Hi,I'm a new Volvo owner

tcooper1966 · Post by **tcooper1966** » 23 Aug 2018, 07:11

I purchased a 2001 Volvo V40 mid July 2018.
Was originally $1500 but after test drive we settled at $600.00. The only plus is all the service records for last 7 years. This car had lots and lots of problems. Has 151000 miles. Rust starting around front grill. Nothing really bad though. Headliner sagging in the back. And 6 trouble codes. Knock sensor, turbo boost low,map and mass airflow sensor. And a to lean bank 1 and to rich bank 2.
The car was hard to start on cold starts. it had really bad heitation issues in 2 gear and 5th gear.
Tackled the Mass air and turbo boost first. Then map sensor. Started filling the car with premium fuel.
(For last 7 years only ran with 87 octane fuel) Changed sparkplugs and wires. This fixed all the trouble codes.
Headlights only worked on high beams. After researching found the ecm was bad. Replaced that from a 2001 s40. The last thing to fix was front struts. The clanging was almost unbearable. Sounded like the front end was being torn apart at every little bump or dip in the road.
It's now ready to become a daily driver.
And I'm going to try and tackle the rust before the winter sets in.

: My 2001 v40

Post by **matthew1** » 23 Aug 2018, 08:31

Hello TCooper. Nice intro! Welcome to MVS.

jefe · Post by **jefe** » 23 Aug 2018, 10:16

Yea, welcome. Nice little volvo you got there considering its 2001.

My wife also has a 2001 v40 and has had similar issues along the way. Feel like these cars are great but they have a lot of little issues that add up over time. In the case of our V40, the paint has been peeling, headliners are all sagged, vent recently stopped opening and closing, ac is producing less cold air and knobs dont alway work, turn signals get stuck, little oil leaks here and there, etc etc.

tcooper1966 · Post by **tcooper1966** » 23 Aug 2018, 15:12

Lucky for me, all the major costly repairs were done by the previous owner. I did have to replace both headlights. The wire clip had broken and shorted out the wiring. Which fried the ecm. There's still stuff wrong. But it's all fixable and when all said and done might have close to a thousand dollars invested. This will be my grocery getter. My wife drives the nicer car. That has no worries yet.
I looked at several other forums. This was the first one that I was actually able to get directions to turn off service engine light.
And also been wondering why these cars don't have a higher resale value. A old Ford Escort station wagon sells for more. And I still have not seen a s40/v40.
Thank you all for the welcome and if you ever feel like talking cars hit me up

Post by **alschnertz** » 24 Aug 2018, 18:26

You may want to do a few easy/cheap things to your new ride.
Clean the MAF, IAC and throttle body.

FWIW, my '01 has only seen 87 octane for as long as I've had it. Granted, I don't drive it like I stole it.
Bought it in 2009 at 150K miles - now has 222K.
It's a decent car, but does have quirks as others have mentioned.

Hope you get yours sorted.
I'm no pro, but have been able to do LOTS to my S40 myself.
Just takes some patience.

Good luck with your new ride.

tcooper1966 · Post by **tcooper1966** » 25 Aug 2018, 05:56

Ty for the info. I replaced MAF and cleaned throttle body. It's the very first thing I did. Since I knew nothing about Volvo's I researched and called the Volvo dealer. I'll stick to Premium. Just for my peace of mind of not having to worry.
So far she's running like a top.