MOT fail rates

Volvo S40 MOT fail rate by age

How often the Volvo S40 fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 76,806 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 15 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 15 (n=9,988)42.1%

All cars at 15 years (n=5,591,675)41.6%

Median mileage at test108,094

All cars, median mileage100,157

144 of 280 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 15 years.

What stands out

At 10 years the Volvo S40 fails 36.4% of MOTs (1,396 tests), 6.1 points above the 30.3% for all cars that age. At 23 years it fails 44.1% (1,209 tests), 4.4 points above the 39.6% average.
The gap is widest at 10 years: 6.1 points above all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 15 years: Coil spring broken, at 6 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Volvo S40: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
10 years	36.4%	1,396	30.3%	+6.1 pts	86,374 miles
11 years	38.9%	3,021	33.3%	+5.6 pts	93,408 miles
12 years	40.1%	5,302	36.0%	+4.1 pts	98,815 miles
13 years	41.2%	7,824	38.3%	+2.9 pts	101,177 miles
14 years	42.8%	9,783	40.3%	+2.5 pts	104,643 miles
15 years	42.1%	9,988	41.6%	+0.5 pts	108,094 miles
16 years	42.0%	9,587	42.6%	−0.5 pts	110,645 miles
17 years	42.3%	8,507	43.1%	−0.8 pts	113,977 miles
18 years	43.4%	6,743	43.3%	+0.2 pts	110,643 miles
19 years	44.6%	5,257	43.2%	+1.4 pts	106,473 miles
20 years	46.8%	3,807	42.8%	+4.1 pts	103,674 miles
21 years	45.6%	2,637	42.1%	+3.5 pts	97,082 miles
22 years	46.9%	1,745	41.0%	+5.9 pts	94,030 miles
23 years	44.1%	1,209	39.6%	+4.4 pts	94,185 miles

Most common fail items at 15 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Coil spring broken Major	6
Suspension arm bush worn Major	5.9
Driveshaft CV boot split Major	4.1

Out of 9,988 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Side/position light not working Major	8.2
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	4.4
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous	3.7
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Major	3.5
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	3.1
Dipped headlight not working Major	3
Individual direction indicators: incorrect colour Major	2.9

Out of 9,988 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 15 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Volvo V50	44.8%	18,344	41.6%
Volvo C30	42.5%	16,062	41.6%
Volvo XC90	38.6%	13,753	41.6%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2004	20 years in 2024	47.0%	1,149	42.8%
2005	20 years in 2025	42.2%	1,146	42.8%
2006	19 years in 2025	39.4%	1,344	43.2%
2007	18 years in 2025	40.8%	1,506	43.3%
2008	17 years in 2025	41.9%	2,458	43.1%
2009	16 years in 2025	41.9%	2,122	42.6%
2010	15 years in 2025	41.2%	1,696	41.6%
2011	14 years in 2025	42.9%	1,337	40.3%
2012	13 years in 2025	40.1%	1,225	38.3%

More on the Volvo S40

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Volvo S40?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources