Volvo V40 problems, recalls and best years (1993–2013)

Complaints by model year

Each bar is one model year. Highlighted: 2000. The most recent years are still collecting complaints.

NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026

New York safety inspections

Share of first inspections failed on safety, by model year. Older cars fail more as miles build up, so compare each year with the average car of the same year.

NY DMV Vehicle Inspections, initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count

Year by year

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Bulletins	Crashes · fires
2013 V40	1	0	19	0 · 0
2009	0	0	13	0 · 0
2008	0	0	103	0 · 0
2007	0	0	106	0 · 0
2006	0	0	100	0 · 0
2005	0	0	100	0 · 0
2004 V40	4	3	146	1 · 0
2003 V40	2	2	143	0 · 0
2002 V40	4	1	141	0 · 0
2001 V40	11	2	173	1 · 0
2000 V40Most complaints	50	1	183	2 · 0
1993	1	0	3	0 · 0

A model year gets its own page when it has enough data for at least three sections

Most common problems

Service brakes, hydraulic31
Engine and engine cooling13
Suspension7
Electrical system6
Vehicle speed control5
Structure4
Power train4
Exterior lighting4

NHTSA ODI complaints, all model years

Fuel consumption by year

Official Canadian test results for 4 model years, best variant per year. Combined consumption ranges from 10.2–10.7 L/100 km.

Year	Variant	Engine	Transmission	City	Highway	Combined	CO₂ g/km
2004	V40 Turbo · Station wagon: Small · Premium gasoline	1.9 L, 4 cyl.	A5	12.3	8.7	10.7	246
2003	V40 Turbo · Station wagon: Small · Premium gasoline	1.9 L, 4 cyl.	A5	12.3	8.7	10.7	246
2002	V40 Wagon Turbo · Station wagon: Small · Premium gasoline	1.9 L, 4 cyl.	A5	12.3	8.7	10.7	246
2001	V40 Wagon Turbo · Station wagon: Small · Premium gasoline	1.9 L, 4 cyl.	A5	11.9	8.1	10.2	235

Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada

In New Zealand

1,458 V40 cars are on the New Zealand register; 58% arrived as used imports.

Model year	Registered	Sold new in NZ	Used imports
2019	6	1	5
2018	40	29	11
2017	79	73	6
2016	146	106	37
2015	240	96	142
2014	345	121	217
2013	499	95	394
2012	21	18	2
2004	5	2	3
2003	14	9	5
2002	21	10	8
2001	10	6	4
2000	12	10	2
1999	13	11	2
1998	5	1	4
1997	2	1	1

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

In the Netherlands

42,987 V40 cars are on Dutch roads; 18% arrived later as imports, and 1,138 still have a recall open. Open a year for APK defects, odometer checks and colours.

First registered	On the road	Imported	Median list price
2020	802	4%	€33,453
2019	4,690	13%	€33,260
2018	4,189	16%	€33,099
2017	4,652	18%	€32,859
2016	4,241	27%	€32,020
2015	6,412	22%	€31,615
2014	5,992	22%	€33,170
2013	6,014	22%	€32,654
2012	1,823	18%	€31,720
2005	123	1%	€26,754
2004	944	3%	—
2003	1,030	5%	—
2002	590	6%	—
2001	460	6%	—
2000	343	5%	—
1999	265	3%	—
1998	218	8%	—
1997	127	6%	—
1996	72	1%	—

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles (CC0) · list price is the manufacturer's catalogue price when new

In Finland

16,365 V40 cars were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026: 49% petrol, 51% diesel. Mileage is the odometer reading at the last inspection.

First registered	In use	Average mileage
2020	217	97,000 km
2019	1,390	88,000 km
2018	1,530	104,000 km
2017	1,763	133,000 km
2016	2,071	158,000 km
2015	2,112	175,000 km
2014	1,755	199,000 km
2013	2,078	213,000 km
2012	752	224,000 km
2004	750	280,000 km
2003	655	290,000 km
2002	501	293,000 km
2001	265	290,000 km
2000	235	285,000 km
1999	136	285,000 km
1998	83	291,000 km
1997	52	287,000 km
1996	20	272,000 km

Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use, 30 Jun 2026 · CC BY 4.0

Road collisions in Great Britain

From 2021 to 2025, 1,213 V40 cars were involved in road collisions in Great Britain that injured someone and were reported to the police. 12 of those collisions were fatal and 239 caused serious injuries. As with any count, models with more cars on British roads appear more often.

