2006 Volvo S40 2.0D
Discussion
Boring car thread but it's got to the point where I'm struggling to remember what I've done to the car and what I've just thought about doing, so this will serve as a log if nothing else as I don't imagine many people will be interested in hearing about an old, high mileage (but not high enough to be interesting), diesel (not-the-5-cylinder) Volvo.
The below has been copy/pasted from the Volvo Forums with slight edits to make it make sense 3 years later.
I bought the car in early January 2017 to replace my '00 1.2 Clio that I'd owned for 3 years and ~30,000 trouble free miles. Most of my driving was on the motorway, and with a planned trip to the south of France mid-2017 I felt an upgrade to a bigger, more comfortable car was needed.
Here she is in the photo from the ad:
And then a little dirtier after I'd brought her home:
I managed around 6 weeks before before I hit my first issue.
We were about to start packing the car to to go away for the weekend with the other half's parents when the boot lid suddenly wouldn't open. Perfect timing! We got through the weekend, packing and unpacking through folded rear seats and booked her in at the local Volvo specialist for the following week. There was also an intermittent 'Engine System Service Required' message popping up, so I asked them to have a look at that too.
After borrowing a V40 T2 for an evening and a day, I was ~£500 lighter after a new boot wiring harness and a new EGR valve. I have to note that I wasn't impressed with the V40. Even considering it was base spec. it didn't feel as solid, or well put together as the S40, and the T2 engine wasn't particularly smooth. *2020 update*: In hindsight I was probably just in the honeymoon period with my new car, I've been in a few more recently and they seem fine.
Another 6 weeks later I noticed a drone from the front near side, which sounded suspiciously like a wheel bearing. I booked her in to the same garage once again, along with a cam belt change as there was no record of it being changed, and the car was now over 11 years old, if only having covered ~95,000 miles (belt interval on these is 144,000).
After borrowing another V40 (identical in all but the colour), and coming to the same conclusion, I was another ~£500 lighter.
I then managed to enjoy the car fully, for quite some time. I replaced all 4 tyres with Dunlop SportMaxx RT2's, the difference was night and day between these and the mismatch that were on before!
Until mid-June 2017 when I had to use my breakdown cover for the first time ever.
When I pulled up to the tolls as I was crossing the severn bridge and opened my window, I noticed a very strong smell of diesel. Putting it down to being surrounded by lorries and old white vans I carried on. The car ran fine and still pulled strong. As I stopped at a roundabout shortly after I could see smoke/steam (I wasn't sure) rising from the offside front quarter of the car. My initial thought was that I had a stuck break calliper and so I opened the window and coasted off the roundabout onto a quiet industrial estate.
By this point I could see that the smoke was rising through the crack between the bonnet and the front quarter panel. I gingerly opened the bonnet, to discover a normal amount of heat radiating from the engine, and smoke seeping out from underneith the engine cover.
After 1-2 minutes the smoke stopped, I started the engine and with a couple of stabs of the throttle the smoke reappeared. When I removed the engine cover, I found this:
The engine bay was covered in diesel, and I didn't have anything that would cut the tube to make the end straight, ready to reattach, so I had to call the RAC.
They took an hour to arrive, and I was back up and running within 20 minutes.
She then had to carry all my things back from University, so roof bars and a bike carrier were purchased:
That brings us to*June 2017*. She needs another wheel bearing (nearside rear this time) and we're due to leave for France in just under 2 weeks so we'll see how she copes with that trip!
The below has been copy/pasted from the Volvo Forums with slight edits to make it make sense 3 years later.
I bought the car in early January 2017 to replace my '00 1.2 Clio that I'd owned for 3 years and ~30,000 trouble free miles. Most of my driving was on the motorway, and with a planned trip to the south of France mid-2017 I felt an upgrade to a bigger, more comfortable car was needed.
Here she is in the photo from the ad:
And then a little dirtier after I'd brought her home:
I managed around 6 weeks before before I hit my first issue.
