[jens-peter]

Found this last week, apparently WhatCar are going to drive the V40 for a year, and report back every week. Sounds interesting!

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/our-cars-volvo-v40/263624

 

[GusGecko]

Yeah that will be good to follow...

 

[mrlazy]

This should make for some interesting reading - Hope its all positive comments he has! lol

 

[London_2012]

One to listen out for when you get your cars... apparently the What Car long term test car has an annoying rattle in the door, it's gone back to Volvo.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/our-cars-volvo-v40/263624

 

[mrlazy]

One to listen out for when you get your cars... apparently the What Car long term test car has an annoying rattle in the door, it's gone back to Volvo.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/our-cars-volvo-v40/263624

Ohhhh s**t, it sounds like my Prius all over again

 

[London_2012]

Have you seen the latest post on the WhatCar V40?

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/our-cars-volvo-v40/263624

The long term car is still with Volvo to sort out the door rattle. In the meantime one of their drivers is complaining of back ache from driving the courtesy V40 because the '...pedals and steering wheel are slightly offset?' I'd not noticed it before but when I got in my BMW 1 series this morning I noticed my pedals are also misaligned - the 'middle' brake pedal is a good 6cm to the right of the steering wheel column, leaving the accelerator about 15 cm to the right? I'm wondering if this is the norm?

 

[Andytech]

Interesting comment about the door rattle. Some Norwegian owners, who've taken delivery, are also reporting resonance from the door speakers...even at relatively normal volume levels.

 

[Patrickv]

same here with the door and audio...
gonna ask the dealer what options they have to fix...

 

[Andytech]

Let us know what they say Patrick. Hope it's not spoiling your enjoyment of the car.

 

[GusGecko]

Not to put people off but... Teething problems are another reason I'm holding back a few months...there will always be something

 

[London_2012]

Dropped an email to Euan Doig at WhatCar asking for a bit more detail on how the steering wheel and pedals are offset. This was his reply...

'The driving position isn’t vastly offset, but there is a slight twist. If you sit and place your head so it sits right in the centre of the curve of the headrest, the instruments and steering wheel are both offset slightly to the left. If you line up your face with the centre of the dials and lean back your head, it’ll touch towards the edge of the headrest. You also sit slightly angled towards the centre of the car.
Some cars do have offset driving positions (for example your 1 Series and cars such as the Audi A4/A5), and we always criticise them for this, because it can induce discomfort and pain on long trips. If you’re using a car every day (as people tend to do!), it can cause real back problems.'

Thanks Euan!

I'm wondering if this just affects the Right Hand Drive Cars, maybe LHD are not affected?

 

[Mike]

Hi Patrick, Firstly congratulations on being one of the first to get their V40.
Regarding the door rattle, I was wondering if it has anything to do with the plastic ice scraper that is stored in the door?
Also which level of sound system do you have?

 

[Patrickv]

Hey Mike, you got a point there....... if I actually have a ice scraper in the door..
Been at the dealer this morning and it's the doorpanel which causes the sound.
So they are going to remove the door panel and place some strategic felt which hopefully fixes the problem (I think it will as when I press the door panel at a certain spot the sound is gone...)
Have premium sound btw...

 

[VolvoRforlife]

I have covered just under 1500 miles in my car now and I'm not the biggest of fans. Anything over an hour and I'm getting very bad pain in my right leg plus when I drive I rest my right leg on the door but in the V40 I just can't get it comfortable. I have an XC60 as well and that has the same problem unless I put my foot under my left leg. Not a big problem in the XC60 as I left foot brake.

I only got this V40 for six months as a deal with my dealer as 1 I wanted to be sure I liked the V40, 2 I wanted to wait untill the R-design came out and 3 so that if I don't want another I'll get another C30 to replace the one I have now before they stop making them.

As it stands now it looks like its going to be another C30

By the way as Gus said there are always problems with new cars, give it six months to a year to get it right.

 

[donald883]

Hi guys!!! I want to talk about this thread this is helpful for us and those people they have this problem.The long term car is still with Volvo to sort out the door rattle. In the meantime one of their drivers is complaining of back ache from driving the courtesy V40.

 

[mrlazy]

Hi guys!!! I want to talk about this thread this is helpful for us and those people they have this problem.The long term car is still with Volvo to sort out the door rattle. In the meantime one of their drivers is complaining of back ache from driving the courtesy V40.

I've done just over 1500 miles in my V40 now. Absolutely zero problem with back ache, or pedel offset. As with all Volvos, the seats & their adjustability are fab.

No door rattle here so i guess that issue was sorted out with the actual production vehicles.

 

[Harfin]

I've also done around 1500 miles in my V40. I hope i won't live to regret saying this - but so far no problems at all from the offset driving position.

I regularly spend upto an hour or more on my commute and haven't noticed anything. Also no door rattle issues.

I will say however that it took me longer than usual to find the perfect seat and wheel reach position, but that may be because i was coming from a much larger vehicle - as mrlazy points out though, there is a great deal of adjustabilty, so with fine tweaks i've managed to find something that really works well. And the seats are darn comfy too.

The one thing that is still a mild irritant is the lack of a clutch-foot rest. Whilst there is enough room for me to rest my foot against the sidewall, the missing foot-rest in a car of this price is bizare.

 

[cemi]

same here with the door and audio...
gonna ask the dealer what options they have to fix...

There is a technical journal for a fix for the door rattle with regards to the audio. search for it on the forums. volvo should fix it for you.

 

[Belisarius]

5500 kms, no rattles at all. Maybe a tiny squeak from the gear lever when it goes left, but that's it. Very satisfied with the quality and finish.

It took me quite a lot of time to get the perfect seating position too (and I'm still not 100% sure I found it). I'm quite demanding when it comes to seating position - 6'3" and a history of back problems made me very picky and Volvo seats are probably the best in class when it comes to comfort. So far so good, and that's coming from an Alfa which I could drive for ten hours and step out fresh and without a trace of back pain.

Interestingly, part of my lower back problems seems to have been caused by car seats. I spent a small fortune on chiropractics, until my chiropractor told me he had another patient with exactly the same problem as mine. Guess what? We both drove Astras! Got rid of the Astra, never had lower back problems again! After that experience, it's hard for me to underestimate the importance of car seats.

Oh, and LHD V40s do have a footrest. Sorry to hear they couldn't squeeze it in for the RHD version. Alfa Giulietta has the same problem.



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Volvo V40 D2 Momentum, Ice White, Premium Sound, BLIS+LKA+RSI, TFT Display, Heated Windscreen, Rear Park Assist, Active High Beam, Power Child Lock

 

[cueba11]

Interestingly, part of my lower back problems seems to have been caused by car seats. I spent a small fortune on chiropractics, until my chiropractor told me he had another patient with exactly the same problem as mine. Guess what? We both drove Astras! Got rid of the Astra, never had lower back problems again! After that experience, it's hard for me to underestimate the importance of car seats.

My colleague and friend from work had exactly the same experience - Chiropractor advised his car seats were a major cause of his back issues and surprise surprise, he owned a Vectra. He vowed never to own another Vauxhall. Unfortunately he'd picked another marque before he got to sample my Volvo.