Year	Cars in injury collisions	Fatal	Serious
2025	249	1	44
2024	213	2	44
2023	259	2	60
2022	275	5	51
2021	217	2	40

Department for Transport, STATS19 road safety data 2021–2025 · Open Government Licence v3.0 · how we count

In the United Kingdom

94,693 V40 cars were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, by year of manufacture.

Built	Licensed	Off the road (SORN)
2024	1	—
2019	7,985	54
2018	12,693	94
2017	13,276	100
2016	15,054	141
2015	14,964	266
2014	15,488	354
2013	10,802	287
2012	2,178	73
2010	1	—
2009	1	—
2005	1	1
2004	533	297
2003	610	489
2002	431	557
2001	306	490
2000	155	416
1999	112	354
1998	50	299
1997	43	211
1996	9	53

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124) · Open Government Licence v3.0

MOT test results in Great Britain

100,454 V40 cars took their annual MOT test in 2023; 73% passed first time, against 76% for all cars of the same ages. Older cars fail more often, so compare a year with the same year of other cars.

First registered	Tests	Passed first time	All cars that year	Average mileage
2019	8,321	86%	86%	29,900 mi
2018	12,982	81%	84%	38,400 mi
2017	13,584	79%	82%	49,100 mi
2016	15,425	75%	79%	59,100 mi
2015	15,675	70%	75%	71,200 mi
2014	16,294	69%	72%	81,000 mi
2013	11,403	68%	68%	92,900 mi
2012	2,384	66%	66%	100,000 mi
2004	982	45%	56%	123,900 mi
2003	1,182	48%	57%	124,000 mi
2002	824	51%	58%	122,800 mi
2001	607	54%	59%	117,900 mi
2000	355	51%	61%	110,900 mi
1999	223	51%	63%	107,700 mi
1998	113	46%	64%	105,400 mi
1997	100	50%	64%	104,300 mi

Why they fail

Share of all first tests that ended in a fail because of each part of the car (one test can fail on several).

Area	V40	All cars, same ages
Suspension	9.8%	5.9%
Tyres	7.8%	6.1%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	6.4%	7.8%
Brakes	5.3%	5.0%
Visibility	2.8%	4.1%
Noise, emissions and leaks	2.5%	2.1%
Body, chassis, structure	1.9%	1.9%
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems	0.6%	0.6%

DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 (Department for Transport) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · first tests of cars only; a fix made at the test station within the hour still counts as a fail

New registrations in Europe

474,889 new Volvo V40 cars registered in the EU, Norway and Iceland between 2010 and 2022, from the European Environment Agency's CO₂ monitoring of every new car. In 2022 the largest markets were Spain (1).

Year	New cars	Largest markets	Mass kg	CO₂ g/km	Power kW
2022	1	Spain	1,391	89 (WLTP)	88
2021	13	Sweden, Romania, Poland	1,445	150 (WLTP)	108
2020	1,824	Netherlands, Finland, France	1,452	153 (WLTP)	101
2019	38,243	United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands	1,450	151 (WLTP)	100
2018	54,224	United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy	1,473	149 (WLTP)	100
2017	66,773	United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany	1,489	111 (NEDC)	107
2016	71,850	United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy	1,496	—	110
2015	78,171	United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden	1,493	—	108
2014	75,481	United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden	1,484	—	107
2013	68,203	United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden	1,512	—	108
2012	20,098	Sweden, Netherlands, United Kingdom	1,507	—	111
2011	2	United Kingdom, Spain	1,620	—	—
2010	6	Spain, United Kingdom	1,631	—	—

Averages are weighted by registrations; CO₂ is the type-approval value (NEDC until the WLTP switch). European Environment Agency, CO₂ emissions from new passenger cars · re-use permitted with acknowledgement

EU safety alerts

Safety Gate, the European Union's rapid alert system, names the V40 in 11 alerts. European versions can differ from the North American car.

A12/01063/20 · Fire24 Jul 2020 · S80, S60, V70, XC70, S60cc, V60, XC60, V60cc, V40, V40cc

Air bubbles may remain in the engine cooling system when filling coolant. This can cause insufficient cooling and damage the engine, increasing the risk of fire in the engine compartment.