We were about to start packing the car to to go away for the weekend with the other half's parents when the boot lid suddenly wouldn't open. Perfect timing! We got through the weekend, packing and unpacking through folded rear seats and booked her in at the local Volvo specialist for the following week. There was also an intermittent 'Engine System Service Required' message popping up, so I asked them to have a look at that too.
After borrowing a V40 T2 for an evening and a day, I was ~£500 lighter after a new boot wiring harness and a new EGR valve. I have to note that I wasn't impressed with the V40. Even considering it was base spec. it didn't feel as solid, or well put together as the S40, and the T2 engine wasn't particularly smooth. *2020 update*: In hindsight I was probably just in the honeymoon period with my new car, I've been in a few more recently and they seem fine.
Another 6 weeks later I noticed a drone from the front near side, which sounded suspiciously like a wheel bearing. I booked her in to the same garage once again, along with a cam belt change as there was no record of it being changed, and the car was now over 11 years old, if only having covered ~95,000 miles (belt interval on these is 144,000).
After borrowing another V40 (identical in all but the colour), and coming to the same conclusion, I was another ~£500 lighter.
I then managed to enjoy the car fully, for quite some time. I replaced all 4 tyres with Dunlop SportMaxx RT2's, the difference was night and day between these and the mismatch that were on before!
Until mid-June 2017 when I had to use my breakdown cover for the first time ever.
When I pulled up to the tolls as I was crossing the severn bridge and opened my window, I noticed a very strong smell of diesel. Putting it down to being surrounded by lorries and old white vans I carried on. The car ran fine and still pulled strong. As I stopped at a roundabout shortly after I could see smoke/steam (I wasn't sure) rising from the offside front quarter of the car. My initial thought was that I had a stuck break calliper and so I opened the window and coasted off the roundabout onto a quiet industrial estate.
By this point I could see that the smoke was rising through the crack between the bonnet and the front quarter panel. I gingerly opened the bonnet, to discover a normal amount of heat radiating from the engine, and smoke seeping out from underneith the engine cover.
After 1-2 minutes the smoke stopped, I started the engine and with a couple of stabs of the throttle the smoke reappeared. When I removed the engine cover, I found this:
The engine bay was covered in diesel, and I didn't have anything that would cut the tube to make the end straight, ready to reattach, so I had to call the RAC.
They took an hour to arrive, and I was back up and running within 20 minutes.
She then had to carry all my things back from University, so roof bars and a bike carrier were purchased:
That brings us to*June 2017*. She needs another wheel bearing (nearside rear this time) and we're due to leave for France in just under 2 weeks so we'll see how she copes with that trip!
Our trip to France started off well, we managed to fit everything in the boot (just!).
About 2 hours into our trip (and too late to turn back!) I realised I had left the car jack on the drive at home (used it for another car project!) so for the rest of the trip I winced at every pothole and gravel road in fear of getting a flat and having to wait for breakdown!
Waiting being a lovely V70 while we queued for the ferry!
We had a very relaxing trip down to the south coast, stopping overnight in Reims. The car performed brilliantly, didn't faulter when an autoroute turned into a car park for 2 hours in 37 degrees of heat. I've never been so thankful for air conditioning! The way the heat hit you as you opened a window to pay a toll was incredible!
The only issue was the alarm kept going off, at seemily random times when the car was left. This becomes a feature throughout the holiday!
Here she is parked up for the night after a 10+ hour drive from Reims.
The next few days of the holiday were very uneventful in terms of the car, we found a very enjoyable twisty back road to play on most days. It was cheaper than the autoroute, but I'm pretty sure we burnt through enough fuel to close the gap.
Looking a little dirtier now though!
Our trip to Monaco later in the week was where it started to get eventful again though!
Damn. Well not quite what I said, but you get the idea
"A small mishap" as the other half decided to call it.
Our "mishap" was with a silver 3 series on the A8. I managed to pull out to overtake a slow moving van and then *crunch*.
The car took it very well, no rebound or loss of control. Just 90 minutes of standing at the side of the road trying to work out the french insurance forms that have to be filled out there and then.
