Volvo XC90 MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Volvo XC90 took 68,456 MOT tests in Britain and passed 72% 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: 68,456
First-time pass rate: 72%
All cars: 71%

What the XC90 fails on

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

Lights and electrics11.8% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes10.9% (all cars 6.8%)
Tyres6.6% (all cars 6.4%)
Suspension5.3% (all cars 9.0%)
Visibility3.2% (all cars 4.8%)
Steering2.5% (all cars 1.8%)
Body and structure2.0% (all cars 3.5%)
Exhaust and emissions1.0% (all cars 3.1%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Position lamp: not working 5.1%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.5%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 2.3%
Decelerometer (sp): efficiency below requirements 2.0%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 2.0%
Headlamp aim: projected beam image is obviously incorrect 1.7%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn 1.5%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.5%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 19.5%
Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 9.2%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 9.1%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.6%
Non-component advisories: Play in steering rack inner joint(s) 5.4%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 4.7%
Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 3.8%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 3.6%

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	878	53%
2004	2,724	54%
2005	3,582	54%
2006	2,847	57%
2007	2,840	57%
2008	1,745	60%
2009	3,492	61%
2010	6,120	63%
2011	4,327	66%
2012	2,974	69%
2013	2,427	71%
2014	2,317	73%
2015	2,729	79%
2016	5,230	80%
2017	5,506	83%
2018	6,294	86%
2019	7,266	86%
2020	4,998	87%

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
3 years	30,801 miles
4 years	39,540 miles
5 years	50,399 miles
6 years	62,230 miles
7 years	73,096 miles
8 years	80,205 miles
9 years	90,706 miles
10 years	97,789 miles
11 years	107,236 miles
12 years	116,957 miles
13 years	124,231 miles
14 years	130,615 miles
15 years	137,176 miles
16 years	145,092 miles
17 years	146,341 miles
18 years	154,883 miles
19 years	158,776 miles
20 years	154,370 miles

Check a particular XC90

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.