Volvo XC40 MOT pass rate & common failures

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

We are not publishing a ranking for the XC40. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 88,732 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Volvo XC40 tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1. 1.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm35.3%

   2,665 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

2. 2.A tyre seriously damaged29.5%

   2,231 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

3. 3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements17.4%

   1,316 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

4. 4.A tyre cords visible or damaged8.7%

   654 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained

5. 5.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen6.2%

   471 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

6. 6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn3.3%

   246 occurrencesBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

7. 7.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc3.0%

   228 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained

8. 8.A tyre seriously damaged2.9%

   222 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

9. 9.A suspension component fractured or likely to fail2.9%

   221 occurrencesSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained

10. 10.Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction2.1%

    157 occurrencesEngine management light on, or not working explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Volvo XC40 tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1. 1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements20.6%

   18,248 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

2. 2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm13.1%

   11,660 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

3. 3.A tyre seriously damaged8.4%

   7,462 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

4. 4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured6.4%

   5,712 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

5. 5.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn6.0%

   5,353 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

6. 6.Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt3.7%

   3,318 tests

7. 7.A tyre seriously damaged3.4%

   3,025 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

8. 8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.0%

   2,643 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

What gets tested

The XC40 fleet

Average mileage recorded at test

39,377

Across examples of every age, so this is a description of the fleet rather than an annual figure.

Fuel mix of tested cars

Petrol46.3%

Hybrid35.9%

Diesel12.8%

Electric5.1%

Compare within the range

Other Volvo models

• Volvo XC60 — 79.1% adjusted
• Volvo V40 — 67.4% adjusted
• Volvo XC90 — 77.6% adjusted
• Volvo V60 — 78.3% adjusted
• Volvo V70 — 63.8% unadjusted
• Volvo V50 — 55.2% unadjusted
• All Volvo models →

Common questions

How reliable is the Volvo XC40 compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Volvo XC40, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 90.0% across 88,732 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Volvo XC40?

The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 35.3% of failed Volvo XC40 tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Volvo XC40?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 20.6% of all Volvo XC40 tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Volvo XC40 usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 39,377 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Are most Volvo XC40 models petrol or diesel?

Of the Volvo XC40 cars tested, 46% are petrol, 36% are hybrid, 13% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.

Further reading

Make sense of the numbers

• How to judge reliability from evidence rather than reputation
• What counts as high or low mileage for a car’s age
• The most common MOT failures and how to avoid them
• What to check before buying a used Volvo