We then drove on up to the next service station, had lunch and rang our insurance.
With my pride in tatters we carried on our day without any trouble.
On the way back up through France we stopped off at Lac de Vassiviere for 3 nights, no more problems with the car other than the alarm.
As you can imagine, we went through a lot of washer fluid this trip!
And that's where the photos end. She got us home safe and even with a mega drive from the lake to the UK (of course the M3 junction we wanted was closed!) you feel well rested when you get out of the car again!
As for the alarm, we figured out the Mobile WiFi box we sometimes left in the glovebox interfered with the sensors, problem solved!
She then went into the bodyshop to have a new wing mirror and various dents pulled out. In the mean time, I was stuck with this:
Once I got her back, she went in for a new wishbone as the passenger side one had deteriorated badly. Another ~£200 spent!
About 2 hours into our trip (and too late to turn back!) I realised I had left the car jack on the drive at home (used it for another car project!) so for the rest of the trip I winced at every pothole and gravel road in fear of getting a flat and having to wait for breakdown!
Waiting being a lovely V70 while we queued for the ferry!
We had a very relaxing trip down to the south coast, stopping overnight in Reims. The car performed brilliantly, didn't faulter when an autoroute turned into a car park for 2 hours in 37 degrees of heat. I've never been so thankful for air conditioning! The way the heat hit you as you opened a window to pay a toll was incredible!
The only issue was the alarm kept going off, at seemily random times when the car was left. This becomes a feature throughout the holiday!
Here she is parked up for the night after a 10+ hour drive from Reims.
The next few days of the holiday were very uneventful in terms of the car, we found a very enjoyable twisty back road to play on most days. It was cheaper than the autoroute, but I'm pretty sure we burnt through enough fuel to close the gap.
Looking a little dirtier now though!
Our trip to Monaco later in the week was where it started to get eventful again though!
Damn. Well not quite what I said, but you get the idea
"A small mishap" as the other half decided to call it.
Our "mishap" was with a silver 3 series on the A8. I managed to pull out to overtake a slow moving van and then *crunch*.
The car took it very well, no rebound or loss of control. Just 90 minutes of standing at the side of the road trying to work out the french insurance forms that have to be filled out there and then.
We then drove on up to the next service station, had lunch and rang our insurance.
With my pride in tatters we carried on our day without any trouble.
On the way back up through France we stopped off at Lac de Vassiviere for 3 nights, no more problems with the car other than the alarm.
As you can imagine, we went through a lot of washer fluid this trip!
And that's where the photos end. She got us home safe and even with a mega drive from the lake to the UK (of course the M3 junction we wanted was closed!) you feel well rested when you get out of the car again!
As for the alarm, we figured out the Mobile WiFi box we sometimes left in the glovebox interfered with the sensors, problem solved!
She then went into the bodyshop to have a new wing mirror and various dents pulled out. In the mean time, I was stuck with this:
Once I got her back, she went in for a new wishbone as the passenger side one had deteriorated badly. Another ~£200 spent!
Another £500 thrown at the car in Feb 2018 when it left me stranded when visiting my parents. The steering lock jammed and needed drilling out before a new one was put in.
She also had a new shock absorber fitted as the old one was shot. It's totally transformed the way the car drove though.
She also had a new shock absorber fitted as the old one was shot. It's totally transformed the way the car drove though.
More problems! I don't think I've driven this car for more than a couple of weeks without something going wrong!
After accelerating quickly out of a short slip road on the M4, I pressed 'cruise' on the steering wheel and 'Engine System Service Required' popped up on the DIM. The car then went into limp mode. The message dissapeared about a minute later, but limp mode persisted.
I limped it to the local specialist and they read the fault codes as the DPF being blocked. Damn.
I was a little surprised as the previous 800 miles have been motorway miles, and I haven't had 'Soot filter full' or anything similar, like I was expecting. Since leaving the garage, the car has performed normally, without any messages.
DPF was replaced at a cost of around £700, then we had around 12 months of trouble free motoring.
