The 2000 Volvo S40 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 36,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 166 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the vehicle speed control. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, WATER CAN ENTER THE ELECTRICAL BRAKE VACUUM PUMP, CAUSING THE PUMP TO FAIL.
THIS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF POWER ASSIST AND AN INCREASE IN NEEDED BRAKE PEDAL FORCE, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE PUMP WITH A NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION AND MOVE THE PUMP TO A NEW LOCATION. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON MARCH 15, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT VOLVO AT 1-800-458-1552.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“This is to describe airbag injuries. My car performed well. If not for the airbag and good construction of this volvo I would not be here to ask for your help. I am wondering why we still use explosive materials and a device that causes so many injuries. There has to be another device to absorb…”
“The car has problems starting and takes a few tries before starting up. Have also had a problem where the car was in park with the parking brake engaged and the car was revving on its own. There have also been problems while the car has been slowing down on the freeway, specifically when the…”
“The car has problems starting and takes a few tries before starting up. Have also had a problem where the car was in park with the parking brake engaged and the car was revving on its own. There have also been problems while the car has been slowing down on the freeway, specifically when the…”
“The car has problems starting and takes a few tries before starting up. Have also had a problem where the car was in park with the parking brake engaged and the car was revving on its own. There have also been problems while the car has been slowing down on the freeway, specifically when the…”
“This happened yesterday 1/28/16 and in april 2015 (the dealership "fixed it" but it didn't work!!!!) yesterday, while driving home from work, the car did the scariest thing I've ever experienced while driving. All the lights on the dash, all the warning lights flashed several times and the car…”
“This happened yesterday 1/28/16 and in april 2015 (the dealership "fixed it" but it didn't work!!!!) yesterday, while driving home from work, the car did the scariest thing I've ever experienced while driving. All the lights on the dash, all the warning lights flashed several times and the car…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2000 volvo s40. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The contact mentioned that the brake pedal was depressed in order to slow down or stop the vehicle. The failure occurred on multiple occasions. The…”
“I was stopped at a red light behind several cars. The light turned green and I took my foot off the brake, but did not put my foot on the accelerator. The car engine revved up and lurched forward despite me attempting to brake heavily. The brakes would not fully decompress causing me to rear end…”
IN A NOVEMBER 6, 2003 SAFETY DEFECT REPORT, VOLVO INDICATED THAT THEY WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT RECALL OF THE 2000 MODEL YEAR (MY) SUBJECT VEHICLES (ABOUT 36,000 VEHICLES).VOLVO WILL ALSO CONDUCT A SERVICE CAMPAIGN OF ABOUT 31,000 2001 MY SUBJECT VEHICLES.ODI INVESTIGATED BOTH THE 2000 AND 2001 MY VEHICLES…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2000 Volvo S40 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.