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.
- 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
- 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?
- 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.