Life with a Volvo S40: Latest Problem

J77

Bought an 06 2.0D SE Volvo S40 (120k KM on clock) in January. Ran perfectly up until July (just after dealer warranty ran out). Since then I have had a few problems with it, none of which were particularly simple including failure to start which was quite difficult to diagnose and took 2 FBD breakdown assist call outs, 2 garages and about a week to get sorted. The latest problems are as follows, I would much appreciate any suggestions as to what may be wrong and how to fix it!

1. Occasional knocking feeling on the clutch pedal which is coupled with a loud clattering noise. It feels like the clutch is scraping off something.

2. A loudish noise when I press the accelerator. Sounds similar to turning on a power hose. The noise is the same regardless of position in the rev range. This might be connected to the release bearing needing to be changed.

3. Yesterday a new problem arose. A vibrating when accelerating in the car which can particularly be felt through the gear stick.

Theres also a bit of a squeak when I break while reversing from the rear of the car but I presume the back break pads just need to be changed to solve that.


Was hoping I would have more success with this car. I have now done 20k KM with it and it was trouble free up to 18k. I do quite a bit of driving and the whole reason I bought it was I believed it was a solid compact exec that could do me for 4 years reasonably trouble free but it's not looking so good!

Thanks for any suggestions!

Mr Benevolent

Problems 1 and 3 sound very much like a failing dual mass flywheel. I read way too much about this stuff. Unemployment is a pain in the arse.

R.O.R

Confab wrote: »

Problems 1 and 3 sound very much like a failing dual mass flywheel. I read way too much about this stuff. Unemployment is a pain in the arse.

Would problem 2 be connected to a failing DMF too?

Mr Benevolent

R.O.R wrote: »

Would problem 2 be connected to a failing DMF too?

You could be right there. OP, best to bring it to a good independent garage.

PS: Does any one have a job they could employ me to do? I'd clean toilets at this stage. 15 months off work is no joke. Anyway, back on topic.

Knocking through the clutch pedal is 100% DMF unfortunately.

J77

Break it to me gently guys, how much will it cost me?

Confab wrote: »

PS: Does any one have a job they could employ me to do? I'd clean toilets at this stage. 15 months off work is no joke. Anyway, back on topic.

If my car is anything to go by starting a volvo specialist garage may be surprisingly lucrative!

Mr Benevolent

J77 wrote: »

Break it to me gently guys, how much will it cost me?


If my car is anything to go by starting a volvo specialist garage may be surprisingly lucrative!

If you get it done down here it'll be over 1k as the clutch is usually done at the same time. You'll get it done cheaper in the North.

That's a good idea about the specialist Volvo garage actually, they don't seem to be that reliable at all. That's even more surprising considering the Fords they're based on are usually quite reliable.

J77

I figured that's what I'd be hearing. Was hoping this car would be one I would love but it's looking like it will be my first and last volvo. The annoying thing is with these extra costs thrown on to the original price of the car I'm not far off an Audi A4 which is what I actually wanted.

I've got the NCT friday, is it likely to fail if it is the DMF? Will the DMF eventually become worse or break completely?

Mr Benevolent

J77 wrote: »

I've got the NCT friday, is it likely to fail if it is the DMF? Will the DMF eventually become worse or break completely?

Hard to tell if it'll fail the NCT. Yes it will break eventually and immobilise the car.

keithclancy

Everyone says DMF ... Not always the case.

I have a V50, the Dog owners version of the S40.

If anything its a terribly designed (Thanks Ford) The symptoms your describe could mean anything to be honest and you need to get it into a shop with a rolling road to diagnose.

By any chance were the breakdowns Electrically related, i.e. the cable came loose from the cabin fusebox and the whole f*cking thing went dead ... ?

Noises are hard to express in a post, so some things you can check yourself.

1. Jack up the car and turn each wheel individually, if theres more resistance + noise on turning the wheel it means either the rotor is warped or filthy, you can sort this yourself with some methalated spirits and a wire brush, or some new rotors.

2. While its jacked up, check for any bushing wear (rubber seals on the suspension)

3. If your up to it, take off the bottom cover and have a look to see if anything has some loose, pay special attention to the thermal cover that can knock off some stuff and give feedback through the clutch.

4. Check the engine mounts to see if any rubbers are perished.

5. Theres lots of parts in the transmission, a failed bearing can cause the symptoms your talking about, its not always the DMF

Failing that get it into a garage with a rolling road, any other mechanic will be a waste of time imo as I'll guess the issues you have only occur when the engine is under some load.

If it is he DMF expect to pay around 1400 euros for the parts + labour and around 1700 euros from Volvo.

You can buy a DMF + Clutch kit from the UK for about 600 sterling and find someone you know locally to fit it.

J77

Confab wrote: »

Hard to tell if it'll fail the NCT. Yes it will break eventually and immobilise the car.

Fantastic! Is this something that would be extremely dangerous if it happened while driving? How long do you think I have roughly?

keithclancy

keithclancy wrote: »

Everyone says DMF ... Not always the case.

