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Six Interesting Volvo V40 Trivia

  • The Volvo V40 was the last vehicle to be designed by well-renowned auto designer Peter Horbury before he moved to Chinese automaker Geely, Volvo's new owners. Named as Autocar's Designer of the Year for 1998, Peter Horbury contributed much to Volvo's car designs since he became the Design Director for the brand. The Volvo V40 was shown to the public during the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, although Horbury's design stirred much online interest way before that.

  • Always a pioneer when it comes to automotive safety, Volvo equipped the V40 with yet another safety breakthrough-the pedestrian airbag. When the seven sensors on the front of the V40 detect impact from collision with a human, the airbag deploys to protect the pedestrian from head injury caused by the A-pillars and the lower part of the windshield. At collision speeds of 12 to 31 mph, the V40's pedestrian airbag could reduce pedestrian fatalities by 5%.

  • With the help of its pedestrian airbag technology, the new V40 helped Volvo achieve a record-high in terms of adult safety and pedestrian safety. With a score of 98% in adult safety and 88% in pedestrian safety, the Volvo V40 set new records at the Euro NCAP crash tests.

  • The original Volvo V40 was first seen as part of the compact executive car segment. In 1995, Volvo introduced the S40 sedan and the V40 station wagon. The V40 station wagon was renamed as the V50 for its second generation in 2004. Both the sedan and the wagon was then replaced by the new V40 hatchback.

  • The fresh Volvo V40 is the first five-door hatchback from Volvo since 1980's Volvo 440. With the release of the V40, Volvo aims to gain traction in the premium hatchback market and gain more shares in the compact executive car segment.

  • Despite being new in the market, the Volvo V40 has already gained a couple of accolades. One of its honors is being given the title of the Best Executive Hatch during the Scottish Car of the Year awards show that was held in Glasgow in October 14, 2012.

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  • Volvo V40 Problems

    17 January 2013

    The Volvo V40 has been present in Volvo's lineup since 1995 as a station wagon companion to the S40 sedan. Recently, the old V40 station wagon and the S40 sedan were replaced by the all-new V40 hatchback. Although the V40 station wagon had a good, long run of 17 years and acquired quite a number of admirers, it still hit a couple of manufacturing and design lows. Here are some of the most commonly observed and reported problems with the Volvo V40 station wagon.


    Brake system

    Most of the reported problems on the Volvo V40 had to do with the vehicle's braking system. In particular, many V40s have had issues with the service brakes wherein several owners had difficulties depressing the brake pedal and had to apply extreme pressure or use the emergency hand brake to stop the vehicle. There are also several complaints of the brakes not functioning during the cold weather where the weak brakes required more force exerted on the brake pedal and resulted to longer stopping distances.

    In 2004, Volvo issued a hydraulic recall on the service brakes that affected a couple thousand Volvo V40s. The problem had to do with poor welding that can easily cause a vacuum leak.


    Engine system

    Apart from braking issues, several complaints regarding the Volvo V40's engines have also been lodged. Many V40 drivers have experienced sudden acceleration when they were driving their V40s at lower speeds. At high speeds, this resulted to periodic jerking of the vehicle. Some V40 station wagons also had problems with engine stalling where the engine dies during idle or at stop lights. Most of these engine problems are coupled with an illuminated check engine light. Most of these engine problems have been diagnosed to result from faulty engine intake valves, leak detection pumps, and crankcase ventilation hoses.


    Other issues

    Problems with the steering wheel and the transmission system that presented difficulties in steering control and shifting after 10,000 to 20,000 miles were also present in some V40s.

    Externally, a few owners have complained about how the poor quality of the V40's windshield can cause obstruction or distortion of vision. The Volvo V40's audio system and stereo have also been called weak without the premium sound package.

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