Volvo XC70 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Volvo XC70 took 18,080 MOT tests in Britain and passed 69% of them first time, close to 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: 18,080
First-time pass rate: 69%
All cars: 71%

What the XC70 fails on

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

Lights and electrics13.5% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension10.7% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes8.1% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres6.1% (all cars 6.4%)
Steering4.1% (all cars 1.8%)
Visibility3.8% (all cars 4.8%)
Body and structure2.6% (all cars 3.5%)
Exhaust and emissions1.2% (all cars 3.1%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Position lamp: not working 4.5%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 4.2%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 2.4%
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 2.3%
Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play 2.2%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 1.8%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.8%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 1.8%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 18.9%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 10.0%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 9.4%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.0%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 6.3%
Coil spring: corroded 5.3%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 4.0%
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil 3.9%

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
2003	513	53%
2004	827	55%
2005	1,375	58%
2006	1,267	56%
2007	1,359	59%
2008	1,027	68%
2009	1,041	69%
2010	1,436	68%
2011	1,833	71%
2012	1,347	71%
2013	1,562	76%
2014	1,729	77%
2015	1,616	80%
2016	1,024	80%

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
7 years	69,086 miles
8 years	79,495 miles
9 years	89,142 miles
10 years	99,911 miles
11 years	108,253 miles
12 years	117,465 miles
13 years	128,504 miles
14 years	130,058 miles
15 years	138,501 miles
16 years	141,579 miles
17 years	146,693 miles
18 years	158,057 miles
19 years	163,075 miles
20 years	161,067 miles

Check a particular XC70

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.