Common problems

Volvo V40 (before 2012) common problems

What MOT testers find on the Volvo V40 (before 2012): the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 15,100 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025. These figures cover cars first used before 2012. Later cars sold under the same name are not included; see Volvo V40 cars first used 2012 or later.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 21 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=3,179)24.8

All cars at 21 years (n=1,321,417)20.6

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=3,179)41.1

All cars, same age (n=1,321,417)33.7

What stands out

Steering fails show up on 8.8 of every 100 MOTs of a Volvo V40 (before 2012) at 21 years old (n=3,179), against 4.2 for all cars of that age (n=1,321,417).
The fail item testers record most often at 21 years: side/position light not working, on 9.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 4.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 19.9 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 21 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Volvo V40 (before 2012) at 21 years (n=3,179) against all cars at 21 years (n=1,321,417). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	24.8	20.6	17.4	16.7
Suspension	18.8	15.9	35.4	35.0
Brakes	17.2	13.3	41.1	33.7
Body and structure	10.4	9.3	16.8	16.0
Steering	8.8	4.2	8.5	6.6
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	8.4	7.5	7.0	6.5
Tyres	7.0	6.0	28.5	25.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	6.4	7.1	12.9	16.4
Seat belts and airbags	5.3	3.1	6.4	1.6
Number plates and VIN	1.2	0.7	9.0	6.6
Road wheels	0.3	0.4	1.9	1.0

What testers fail most on the V40 (before 2012) at 21 years

Fail items on the Volvo V40 (before 2012) at 21 years (n=3,179), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,321,417).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	9.1	4.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	5.6	3.5	£15 to £30 per blade
Driveshaft CV boot split	Body and structure	5.1	3.0	£88 to £196 per boot (rough guide)
Steering rack: gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Steering	5.0	0.9	£63 to £147 per side (rough guide)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	4.8	2.3	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	4.0	1.8	£18 to £86 per lamp
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	3.8	2.5	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	3.6	2.7
Airbag (SRS) warning light on	Seat belts and airbags	3.6	1.4	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Suspension	3.2	1.2	£33 to £102 per link (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 21 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Volvo V40 (before 2012) at 21 years (n=3,179), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,321,417).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	19.9	15.9	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	16.0	14.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	15.4	10.4	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	12.1	10.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	11.6	14.8
Suspension arm ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated	Suspension	9.6	2.1
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	9.5	5.4	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread	Number plates and VIN	8.9	6.5	£23 to £63 per plate (rough guide)
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	6.8	7.2	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Drive shaft joints: constant velocity boot severely deteriorated	Body and structure	6.6	3.8

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 21 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Suspension	Brakes
18 years	1,192	26.8	18.6	18.3
19 years	2,485	27.4	21.7	18.8
20 years	3,059	24.9	20.3	18.4
21 years	3,179	24.8	18.8	17.2
22 years	2,453	23.9	19.9	16.0
23 years	1,694	24.1	19.0	13.9
24 years	1,038	24.2	18.7	17.0

What to check on a viewing

On the Volvo V40 (before 2012), testers most often record side/position light not working; wipers not clearing screen; driveshaft CV boot split. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Volvo V40 (before 2012)?

At 21 years, the age with the most MOT tests (3,179), the fail items testers record most often on the Volvo V40 (before 2012) are side/position light not working (9.1 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (5.6 per 100 MOTs), driveshaft CV boot split (5.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (19.9) and tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (16.0).

Which parts of the Volvo V40 (before 2012) fail more often than on other cars?

At 21 years: steering (8.8 per 100 MOTs against 4.2 for all cars); lights and electrics (24.8 per 100 MOTs against 20.6 for all cars); brakes (17.2 per 100 MOTs against 13.3 for all cars). Compared with 1,321,417 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Volvo V40 (before 2012) problems by area

Other Volvo models

All Volvo models · Common problems by make

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Volvo V40 (before 2012)?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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