Took her to the Alps over Christmas 2018 where she did very well! Bought a set of 16" alloys and went with Goodyear UltraGrips 9's for the trip which performed brilliantly.
Not many photos this trip as we went down all in one leg, left the car in a car park for a week, then drove back!
We had a bit of trouble starting her at the end of the week, I get the feeling the glow plugs aren't functioning as they should! However, it did show that the original battery is still okay! :tounge_smile:
Quick note on 16" vs. 17" alloys: After switching to the 16s I noticed the car immediately felt more boat-like, however the ride comfort increased dramatically.
I switched back to the 17s in early April and noticed a vibration at motorway speeds which wasn't there with the 16s, after having them all balanced with no luck, I used it as an excuse to buy a slightly prettier set of alloys and 4 new tyres!
Went with Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance this time, mainly due to needing some tyres quickly and these being in stock, but partly because I read they were 'comfy' tyres. We've now got an '07 Mini Hatch on the driveway, which has taken over all the 'fun' driving, so the focus of this car is more long motorway runs!
Another trip to France planned in July 2019 which will help rack up the miles (almost 138,000 now!).
Oh, I almost forgot! Had a little run in with the locking wheel nuts when I changed my alloys over!
Bloody things!
After accelerating quickly out of a short slip road on the M4, I pressed 'cruise' on the steering wheel and 'Engine System Service Required' popped up on the DIM. The car then went into limp mode. The message dissapeared about a minute later, but limp mode persisted.
I limped it to the local specialist and they read the fault codes as the DPF being blocked. Damn.
I was a little surprised as the previous 800 miles have been motorway miles, and I haven't had 'Soot filter full' or anything similar, like I was expecting. Since leaving the garage, the car has performed normally, without any messages.
DPF was replaced at a cost of around £700, then we had around 12 months of trouble free motoring.
Took her to the Alps over Christmas 2018 where she did very well! Bought a set of 16" alloys and went with Goodyear UltraGrips 9's for the trip which performed brilliantly.
Not many photos this trip as we went down all in one leg, left the car in a car park for a week, then drove back!
We had a bit of trouble starting her at the end of the week, I get the feeling the glow plugs aren't functioning as they should! However, it did show that the original battery is still okay! :tounge_smile:
Quick note on 16" vs. 17" alloys: After switching to the 16s I noticed the car immediately felt more boat-like, however the ride comfort increased dramatically.
I switched back to the 17s in early April and noticed a vibration at motorway speeds which wasn't there with the 16s, after having them all balanced with no luck, I used it as an excuse to buy a slightly prettier set of alloys and 4 new tyres!
Went with Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance this time, mainly due to needing some tyres quickly and these being in stock, but partly because I read they were 'comfy' tyres. We've now got an '07 Mini Hatch on the driveway, which has taken over all the 'fun' driving, so the focus of this car is more long motorway runs!
Another trip to France planned in July 2019 which will help rack up the miles (almost 138,000 now!).
Oh, I almost forgot! Had a little run in with the locking wheel nuts when I changed my alloys over!
Bloody things!
poolcued said:
I've always liked this shape Volvo. The proportions just seem right. Thanks for posting.
There are definitely a few angles where the proportions look a little off, but overall I think it's a hansom car. What I love is that it doesn't appear on anybody's radar. I've owned the car for 3.5 years and nobody has ever commented on it (positive or negative) unprompted. Most people just seem to see it as a car, with no opinion on it whatsoever, which is just fine by me!
The diesel leak turned out not to be fuel at all, it was... power steering fluid.
Took it down to my local Volvo specialists and crossed my fingers for a split hose. Of course it wasn't. The rack had failed.
They advised me to try some stop leak as I wouldn't want to hear the quote for replacing the rack with the a genuine Volvo one, and they've had too many issues with aftermarket ones to be happy to use them.
As expected this didn't work. So I bought a new car: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
That generation of Honda Accord is genuinely a very good car, well put together and a lovely drivetrain. For some reason I just didn't gel with it though.
Then Lockdown happened and I suddenly had every weekend free for the foreseeable, so I bought a reconditioned steering rack on eBay for £130. Surprisingly easy to change, removed the old rack one Saturday afternoon and put the new one in the following Saturday afternoon. Plus it hasn't leaked...yet.
Quick wheel alignment as my guess wasn't quite right:
A quick oil change (up to 150k at this point) & a wash and she was back in action:
Took it down to my local Volvo specialists and crossed my fingers for a split hose. Of course it wasn't. The rack had failed.
They advised me to try some stop leak as I wouldn't want to hear the quote for replacing the rack with the a genuine Volvo one, and they've had too many issues with aftermarket ones to be happy to use them.
As expected this didn't work. So I bought a new car: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
That generation of Honda Accord is genuinely a very good car, well put together and a lovely drivetrain. For some reason I just didn't gel with it though.
Then Lockdown happened and I suddenly had every weekend free for the foreseeable, so I bought a reconditioned steering rack on eBay for £130. Surprisingly easy to change, removed the old rack one Saturday afternoon and put the new one in the following Saturday afternoon. Plus it hasn't leaked...yet.
Quick wheel alignment as my guess wasn't quite right:
A quick oil change (up to 150k at this point) & a wash and she was back in action:
New discs all round were next after some pulsing under braking started. The fronts were done DIY but the rears ended up being done professionally due to time constraints.
Since then she's had some use as a tow vehicle for our small boat:
And then for something slightly larger after a last minute purchase to stop our camping holiday from being rained off:
She's a decent tow car, enough power for all but the steepest hills the Welsh countryside has to offer and even then a downshift was all that was needed.
Since then she's had some use as a tow vehicle for our small boat:
And then for something slightly larger after a last minute purchase to stop our camping holiday from being rained off:
She's a decent tow car, enough power for all but the steepest hills the Welsh countryside has to offer and even then a downshift was all that was needed.
For the love of god please don't add up these costs for me, I'm aware I could have got something much better/newer, or something wonderful from the Barge thread but it's a bit late for that now. Plus I've become kind of attached to the impractical, unrefined, not very efficient old girl.
XRMike said:
Very enjoyable read. We have a V50 ourselves and an accord 2.2 cdti.
Have you considered having it remapped to gain more torque for towing? Our accord has responded well to a tune.
That Honda 2.2 diesel is a nice engine, my Mum has one in her Civic. Not a particularly quiet engine but seems very well mannered. Have you considered having it remapped to gain more torque for towing? Our accord has responded well to a tune.
I'm completely on the fence regarding a remap. One half of me would love one, not just for the extra power/torque, but for the better power delivery and fewer flat spots. The other half of me knows I'd be kicking myself if we're stuck on the side of the M1 with the caravan due to one of the 150k+ driveshafts blowing, all because I wanted a bit more power! It very well may happen, but for now there's a knock developing in the front suspension which needs my attention first!
The knock turned out to be the ball joint on the inner track rod.
https://imgur.com/a/AgIGWbI
Slightly frustrating as they were new with the steering rack. The company were quick to offer a replacement inner tie rod but I'd already ordered a Lemforder one from AutoDoc by then and proceeded to completely forget to reply to their email...
I managed to butcher the outer tie rod during the replacement so the car was off the road for a fortnight while I waited for the parts.
The wheel bearing on that corner failed immediately after this
£200 at the local specialist and she is (finally) back up and running. Just in time for our other car to be written off so the miles are piling on again.
I treated her to a new battery this week too. Went for a Bosch S5, (bought from Tayna for £30 less than ECP could do) which seems to have solved a few electrical gremlins I had, which is nice.
https://imgur.com/a/AgIGWbI
Slightly frustrating as they were new with the steering rack. The company were quick to offer a replacement inner tie rod but I'd already ordered a Lemforder one from AutoDoc by then and proceeded to completely forget to reply to their email...
I managed to butcher the outer tie rod during the replacement so the car was off the road for a fortnight while I waited for the parts.