A12/01056/20 · Fire17 Jul 2020 · S80, S60, V70, XC70, S60cc, V60, XC60, V60cc, V40, V40cc

Air bubbles may remain in the engine's cooling system after filling with coolant.Consequently, the cooling of the engine might be impaired, causing the engine to overheat, leading to its damage or even to fire.

A12/00538/20 · Fire, Injuries10 Apr 2020 · S60, V60, V70, V40 and V40CC

Excessive carbon deposits could build up in the intake system of the engine.Consequently, the temperature of the intake air could rise, causing the engine's intake manifold to melt and deform. This could lead to the engine to stall, increasing the risk of acci…

A12/00539/20 · Fire, Injuries10 Apr 2020 · S60, V60, V70, V40 and V40CC

A12/00028/19 · Fire20 Dec 2019 · S80, V70, XC70, S60, S60CC, V60, V60CC, XC60, V40 and V40CC

Excessive carbon deposits could build up in the intake system of the engine.Additionally, the intake valve could leak.Consequently, the temperature of the intake air could rise, causing the engine intake manifold to melt and deform. This could lead to the engi…

A12/00032/19 · Fire, Injuries20 Dec 2019 · S80, V70, XC70, S60, S60CC, V60, V60CC, XC60, V40 and V40CC

Excessive carbon deposits could build up in the intake system of the engine. Consequently, the temperature of the intake air could rise, causing the engine's intake manifold to melt and deform. This could lead to the engine to stop, increasing the risk of acci…

A12/1953/19 · Fire13 Dec 2019 · S60, V60, V40, V40CC, S90, V90, V90CC and XC90

Due to an excessive build-up of carbon deposits in the intake system, the plastic engine intake manifold may melt and deform. As a result, a localized engine bay fire may occur.

A12/1597/19 · Fire, Injuries25 Oct 2019 · V40, V40CC, V60, S60

Excessive carbon deposits could build up in the intake system of the engine. Additionally, the intake valve could leak. Consequently, the temperature of the intake air could rise, causing the engine intake manifold to melt and deform. This could lead to the en…

A12/0522/19 · Fire29 Mar 2019 · S60(CC), S80, V40(CC), V60(CC), V70, XC60/70/90

Cracks in the fuel hose may cause fuel to leak into the engine compartment. This may consequently lead to a fire.

A12/0020/17 · Injuries13 Jan 2017 · V40, V40CC, S60, S60CC, V60, V60CC, XC60, S90, V90, XC90

Due to a problem with the airbag inflators, the airbags may fail to deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the occupants.

A12/0977/16 · Injuries12 Aug 2016 · XC70, V60, XC60, V60CC, V40, V40CC

Owing to a faulty gas generator, the driver airbag may only partially deploy in the event of a road accident leading to an increased risk of injury for the driver.

Safety Gate (European Commission) · CC0

Recalls

5 campaigns cover the V40.

04V493000 · Service brakes, hydraulic14 Oct 2004 · 2004

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE NON-RETURN VALVE MAY CRACK DUE TO A POOR WELD CAUSING A VACUUM LEAK.

03V474000 · Service brakes, hydraulic17 Nov 2003 · 2000

ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, WATER CAN ENTER THE ELECTRICAL BRAKE VACUUM PUMP, CAUSING THE PUMP TO FAIL.

03V424000 · Fuel system, gasoline24 Oct 2003 · 2003, 2004

ON CERTAIN SEDANS AND STATION WAGONS, THERE MAY BE A FUEL LEAK FROM THE FUEL RAIL DUE TO INADEQUATE WELDING.

03V284000 · Equipment1 Aug 2003 · 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

CERTAIN PASSENGER CARS FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 225, "CHILD RESTRAINT ANCHORAGE SYSTEMS." THE SECOND ISOFIX GUIDE WAS NOT INSTALLED IN THESE VEHICLES AND, IN CERTAIN CASES, THE OWNER'S MANUAL ISOFIX INFORMATION IS INCORRECT.

01V169000 · Equipment21 May 2001 · 2001

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: SEDAN AND WAGON PASSENGER VEHICLES. A DIODE IN THE ELECTRONIC CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM MAY HAVE A REDUCED SERVICE LIFE.

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Volvo V40

Complaints by model year

New York safety inspections

Year by year

Most common problems

Fuel consumption by year

In New Zealand

In the Netherlands

In Finland

Road collisions in Great Britain

In the United Kingdom

MOT test results in Great Britain

Why they fail

New registrations in Europe

EU safety alerts

Recalls