Repair costs · Volvo S40

Volvo S40 steering rack gaiter replacement: MOT fails on these items more often than other cars of the same age

At MOT, the Volvo S40 fails on items fixed by steering rack gaiter replacement at least 4.3 times as often as cars of the same ages and fuel. From 76,806 MOT tests at 14 ages (10 to 23 years), DVSA data 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

Volvo S40, at least, per 100 MOTs (n=76,806)2.12

Cars of the same ages and fuel, per 100 MOTs0.49

Times as often≥ 4.3

Ages compared14

What this shows

These are MOT fail items that steering rack gaiter replacement fixes, as testers found them on the day of the test. Repairs done between MOTs never show up in MOT data, and mileage is not taken into account, so this is not how often owners pay for the repair.

By age

Fail items fixed by steering rack gaiter replacement, per 100 MOT tests, against cars of the same age and the same fuel mix. The model figure is a floor: DVSA data lists each model’s 25 most recorded items per age, and an item outside that list is counted as zero. The comparison figure is a ceiling: an item too rare to be listed for a fuel is counted at its highest possible value.

Volvo S40: ages with at least 1,000 tests.
Age	Volvo S40 per 100	Same age and fuel per 100	Tests (n)
10 years	0	0.12	1,396
11 years	0.76	0.17	3,021
12 years	1.83	0.25	5,302
13 years	2.07	0.32	7,824
14 years	2.41	0.40	9,783
15 years	2.41	0.45	9,988
16 years	1.78	0.47	9,587
17 years	1.80	0.54	8,507
18 years	2.00	0.63	6,743
19 years	2.36	0.71	5,257
20 years	2.89	0.81	3,807
21 years	3.07	0.81	2,637
22 years	3.44	0.84	1,745
23 years	2.65	0.86	1,209

How we decide: a page exists only when the main generation’s rate, weighted to its own mix of ages and fuels, is at least 1.5 times the rate of cars of the same ages and fuel, from at least 50,000 tests at 3 or more ages, with at least 100 expected items.

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.

What garages charge

Prices are national. They are not specific to the Volvo S40.

No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts. The rates below are what UK garages charge per hour.

Local garage labour, per hour (65 shops)£78

Local garage, middle half£70 to £96

Main dealer labour, per hour (62 shops)£156

Main dealer, middle half£144 to £174

Median hourly rate charged for car repairs, from 1,058 local garage and 953 main dealer price quotes collected by the ONS, September 2025 to August 2026. The same shops are priced each month, so the number of shops is the real sample.

Steering rack gaiter replacement: garage rates and all models

MOT defects this repair fixes

Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt0.20 per 100, all cars

Other models that fail on these items more often

Model	Times as often	Tests (n)
Renault Kangoo	at least 6.4	229,058
Mitsubishi Shogun	at least 5.2	104,916
Renault Master	at least 5.1	63,499
Volvo C30	at least 4.8	93,795
Ford C-Max	at least 4.6	527,219
Citroen Xsara	at least 4.2	125,734
Volvo V50	at least 4.1	126,765
Ford Kuga	at least 3.9	1,137,353
Ford Galaxy	at least 3.7	251,657
Renault Clio	at least 3.7	1,326,120

Looking at a Volvo S40?

These figures describe all cars, not any one car. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report would tell you.

See an example report MOT fail rates by model All free 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, and the MOT inspection manual published on GOV.UK. Prices: ONS consumer price inflation price quotes, September 2025 to August 2026, UK.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026. Prices updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or the Office for National Statistics. How we calculate these figures · Data sources