What do you HATE most about your s/v 40 ?
 

Following on from the 'love' thread :D

I hate that I've not been able to find the right one to buy yet, mind you we've only been looking for 2 weeks and I'm a right fussy bugger :D

What do you hate about yours ?

What do you HATE most about your s/v 40 ?
 

Volvo dealer spares prices!

£7 for a bulb?
£350 for roof rails?

What do I hate most about my S40 ?

1 - Hard ride, suspension is rough to say the least. (It's been checked and there's nothing wrong with it. This is just the way the car was designed)

2 - Radio that constantly loses the signal, doesn't matter where you are. Happens for a few seconds when it goes completely quiet.

3 - Annoying squeaking sound from the steering wheel every time I turn left. Worse when the car is cold. I hear this is a major job to sort out but, really, should it be happening at all ?

4 - Absurd method of changing headlamp glass should it break, whereby you have to loosen the front bumper to gain access to the clips that hold the front glass on. Complete pain in the ass.

5 - Heater that is pathetic to say the least. Takes about 45 minutes for the warmth to eventually penetrate the interior of the car. Our Fiesta takes about 5 minutes to get to the point when it's actually hot in the car.

6 - De-mister that takes about 15 minutes to completely de-mist the windscreen even on full blast. Great when your late for work on a frosty morning. In contrast our Fiesta...which is older, has a windscreen heater which clears it in about 2 minutes flat!

7 - Boot lock that doesn't work in conjunction with the central locking.

8 - No rear screen wiper.

9 - Fuel consumption that would make you weep. I think it's doing about 26mpg at the moment :(

10 - Crazily inaccurate fuel gage. You may as well not have one.

11 - Headlights that would have trouble lighting up a matchbox let alone the road! Really, it's like having a couple of candles burning in there. Our Fiesta lights are excellent and you really notice the difference.

There's probably more but I have lost the will to live now...........

Much of the above was the same when the car was new. All this on a £22,000 car. Volvo should have been ashamed to produce a car of this low quality and have the cheek to ask that sort of price for it.

A car from a country with a cold climate that doesn't have an external temp gauge.... Mad.

7 - Boot lock that doesn't work in conjunction with the central locking.

pretty sure that the boot lock will lock with central locking but you need to turn the key a certain way - it's in the book.

it does on my 2001 v40 anyway (phase 2)

None of the above!

I do hate:
1. how the rear heated screen takes ages to clear anything. and
2. The lack of performance (my own fault for buying a 1.8, but refused to pay the insurance for anything else as i was only 23 when i bought it!)
3. Its absolute poo compared with My dad's V70 T5 :cry_smile:

let's compare to my old banger - S-Reg T4 remapped:
1 - ride is a bit hard but it's T4
2 - radio sc-805 - very good quality - never had problems
3 - never had problems
4 - agree 100%
5 - heater - 3-4 min to get full 90 Deg on temp gage but I have new thermostate. may be you should replace it? only 10 Quid.
6 -- demister - takes less 1 min from cold
7 - I don't bother
8 - yes but this is a saloon car
9 - yes, it's a bit high but I am a bit heavy on my foot
10 - yes to some degree
11 - no probs but with DRL bulbs blow more often

I hate spares price, oil change every 5-6K miles

Depends on if you have the computer or not. My 97 V40 2.0 has an external temp gauge.

My only 2 small gripes would be

1. Not the best fuel consumption
2. Not having the option of turning off DRL's on phase 1's

(I'm not trying to open the DRL debate again,just MY small gripe)

T4
 

Well I dont have any, I just Lurve my T4!

My guess is your car needs a little TLC to get it working properly. To reply to your topics.

1 - The suspension isnt the best design in the world but Ive only ever found the sport suspension to be noticably harsh at times.

2 - The radio shouldnt be cutting out radomly.

4 - For changing headlamp glass is pretty standard to have to loosen the bumper on modern cars im just glad they arent sealed units and you can change the glass.

5 - As has been said it sound like your thermostat is knackered as these cars warm up pretty quickly if working ok.

6 - Has the pollen filter been changed lately as that can stop a huge amount of air coming into the cabin and could be the cause of your poor demisting.

7 - The boot lock should work with the central locking.

8 - Rear wipers are never really fitted to saloons.

9&10 - Ive never had problems with the fuel shown or used with mine or my dads cars(i get 24.5 out of my T4 but its driven fairly hard)

11 - Try Osram Silverstars or Osram nightbreakers they make the world of difference and dont cost the earth.