2002 Volvo S40

TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 VOLVO S40. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINEWAS IDLING HIGH. VOLVO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. THE RPM SURGE OCCURRED FREQUENTLY WHEN THE CONTACTWAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON PERIODICALLY. THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS FAILURE ON ALL VOLVO MODELS, BUT NOT FOR THE 240 MODEL. *AK

I PURCHASED A 2002 VOLVO S40 WHICH FROM THE DEALERSHIP IN JUNE 2002. IT WAS MY FIRST NEW CAR. ABOUT A YEAR AND HALF AGO, WITHOUT A WARNING LIGHT -COMING ON TO ALERT ME OF AN IMPENDING PROBLEM, THE CAR BEGAN EMITTING HEAVY BLACK SMOKE FROM THE EXHAUST SYSTEM. THE CAR HAD GONE THROUGH AN OIL CHANGE JUST 200 MILES BEFORE. WHEN THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY INFORMED ME THAT DUE TO MY WAITING TOO LONG TO CHANGE OIL, THE TURBO FAILED AND OIL MAY HAVE GOTTEN INTO THE ENGINE, MAKING IT NECESSARY FOR ME TO REPLACE THE ENGINE AND THE TURBO. THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO HONOR THE WARRANTY AND INSISTED THAT I SPEND A $3000-$6000 FOR THE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT AFTER SOME DISCUSSION, THE DEALERSHIP PROPOSED CLEANING THE ENGINE AND REPLACING THE TURBO AS AN ALTERNATIVE. AS THE PRICE WAS EXORBITANT, I TOOK THE CAR TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP WHICH PERFORMED THE TURBO REPLACEMENT AND ENGINE CLEAN-UP, CHANGING THE OIL AND COOLANT. THE CAR RAN FINE WITHOUT A PROBLEM UNTIL 11/26/05 WHEN THE ENGINE, AT 57,000 MILES BUT OUT OF WARRANTY, BEGAN EMITTING WHITE SMOKE AT THE FRONT AND REAR OF THE CAR. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR TO A REPUTABLE REPAIR SHOP WHICH DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS A TURBO FAILURE (FAILURE #2). THE ENGINE WAS CLEANED AS BEST THE SHOP COULD AND THE TURBO REPLACED AT SUBSTANTIAL EXPENSE. WHEN THE REPAIR WAS COMPLETED, I DROVE THE CAR 200 MILES TO BRING IT HOME WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE NEXT MORNING IT BEGAN TO MAKE ODD NOISES. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED REPLACEMENT AND THE TURBO HAD BROKEN (FAILURE #3)--PRICE TAG $6600. I AM CONVINCED THAT I WAS SOLD A DEFECTIVE S40 AT THE OUTSET,AND THE PROBLEMS I'VE EXPERIENCED I RELATE TO THE DEALERS UNWILLINGNESS TO HONOR THE WARRANTY WHEN IT WAS STILL ALIVE AND FIX THE DEFECTIVE ENGINE/TURBO ON A NEW CAR. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER VOLVO, AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT ANYONE ELSE BUY ONE . *JB

VEHICLE BEING REPORTED IS A 2002 VOLVO S40 SEDAN. TRAVELING ON US ROUTE 13 SOUTH OF DOVER, DE. AND SLOWED DOWN FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT IN MEDIUM TRAFFIC FROM A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH. VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING DURING DECELERATION. VEHICLE RESTARTED WITH SOME EFFORT. AT NEXT LIGHT, SITUATION REPEATED ITSELF - VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING DURING DECELERATION. PLACED TRANSMISSION IN NEUTRAL TO COAST WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RESTART. VEHICLE RESTARTED ONLY WHEN ACCELERATOR WAS PARTIALLY DEPRESSED CAUSING ENGINE TO REV UP. VEHICLE CONTINUED TO STALL WHEN SPEED DROPPED TO APPROXIMATELY 25-30 MPH UNLESS THE ACCELERATOR WAS DEPRESSED TO MAINTAIN ENGINE RPM WHILE BRAKES WERE BEING APPLIED TO SLOW VEHICLE DOWN. CRITICAL SITUATION TRAVELING IN AREA WITH LOW SPEED LIMITS AND TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES SUCH AS STOP SIGNS AND TRAFFIC LIGHTS. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LOCAL VOLVO DEALER WHO DETERMINED THAT A DEVICE THAT CONTROLS THE AIR GOING INTO THE ENGINE WAS AT FAULT. REPAIRS WERE MADE AT A TOTAL COST OF $600. *JB