Common problems

Volvo XC60 common problems

What MOT testers find on the Volvo XC60: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 433,710 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 7 years, the most tested age

Tyres fails per 100 MOTs (n=53,188)5.5

All cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318)6.0

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=53,188)25.0

All cars, same age (n=10,537,318)24.8

What stands out

No part area of the Volvo XC60 fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 7 years old (n=53,188; all cars n=10,537,318).
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails are less common: 2.2 per 100 MOTs against 3.4 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 7 years: brake pads under 1.5 mm, on 3.1 per 100 MOTs (all cars 2.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 15.4 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 7 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 XC60 at 7 years (n=53,188) against all cars at 7 years (n=10,537,318). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Tyres	5.5	6.0	25.0	24.8
Lights and electrics	4.7	5.8	4.2	2.5
Brakes	4.0	4.1	19.3	17.9
Suspension	3.3	4.4	5.0	8.7
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.2	3.4	3.1	3.3
Steering	1.5	0.8	2.5	1.1
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.3	1.7	1.3	1.7
Body and structure	0.4	1.3	0.5	1.6
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.2	1.6	1.2
Seat belts and airbags	0.2	0.4	0.2	0.3
Road wheels	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.6

What testers fail most on the XC60 at 7 years

Fail items on the Volvo XC60 at 7 years (n=53,188), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	3.1	2.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	2.5	1.6	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.1	2.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords	Tyres	1.6	1.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.3	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Tyre with cords exposed	Tyres	1.1	1.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Side repeaters: not working	Lights and electrics	1.0	0.3	£10 to £47 per lamp
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.9	0.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Track rod end: ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt	Steering	0.8	0.2	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps	Lights and electrics	0.7	0.6	£10 to £47 per lamp

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 7 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 XC60 at 7 years (n=53,188), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,537,318).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	15.4	15.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	13.2	9.0	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	8.8	8.9	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.1	8.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	4.1	2.6	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	Lights and electrics	3.6	1.4
Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt	Other	3.4	2.4
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.2	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Nail in tyre	Other	2.1	2.0
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	2.0	3.0	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)

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 7 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Tyres	Lights and electrics	Brakes
3 years	36,887	5.2	1.3	1.5
4 years	40,254	4.9	1.3	2.6
5 years	45,006	4.8	1.9	3.7
6 years	51,868	5.3	3.4	4.0
7 years	53,188	5.5	4.7	4.0
8 years	51,276	5.7	6.1	4.1
9 years	41,609	5.7	6.9	4.0
10 years	31,715	5.5	7.8	4.3
11 years	23,602	5.7	8.9	4.7
12 years	19,171	5.7	10.3	4.7
13 years	16,930	5.7	11.3	5.4
14 years	11,941	5.7	12.0	5.8
15 years	7,238	5.4	13.2	5.8
16 years	3,025	6.3	13.5	6.9

Mileage

At 7 years, Volvo XC60 cars showing under 30,000 miles failed 10.2% of MOTs (n=2,071); the band that failed most, 120,000 to 150,000 miles, failed 24.2% (n=1,511). For pass and fail rates by age, see Volvo XC60 MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Volvo XC60, testers most often record brake pads under 1.5 mm; coil spring broken; tyre tread below 1.6 mm. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Tyres

Check the tread across the full width of all four tyres, and the spare if there is one.
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking in the sidewalls.
Wear on one edge only can point to worn suspension or the tracking being out.

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.

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 XC60?

At 7 years, the age with the most MOT tests (53,188), the fail items testers record most often on the Volvo XC60 are brake pads under 1.5 mm (3.1 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (2.5 per 100 MOTs), tyre tread below 1.6 mm (2.1 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (15.4) and brake pads: wearing thin (13.2).

Which parts of the Volvo XC60 fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 7 years, compared with 10,537,318 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Volvo XC60 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 XC60?

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