[ernest]

hi!

just curious; it seems the vacuum boost comes on strong a second or 2 after depressing the brake pedal; i'm used to getting linear braking response that doesn't change unless i change the pedal pressure. when i pointed it out to the Service guys, they drove mine, confirmed it, then drove 3 other S40s and said they all did that,...
has anyone else noticed this and found a way to cure it? i have to keep it in mind whenever i'm driving (this isn't my only vehicle), and it's annoying enough to make me want to get out of the car sometimes,...

i just don't like having it 'decide' to brake *harder* unless i push on the pedal harder!

at the very least, i'm already expecting that i'm going to have to be upgrading the brakes; in spite of how well the brakes on this car were reviewed, i'm rather underwhelmed by how quickly i can get brake fade in spirited mountain driving...

any suggestions?

cheers!
e

 

[ernest]

quote:

Originally posted by zanthalon:
It seems to me that US users seem to have many more problems with their cars than users in Europe. I have had absolutely no problems with my breaks, as a matter of fact, I really like them. And I do lots of mountain driving, again with no problems.

it could just be that after having had the choice of the worlds autos here in
the US, US drivers have become picker and/or more demanding of their
autos.

i've had the pleasure of personally owning about a dozen different vehicles
(English, American, German, Swedish, & Japanese, even racing some of
them), and have had the pleasure of driving hundreds of others,... and am
disappointed with this particular aspect of the Volvo S40, which i
admittedly had higher hopes for.

i'll be looking forward to some constructive input!

cheers!
e

 

[ernest]

hi tim!

you know, i'm on the way to pick mine up after it's second service right now, and i complained of this again (amongst other things) to the dealer. they claimed that everything is operating within specs and that they didn't find any codes, and made some comments i thought were funny WRT brakes; apparently they think it's normal to go through a set of pads in 7-15K miles, and claim some people (who live in the hills around here) are going through them in as little as 5K! heck i don't go through pads in my big ol' modified J**p that fast! and it definitely sees harder use than the 40,...

word from the service guys is that the organic material that Volvo chose to use is very soft, and wears quickly; seeing how fast my wheels are wasted by dust, i'm not surprised to hear that. of course the dealer can't/won't recommend anything aftermarket, (after all, Volvo knows what's 'best' for us, right?) but i'm thinking that if i'm going to keep this car i'm going to be looking at another source for pads, and maybe a higher temp fluid, drilled or slotted rotors, and SS lines, too. any comments related to the use of these from members here would be appreciated.

thanks for your reply; good luck with the wagon! (i personally think that's one of the best looking wagons in the class.)

cheers!
e