The wheel bearing on that corner failed immediately after this
£200 at the local specialist and she is (finally) back up and running. Just in time for our other car to be written off so the miles are piling on again. I treated her to a new battery this week too. Went for a Bosch S5, (bought from Tayna for £30 less than ECP could do) which seems to have solved a few electrical gremlins I had, which is nice.
Always liked the look of these, nicely proportioned car and must go quite nicely with the 2.0 lump.
Based on the Focus platform aren't they? Hence they drive very well.
As someone who has inflicted a few similar age Mondeos on himself a lot of those problems kind of come with the territory with older diesels and erm Fords.
The crappy steering racks is definitely a Ford influence!
I wouldn't worry too much about the cash put into it, you have done quite a few miles in it....
Based on the Focus platform aren't they? Hence they drive very well.
As someone who has inflicted a few similar age Mondeos on himself a lot of those problems kind of come with the territory with older diesels and erm Fords.
The crappy steering racks is definitely a Ford influence!
I wouldn't worry too much about the cash put into it, you have done quite a few miles in it....
Quhet said:
I enjoyed reading this as a distraction from the work I should be doing....It doesn't look like you've had much luck with this car OP, issue after issue it seems
Thanks 
It's had it's fair share of issues, but I find myself making excuses for it each time, so it's sticking around for now.
bungz said:
Always liked the look of these, nicely proportioned car and must go quite nicely with the 2.0 lump.
Based on the Focus platform aren't they? Hence they drive very well.
As someone who has inflicted a few similar age Mondeos on himself a lot of those problems kind of come with the territory with older diesels and erm Fords.
The crappy steering racks is definitely a Ford influence!
I wouldn't worry too much about the cash put into it, you have done quite a few miles in it....
Yeah, the focus platform has it's issues with suspension wear and tear, but it does drive well. Not sure if the Volvos have softer springs than the Fords, but this setup is a really good balance between comfort and sportiness I think. With a good set of tyres it's quite surprising how much fun you can have on B-roads, let down only by the engine. I'm sure with the T5 it would be a blast!Based on the Focus platform aren't they? Hence they drive very well.
As someone who has inflicted a few similar age Mondeos on himself a lot of those problems kind of come with the territory with older diesels and erm Fords.
The crappy steering racks is definitely a Ford influence!
I wouldn't worry too much about the cash put into it, you have done quite a few miles in it....
ekulluke said:
Nice write up. Glad you’re getting the use out of it. How’s the mileage looking now?
Mileage just over 156,000 now. It's creeping up with about 200mi of commuting a week but with the lack of regular trips up and down the country to visit family and no continental trips planned it doesn't look like it's going to get the 20k a year it's used to. Then again the towing duties it's being subjected to probably make up for that on the wear and tear front.It wasn't until we were towing the caravan around the welsh countryside this year that I realised how much I was asking of the car. Realistically it's never seen wide open throttle, in boost, for more than 30 seconds or so. If you boot it in 5th at 40, you'll be in license losing territory within 40 seconds (I realise this isn't unusual or particularly fast). However, hang 1200kg off the back and you can sit at WOT in 4th at 2.5k for minutes on end on long motorway hills. Maybe it's a nice thought to think the engine has never really been worked. Then again I'm now asking it to work harder than it ever has, and she's getting on a bit!
The new battery has made a huge difference to the starting of the car. Hadn't realised it was better than the original, even when new. 700CCA vs 800CCA.
vs.
New just the tracking to sort. After replacing the inner tie rod I guessed the tracking as the new one was slightly shorter than the old one. It's very close, but there's some wondering at speed, which gets old very quickly.
One front shock needs changing before the MOT in December so I'll likely do springs, shocks and top mounts both sides. Maybe I'll cheap out and wait to do the tracking until after that to save £20...
vs.
New just the tracking to sort. After replacing the inner tie rod I guessed the tracking as the new one was slightly shorter than the old one. It's very close, but there's some wondering at speed, which gets old very quickly.
One front shock needs changing before the MOT in December so I'll likely do springs, shocks and top mounts both sides. Maybe I'll cheap out and wait to do the tracking until after that to save £20...
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