NHTSA — Exterior Lighting Problems

2.2

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,000 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2004 Volvo S40 lights problems

lights problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2004 Volvo S40:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2004 Volvo S40 Owner Comments

problem #2

Jan 042017

S40 5-cyl

  • 140,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The issue of no headlights (low-bulb failure) is dangerous & expensive. Nor is there a viable permanent repair as the "low-bulb failure" always re-occurs & has been an ongoing problem for me since my car was new. Suddenly having no headlights causes a serious & immediate safety issue for occupants of the car & for oncoming traffic who can't see a car without headlights. It can be 1 headlight or both that fail without warning; leaving no time to bring a vehicle to a stop safely. The experience is frightening & dangerous in those tense moments it takes to stop a moving car on the road without headlights. I have even been issued a violation ticket from the police for equipment failure despite numerous repair bills that I keep in the car. After repeated attempts at getting Volvo to fix this issue, I reported the problem to NHTSA several years ago but was told there had not been enough complaints about the headlight failure problem to do anything. Now, years have gone by and I am still dealing with a car that is essentially a daytime only car as it is not safe to drive after dark due to the unpredictable loss of headlights. Each time the headlights fail I bring the car for service and every time the headlight fails again and again within weeks of the "repair". repair cost are in the $500 range. There is no recourse for the repairs other than to try something new. It has become a problem that is widely known at repair shops; and aftermarket repair kits are now common because Volvo has ignored the issue stating that there is not a problem to me. It is easy to find many car owners with the same issue and frustrations on the internet as well as suits brought against other auto manufacturers for the wide-scale failure of these useless, defective headlights. NHTSA should prohibit these headlights and force action for those responsible to address this known safety issue.

- Bridgewater, MA, USA

problem #1

Oct 012004

S40

  • miles
2004 Volvo S40 experiencing problems with the rear tail light assembly. The left rear tail light assembly was intermittent. At night there would be no rear tail lights. The right front park light and the yellow side marker light had gone out as well. The dealer replaced the cem. The vehicle's battery lasted 8 months.

- Somerville, MA, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

Not what you are looking for?