Volvo S40 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Volvo S40 took 21,057 MOT tests in Britain and passed 57% 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: 21,057
First-time pass rate: 57%
All cars: 71%

What the S40 fails on

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

Lights and electrics19.3% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension18.1% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes10.8% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres8.8% (all cars 6.4%)
Body and structure7.4% (all cars 3.5%)
Visibility5.7% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions4.9% (all cars 3.1%)
Steering4.1% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Coil spring: fractured or broken 6.1%
Position lamp: not working 5.9%
Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 4.4%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 3.2%
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps 3.1%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 3.0%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.9%
Headlamp: not working on dipped beam 2.9%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 22.6%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 11.4%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 11.0%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.8%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 8.4%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 7.0%
Coil spring: corroded 6.3%
Registration plates: deteriorated but not likely to be misread 4.5%

Pass rate by year of registration

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

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2001	390	57%
2002	562	54%
2003	815	49%
2004	1,440	52%
2005	1,772	57%
2006	2,028	59%
2007	2,161	58%
2008	3,367	57%
2009	2,667	57%
2010	2,181	57%
2011	1,556	58%
2012	1,339	62%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
11 years	95,812 miles
12 years	102,945 miles
13 years	104,504 miles
14 years	103,288 miles
15 years	111,174 miles
16 years	115,595 miles
17 years	115,896 miles
18 years	114,871 miles
19 years	106,294 miles
20 years	105,291 miles

Check a particular S40

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

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.