Test drove a V40 and some questions

Aug 13, 2004 5 Replies
U

I test drove a 2001 V40 with 70K+ miles for a potential purchase. Road condition was wet with light to moderate rain. This was my first time driving a Volvo.



Overall, it did pretty well for me and I am seriously considering it pending a mechanic inspection.


  1. When I made a turn (either way) and stepped on the gas, I felt the right front wheel spinning and slipping. This happened more on a slight uphill when I stepped on the gas a tad more. In other words, getting it to go accelerate from a stop or slow speed would cause the wheel to spin and slip. I didn't have time to carefully inspect the tires, but could that be the cause? A casual glimpse and a quick feel on the tires showed that it had some thread left. Thoughts?

I didn't really used the "W" mode. I thought it was for Wet, but wasn't sure so I left it off. Only just now did I find out that it was for wet condition

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without the W-mode, is the above slipping be normal for theV40?


  1. The wiper handle/switch wouldn't stay on the high-speed position. I had to keep pressing it down for it stay there. The odd thing was, it was working minutes before, then I switched it back to normal speed and later it wouldn't stay on the high speed. Is this a known issue and how hard is it to fix?


  1. The smallish & smooth steering wheel bothered me as it was a bit too slippery. What do people do other than using a cheapo/cheesy wheel cover? For a safety-conscious car, that bit of missing detail (no grooves on the back side of the steering wheel) suprised me. I don't want to get a carpal tunnel from trying to get a good grip on the wheel too much :) -- in addition to compensating for the understeer.



Thanks in advance for your help.


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J

"Upilogue" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

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Still, without the W-mode, is the above slipping be normal for the > V40?>

If its a 2,0T or a T4 it will spin the tires.....

W is for Winter - when starting to drive, gearbox starts on a higher gear to avoid spin and to maintain grip.

-- Johan Stockholm

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M

My 2000 S40 has a lot of startup torque. The front wheels don't slip because it has traction control, but I can feel the control working. You shouldn't apply maximum power on any slippery surface, including a wet road.

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Still, without the W-mode, is the above slipping be normal for the > V40? W is for winter, and it is very handy. If you have it, S is for sport. Sport gives faster acceleration because the car stays in 1st gear to a higher speed.

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R

If you really want to light up some tires at the lights in even light rain, get a turbodiesel.... I have the exact same problem with my TDI Golf 155 lb-ft at a mere 1800rpm will do that... the S/V40's also have some decent torque down low too.... Combine that with used tires and you get slippage - change the tires, learn to accelerate smoothly (I don't spin my tires anymore... even in winter mostly).

Our 960's wheel is gigantic and leather, and has ridges - what did they do to the V40?? !!... Get a nice leather cover maybe.

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M

I paid more attention to the steering wheel when I drove my 2000 S-40 yesterday. It isn't tiny. It doesn't have ridges. But the leather cover is patterned so that you don't need to grip tight to control the steering. I don't find my hands getting cramped on a long trip, unless there is something like very bad weather or horrendous traffic, that makes me tense up.

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> Still, without the W-mode, is the above slipping be normal for the > > V40?> >

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U

Thanks for all the suggestions. W is for Winter! (no election year pun intended).

Several things factored in the test driving experience: rainy condition, driving someone else's car, and not being familiar with the owner's neighborhood roads.

My other drive is a chipped 1.8T VW, and I knew that I stepped on the pedal lightly and not hard, but the front wheels spun. That's why it concerned me, and got me wondering if there are things with V40 that I should look out for with regards to front wheels spinning. So no known problems?

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