I posted this a while back.
No response....maybe nobody has had this problem.
But...my dealer has now put in THREE new radio/cd units into my '01 S40.
The CD player continues to frequently skip.
So, that makes 4 (including the original) that have been in
the car....and ALL do exactly the same.
Obviously, it's not the unit but something beyond that....
something that seems to be peculiar to my car since neither the
dealer nor Volvo seems to have any idea how to fix the problem.
After the third new radio install failed to fix the problem, Volvo
instructed the dealer to put a cradle of insulation around the unit....
ya know, to buffer/shock absorb it a little.
Still skips.
Seems to me it must be a connector on the car end of things....
rather than the radio/cd unit end...since several new units have
NOT fixed the problem.
It MUST be something with the car....NOT the radio/CD unit.
Yes?
No?
Anybody have ANY ideas at all?

Hey Karl,
Where is your changer located and what is its orientation - vertical or horizonal?
Let me know these 2 things and we'll try to figure it out from there.
Armie
--
'94 850 154000kms '86 760GLE 272000kms 95 Silverado4x4

Hey! Thanks!
It's simply the original single CD, in dash radio/CD player unit that came in
every S40 for several years.
It's the HU-615 radio/CD combo....I think it even has a cassette player,
although I've never used it.
And, of course, the CD goes in flat....in a horizontal manner.
Some have suggested that it may be more a problem with a
power connection that is jiggling loose on a bump.
Last nite I was on the expressway going about 55 and hit a fairly small
bump and I thought the CD unit had finally bit the big one.
It went silent for at least 3-4 seconds.
That's why I wonder if it's more of a power issue rather than a CD issue.
However, I've never heard the radio have that problem....if it was a power issue then the radio would cut out also. But perhaps it's only a momentary glich that doesn't really affect the radio since it's only a receiver, but since the CD player is really a small computer, maybe it causes a
memory wipe out and a reboot.
Who knows?
I'm also concerned about that cradle of insulating material they put in.
I wonder if that might cause a heat build up.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Hi Karl,
This is absolutely a vibration problem. Funny how a $400.00 cd/radio unit doesn't employ read-ahead technology found in a $50.00 portable cd player - grrr. Anyway, here's a couple of things to try...
Slide the unit out (no need to disconnect the power) and check that the mounting rails/housing in-dash are secure to the rest of the inner dash.
Also make sure the wiring harness was/is not crammed tight under the unit.
If that's not the problem, you can try as the dealer suggested to 'snug up' the unit, but I would use foam insulation tape like what you would use for windows and doors, and only a couple of strips along the bottom of the housing where the foam makes 'soft' contact with the unit. (ie: not fully compressed).
The reason that the cd goes dead for a few seconds is because the "spinner" and the lens have their own suspension within the radio unit - basically they hang independantly from springs located on each corner. When you jar the unit it takes a couple of seconds for the lens to relocate its position on the disc. If you can reduce the vibration reaching the entire unit this should allow the internal suspension to do it's job.
Good luck,
Armie

--
'94 850 154000kms '86 760GLE 272000kms 95 Silverado4x4

Thanks for the input!
I talked with my dealer yesterday...before I saw your input.
They said much the same thing.
1) This seems to be a systemic problem...not just my car.
Then why, oh why, am I the only one who seems to have complained thus far?
I generally have the feeling that if you've got a problem, somebody,
somewhere has had that same problem before you.
Yet I seem to be the only one who has brought it up.
Certainly my dealer seems to have never encountered it.

2) They agree that these units seem to NOT have the anti-skip mechanism
built into them.
As you seemed to be saying....darn hard to believe.

They said that higher line models, S80, for example, have the anti-skip built in. I wonder if they would be willing to fit one of those units into my car.

My dealer indicated that the problem (or more correctly, the solution)is really
up to Volvo now.
I just hope they don't decide to simply forget about it.
Ya know...blow it off.

kjr

Hi there,
I feel for you... I have the same issue and pretty much came to the same conclusion (no anti-skip). Unfortunatly, I bought the car used (a 2001 model)and I am stuck with the radio (unless I pay for an after market). Did Volvo ever get back to you? Does the S80 radio fit?

Thanks!

My dealer has been relatively pro-active on this issue.
However, they really have no ability/know-how to fix the problem.
They have tried applying some buffering insulation (as per Volvo's instructions)
around the unit....very little difference....if any.
My dealer seems to be saying that the other model CD units will NOT fit
into a 2001 S40. And that the NEW S40 units are completely out since Volvo
has redesigned the dash.
Nobody that I have personally talked with seems to have this problem.
I can only assume that they do NOT listen to the CD player so much.....
since this problem happens DAILY on my car.
Again the question needs to be asked.....Why would Volvo put a CD player
unit into a car and NOT build in anti-skip technology?
I e-mailed Volvo on 07/06 to ask if they had any further ideas on this issue....
NO REPLY!
I e-mailed again on 07/14 asking for a reply.....again NOTHING.
As I said above....at least my dealer seems to be interested in resolving
this issue.
My guess is that the ultimate solution will be one of:
1) get a new car (I'm otherwise mostly happy with the car)
2) get an aftermarket radio (all of which apparently require special
bracketing)
3) live with it.

The dealer is gonna put in a new unit in another week or two.
I guess they are searching for a unit that is less sensitive.
That's the latest.

Sigh... Unfortunately my S40 2004.5 model has the same problem. The CD player has started to skip A LOT and very frequently. I can barely listen a single song for about one minute and then the song either restarts or the CD player selects another song (previous or next). The radio is constantly losing the channel regardless of frequency. E.g. if I'm listening to frequency 104.6 MHz, the radio suddenly changes the frequency to 104.5 or just hisses for a moment, and adjusts the frequency back to 104.6. That's damn annoying.

And this crap is supposed to be the most expensive PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEM. GRRRR!!!!

In addition, soon after I bought the car, I noticed that the rear doors did not lock at all. No matter what. I took the car to the dealer and they fixed it.

A couple of months later another electrical problem occurred: I was parking my car and tried to turn the key to 0 position. It didn't move to 0 position!! I was able to turn the key to almost 0 but not quite. Thus all electrical equipment was still turned on although the engine was off. Great, I had to take it to the dealer AGAIN and they changed the entire key/ignition-module.

I have had this car for 5 months and all these problems have occurred during that time.

Theoretically, your radio/cd player should be different from mine.
But, who knows....maybe the guts are exactly the same and only
the exterior package is different.
The main problem for me is the CD skipping....that happens DAILY.

Lately, I've also been experiencing a key in ignition problem.
Sometimes the key is very fussy coming out of the ignition.
In fact, just a couple days ago, it wouldn't come out at all.
The key is stuck in the ignition....fortunately the key does move
to all the various positions....including "OFF"...but it won't
come out of the darn keyhole.
I fired up the car again....this time the key came out smoothly.

Next week I am taking the car in again to have yet ANOTHER new radio/cd put in.
I will talk to them about the ignition key lock too.

I see NO solution to the cd player issue other than them buying me and
installing an aftermarket unit.
I dread doing that myself because of the size of the Volvo unit means
that virtually all aftermarket units require special bracketing to be
fabricated.....this is, of course, in the 2001-2004 series units (HU-615).

kjr