheel bearing needs replacing as do both outer cv joints. However since I bought the car the engine has never seemed to have any oomph at pull off. I put my foot down and it seems to be holding back. Also, the brake pedal vibrates when i put pressure on it anyone know why this may be happening? I paid £900 for the car, have I bought a lemon??? Anyone have any idea as to the reason behind the lack of oomph?

Cheers

Blaise

In Nero v6.6.0.12 (ie the last version of Nero before it got really bloated) you can drag and drop MP3 files and it converts them to standard CD audio format for you. Using 'Nero burning rom' and not 'Nero start smart', open Nero, select 'new' and 'audio CD'. Drag & drop MP3 files from explorer (not The nero window as some version crashed when doing this). Then burn it it to a standard one_time_write CDR (not a made_for_audio CD).

volvo s40 2.0 cdi
 

What does the C stand for in CDI if DI is Direct Injection in my petrol 2.0 S40

I'm pretty sure it's more of a 'CD-i', not sure what CD means though, probably gets lost in translation. I think there were three trim levels for the Phase 1 cars - XS (standard), SE (executive) and CD (luxury). Yours is a CDi - Luxury trim with injection engine. I would like to know what the CD stands for too though.

The C in a diesel usually stands for "common rail"

The lin in the last paragragh does not work for me?

4. More detailed things to check

For the VVT pulley/solenoid, see guide here for more info: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showth...ighlight=guide

My S40's original stereo CD reader can read compressed mp3. I've got several burned CDs, some of which the files are mp3s taken from the net (some are 128kbps, so very compressed), and it works fine !

Now I read what to look for. I can't seem to get my OBII to read any faults. I know it's a diesel but can I get any info from the car?

What code reader are you using? The 1.9D can only be read with the Volvo DICE or very expensive professional code readers like the Snap on.

Hi there,

I just found your buyers guide for secondhand V40's and wish wish wish I had this to hand when I recently bought my 1999 Volvo V40 1.9 SE Estate.

Literally, 10 minutes after leaving the seller, the gear-box blew. The seller has offered to repair the car but we are struggling to find the right part and as time goes on the seller is becoming harder and harder to contact. A classic novice buyer error!

Otherwise, the car seems to be in excellent condition. I would like to keep it so wondered if you can offer advice on what exact gearbox I need and pointers as to where to find one.

My other option is to sell the car but I have no experience in this either. I spent a fair amount on the car and if the seller refuses to help then I cannot really afford to buy the new gearbox so would need to give the car up for sale but would like to recuperate as much of the cash I spent as possible... IF possible!

Here is the original listing for the car that has full details:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-Volv...p2047675.l2557

I spent all my savings on this, so a lesson learned the hard way for sure!

If you could spare some time to help me I'd be so grateful. I've always wanted a Volvo and was so excited for this car.

The seller won't help you if he/she's hard to reach.

Open the hood and locate the gear-box. Somewhere on it you'll find a sticker with a barcode and some letters and numbers (if it's still there).
It's most likely located under the air filter box.
The gear-box type will be printed on the sticker.
In your country there surely is a website that car salvage firms list their car parts.
Alternatively trace down as many of these firms as you can and call them.
A used box isn't nearly as expensive as a new one.