..........................
5. Theres lots of parts in the transmission, a failed bearing can cause the symptoms your talking about, its not always the DMF

.

Knocking being felt and a loud clattering noise and you reckon it's not the DMF ? 100% DMF me thinks.

keithclancy

J77 wrote: »

Fantastic! Is this something that would be extremely dangerous if it happened while driving? How long do you think I have roughly?

Calm down ... It won't fail on the DMF, unless someone wants to point out somewhere in the NCT testing guidelines it would fail based on a noise somewhere in the engine compartment.

Don't freak, could be anything.

If it is the DMF its impossible to tell how long it will last, see the video below for a fairly good visualisation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnaXB8q3uzQ

keithclancy

RoverJames wrote: »

Knocking being felt and a loud clattering noise and you reckon it's not the DMF ? 100% DMF me thinks.

Own a Volvo, get a Haynes manual and dismantle some of the Tranny. Its not as clear cut as that.

You can't diagnose an issue like that based on a forum post. You'd need to drive the car yourself to know.

Same as a noise alot of V50/S40 owners complain about, a noise coming from the Engine, it actually comes from a mount attaching the center interior to the roof, where the buttons for the lights are. Loose bracket, makes a vibration and it sounds like its coming from the engine compartment.

We'll see providing the OP keeps us informed
I have f all intention of ever owning an S40 diesel btw

J77

Drove from Kerry to Dublin and back yesterday and it was grand. the vibrating has disappeared but the the noise when accelerating remains. The scraping feeling from the clutch happened a couple of times.

Mr Benevolent

Fair play, hope the problem stays away for a while!

merc3ps

Most modern diesels have the DMF problem so if you are shopping again then do some research on the specific model.... or try to find one that was been converted to a solid mass flywheel on replacement.

J77

Thanks for the advice guys. Things appear to be running OK for now. My brother reckons the noise when accelerating problem is due to a loose or incorrectly changed air filter so will get that checked out. The dmf does appear to be a bit of a fail in modern diesels, I know of an 06 1.9tdi VW that has to have its dmf changed.

GTE

Confab wrote: »

You could be right there. OP, best to bring it to a good independent garage.

PS: Does any one have a job they could employ me to do? I'd clean toilets at this stage. 15 months off work is no joke. Anyway, back on topic.

You could be like House but for cars.

Get problem cars in with damaged sensors then have everything on them break and find out its actually because of the go faster stripes being stuck on with the wrong kinda glue. . . Or something

Someone has to hire you for that.

dunsandin

Just to balance all the negs about the S40, I, for my sins, drive a 96 S40, a 1.8 petrol as my day to day beater. It has 136K on the (stopped) clock, probably more like 236k in reality, - issues so far, one worn out rh cv joint. Everything works, cv joint was €50 used, car is comfy, has hauled me and my kids across the Uk on holidays, regular 1800km trips, never let me down and never got on my nerves, unlike my "posh" work car, a c180 merc that cacks itself with monotonous regularity. I like the s40, and when my cv joint was buggered, the car vibrated like mad when driving-but still drove on. Have you checked your cv joints?

Mr Benevolent

It has 136K on the (stopped) clock, probably more like 236k in reality

I rest my case.

House, Car Doctor

dunsandin

Ahem, clock might not have stopped due to Volvo fault, may have stopped due to unscrupoulous owner, cough, cough, go again, ahem..... and the car cost me €450, less than 1 months repayment on a c180, so I forgive all.

VolvoMan

dunsandin wrote: »

Just to balance all the negs about the S40, I, for my sins, drive a 96 S40, a 1.8 petrol as my day to day beater. It has 136K on the (stopped) clock, probably more like 236k in reality, - issues so far, one worn out rh cv joint. Everything works, cv joint was €50 used, car is comfy, has hauled me and my kids across the Uk on holidays, regular 1800km trips, never let me down and never got on my nerves, unlike my "posh" work car, a c180 merc that cacks itself with monotonous regularity. I like the s40, and when my cv joint was buggered, the car vibrated like mad when driving-but still drove on. Have you checked your cv joints?

The Mk1 S40 is a very different beast to the one we're talking about (Mk2). They were built in the same factory as the Mitsubishi Carisma and were probably one of the most reliable Volvos ever.

R.O.R

bbk wrote: »

You could be like House but for cars.

Confab wrote: »

House, Car Doctor

Surely, Garage, Car Doctor fits better?

grendel1960

it may be a bit late to post to this old thread but another cause for strange noises from the volvo v40 / s40 can be the pulley on the end of the crankshaft, this is called by Volvo an oscillation damper, it has two connected parts, the inner part that bolts to the crankshaft and the outer part where the drive belt (s) for the alternator, power steering and aircon.
the two parts are joined by a rubber section, and the noises start when the inner and outer break the bond to the rubber (causing the outer part to rotate freely - or not at all) you can spot this by looking down the side of the engine, if you rev the engine you can see the outer part wander off line with the inner and if this happens you need a new pulley (mine was £136 from volvo- I have seen them online for £55) I have just changed mine and the car has gone from a rattling squeakig heap to purring along like new (mine has 166,000 miles on it).
Grendel