Buy a Volvo V40 on its paperwork rather than its badge: any 2.0 diesel built from 2014 needs proof of the 2019 EGR recall work, and a 1.6 D2 that's spent its life on short trips is best left alone.
2 known faults, 1 rated high severity in our database; owners report 50.3 mpg, 80% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
Found a Volvo V40 for sale? Check the advert before you go and see it
Paste the Volvo V40 advert and we read it against its known faults, the MOT history and the DVLA record, then tell you what to ask the seller and what to look at on the day. Free, about a minute, no card.
Check a Volvo V40 advert (free) →There isn't a V40 with a clean record to point you at. Both diesels have known faults, and the petrols (T2, T3 and T4) have so few reports against them that a quiet record doesn't prove they're tougher. Choose the individual car on its history and how it drives, and match the engine to the miles you do rather than assuming any version's the safe one.
The 2.0 four-cylinder diesel fitted from 2014 (sold as the D2, D3 and D4) is the bigger gamble. Its EGR system clogs with soot and the EGR cooler's a weak point, and Volvo recalled around 70,000 UK cars with this engine in 2019. Owners of 2014 and 2015 cars have reported EGR repairs, a long emissions fault and a leaking head gasket, so don't buy one without proof the recall work's been done.
Diesels sold between 2012 and 2015 as the D2 use a 1.6 engine with a known particulate filter fault on cars that only do short trips. A low-mileage 1.6 D2 that's spent its life pottering round town isn't the find it looks, so skip one altogether if most of your driving's short runs, and on any other check it's been used for longer journeys.
The petrols (T2, T3 and T4) don't have a known engine fault, but there's too little evidence to call them the safe choice. One owner's 2019 T2 stuttered when cold, badly enough to make pulling onto a fast road risky, and a 2013 T3 lost power on the motorway with a stability control warning that a replacement engine control unit didn't cure.
The 1.6 D2 sold from 2012 to 2015 has a known fault with its diesel particulate filter on short-trip cars, which shows as a DPF or engine light and a loss of power. One owner's 2014 car with this engine needed a new engine at 47,000 miles after the head gasket failed, so it's a diesel only for drivers who regularly cover longer runs.
The 2.0 diesel (D2, D3 and D4 from 2014) carries a serious known EGR fault: soot builds up, the cooler's weak, and the signs are an engine light, a burning smell and limp mode. One 2014 D4 needed EGR work at 11 months and another at 40,000 miles. The 2.0 D4's cambelt is due every 90,000 miles or 10 years, with the auxiliary belt and tensioner checked or replaced at the same time.
Don't buy a D2 with the Powershift dual-clutch automatic unless its history is clean. Several owners of 2014 cars with it have reported trouble: poor gearchanges from the first year, snatching when moving off and a slipping clutch pack from a standstill. Its fluid's due for renewal every 3 years, so ask for proof that's been done.
Press the clutch on a manual several times and don't settle for a pedal that's slow to come back up, because several owners have reported failing clutch slave cylinders. A 2016 D2's went at 14,400 miles alongside a leaking crankshaft seal, a 2016 T3's failed too, and another 2016 D2's pedal stuck down at 70,000 miles. A grating noise is a warning sign: one 2014 D4 needed a new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder at 25,000 miles to cure one.
On a diesel, watch for an engine warning light, a burning smell or any drop into limp mode, which are the signs of the EGR fault. Smoke is a bad sign too: one 2015 D2 with the 2.0 engine poured smoke from a leaking head gasket at 62,000 miles, and a 2018 D4's turbo failed with white smoke at 20,000 miles. Check past MOT certificates, since one 2014 D2 failed twice on emissions.
Try every door lock with the key fob, because some early cars got door lock actuators from a faulty batch and one 2014 car's locks stuck on and off. Then watch the dash for warnings. Owners have reported lost power steering, a dead speedometer and airbag lights, and on one 2012 car that came down to a wiring connector that played up when the seat moved or the car hit a bump.
On a Powershift automatic, pull away gently from a standstill a few times: snatching, slipping or jerking at a steady speed all point to the gearbox. Under the bonnet, look for oil from the air conditioning pump on the auxiliary belt, because on one 2013 car that belt shredded and took the cambelt with it, wrecking the engine. If a 2.0 D4 is near 90,000 miles or 10 years old, ask for the cambelt receipt.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
A Mk2 V40 is only a buy once you've pinned down exactly which engine it's got, because the D2 badge covers two different diesels in this one generation. Up to 2015 it's the 1.6 with the particulate filter fault on short-trip cars; from 2014 it's the 2.0 with the EGR fault and the 2019 recall. Read the engine size off the logbook rather than trusting the badge, since each one needs different questions asked.
Electrical niggles crop up in several owners' reports on this generation. One owner's 2014 D3 kept flattening its battery while parked because the radar carried on searching with the engine off, and a 2017 Cross Country hissed and bubbled behind the dash with the air conditioning running, which extra lagging from the dealer didn't cure. Another Cross Country threw several dash warnings that cleared themselves once the car had sat for a while, with diagnostics finding nothing.
Don't assume a low-mileage Mk2 has had its problems shaken out early. A 2014 D4 lost a wheel bearing at 3,000 miles, a 2013 T4 needed a new clutch and flywheel at 24,500 miles, and one car's gear lever came loose when it was 3 weeks old. On a 2014 car, a pigeon hitting the front was enough to set off the pedestrian airbag, so ask whether that's ever been repaired.
Real-world economy on this generation: Volvo V40 50.3 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Volvo V40 advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 50.3 mpg across the Volvo V40 engines with data, about 80% of the official figure, from 1,334 submissions.
Volvo V40 Real MPG by engine →Buy a Volvo V40 on its paperwork rather than its badge: any 2.0 diesel built from 2014 needs proof of the 2019 EGR recall work, and a 1.6 D2 that's spent its life on short trips is best left alone. Our database holds 2 known Volvo V40 faults, 1 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
Press the clutch on a manual several times and don't settle for a pedal that's slow to come back up, because several owners have reported failing clutch slave cylinders. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Volvo V40 fault before you travel.
Owners report 50.3 mpg on average, about 80% of the official figure, from 1,334 submissions. Belt (2.0 D4, D4204T): 90,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first, so budget for it if the history does not show it done. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Volvo V40 Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Volvo V40 buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 32 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
The Volvo V40 is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
Looking at a Volvo V40 right now? Check the advert before you go and see it.