MOTindex

Common Volvo S40 MOT failures

Based on 287,852 Volvo S40 tests on record carrying an official DVSA defect code, so every category below is counted from real failures rather than estimated.

Full Volvo S40 MOT data, pass rate and models →

Real DVSA defect codes

Every category comes from the official MOT Inspection Manual section code DVSA attaches to each defect, not guessed from keywords.

Choose a make or model

Filter the chart below to one make or one specific model, and it updates without leaving the page.

The whole national record

Built from DVSA's published MOT data for Great Britain, not only from vehicles looked up here.

See the breakdown for one make or model

Defaults to every make on record.

Where MOT tests find problems: Volvo S40

Axles, wheels, tyres and suspension 206,474 tests (71.7%)
Brakes 94,470 tests (32.8%)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 75,885 tests (26.4%)
Body, structure and attachments 37,070 tests (12.9%)
Nuisance (emissions and noise) 21,964 tests (7.6%)
Registration plates and vehicle identification 13,829 tests (4.8%)
Steering 12,534 tests (4.4%)
Visibility 9,452 tests (3.3%)

A test can find problems in more than one category, so the figures above do not sum to 100%. Each percentage is the share of classifiable tests that found at least one defect in that category. Based on 287,852 classifiable tests for Volvo S40.

View the full Volvo S40 page →

What Volvo S40 failures look like

287,852 Volvo S40 tests on record carry the manual reference DVSA attaches to each defect. The most frequent problems were with axles, wheels, tyres and suspension on 206,474 tests (71.7%), with brakes on 94,470 tests (32.8%) and with lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment on 75,885 tests (26.4%). A test can fail on more than one thing, and an MOT can be failed on one defect while another is only advised, so these counts do not add up to the number of tests.

Narrowed down from the categories to the individual defects themselves, three come up on more than one test:

  • Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge

    MOT inspection manual reference 5.2.3, in axles, wheels, tyres and suspension

    Recorded on 88,221 of the 287,852 tests: 17,242 failures and 70,979 advisories or minors.

  • Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement

    MOT inspection manual reference 5.3.4, in axles, wheels, tyres and suspension

    Recorded on 63,738 of the 287,852 tests: 18,850 failures and 44,888 advisories or minors.

  • Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened

    MOT inspection manual reference 1.1.14, in brakes

    Recorded on 34,951 of the 287,852 tests: 2,042 failures and 32,909 advisories or minors.

Where there is enough data to compare: Volvo V40 (976,853 tests), Volvo XC60 (877,001 tests), Volvo XC90 (650,398 tests), Volvo V70 (555,678 tests), every Volvo model (5,895,708 tests).

Clauses are read from the manual reference at the end of every defect on the cached test records, and a defect shown here has to appear on at least two of them before it is named. The site-wide breakdown explains how that works and compares every make.