Volvo 800 Series MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Volvo 800 Series took 1,940 MOT tests in Britain and passed 62% of them first time, below the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023

1,940

First-time pass rate

62%

All cars

71%

What the 800 Series fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

• Lights and electrics15.5% (all cars 11.3%)
• Brakes15.1% (all cars 6.8%)
• Suspension11.9% (all cars 9.0%)
• Body and structure9.8% (all cars 3.5%)
• Visibility7.9% (all cars 4.8%)
• Exhaust and emissions6.6% (all cars 3.1%)
• Tyres5.5% (all cars 6.4%)
• Steering3.3% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

1. Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 5.4%
2. Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 5.4%
3. Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 4.3%
4. Position lamp: not working 4.2%
5. Anti-lock braking system: warning lamp indicates an ABS fault 4.1%
6. Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 4.0%
7. Parking brake performance: inoperative on one side 2.9%
8. Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 2.5%

Most common advisories

1. Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 16.6%
2. Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 13.7%
3. Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 11.4%
4. Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 8.8%
5. Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread 6.3%
6. Coil spring: corroded 6.2%
7. Non-component advisories: Play in steering rack inner joint(s) 5.4%
8. Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases 5.1%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

Check a particular 800 Series

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Volvo models

• Volvo XC60
• Volvo V40
• Volvo XC90
• Volvo XC40
• Volvo V70
• Volvo V60
• Volvo V50
• Volvo C30
• Volvo S60
• Volvo S40
• Volvo XC70
• Volvo V90
• Volvo C70
• Volvo S80
• Volvo S90
• Volvo 900 Series
• Volvo 240

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.