Pass rate
72.9%
Below average — 1.1 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 9,392 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £40–£116
2009 Volvo S40 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 104,868 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
23.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £35–£75 for Suspension pin or bush excessively worn. What fitting it takes →
5.1 pts up across model years — 3.7% in 2000, 8.8% in 2012.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 74.4% pass
- Avoid 2003 69.5% pass
Across the 14 years on record, a spread of 4.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.3%
- Typical mileage
- 105k mi
The 2009 Volvo S40 MOT pass rate is 72.9% of its MOT tests — 1.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 23.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volvo S40 does in your corner of the country.
Watching a Volvo S40? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Volvo S40 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 1.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.3%. The median 2009 Volvo S40 in this dataset had covered 104,868 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 59% of tests, with a 72.1% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 72.7% of the time, April–September 73.1%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 6.08% of tests.
- 9,392 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.9% overall pass rate, 64.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo S40, the average is 72.5% — best year 2012 (74.4%), worst 2003 (69.5%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 9,392
- Typical mileage (median)
- 104,868 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo S40
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the S40 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 63% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (59% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the S40
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,499 | 75.7% |
| North West | 1,146 | 73.0% |
| East of England | 1,039 | 74.8% |
| Yorkshire | 1,021 | 73.2% |
| Scotland | 959 | 66.0% |
| West Midlands | 904 | 74.3% |
| South West | 827 | 69.0% |
| East Midlands | 717 | 73.2% |
| North East | 550 | 73.5% |
| Wales | 495 | 71.1% |
| London | 235 | 83.8% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2009 S40
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2009 S40
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 6.1% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the coil springs 4.2% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the windscreen 3.4% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2009 S40 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £40–£116 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £40–£116
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 9,392 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the S40, side by side
14 model years on record, from 2000 to 2013. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.5% to 74.4% — a spread of 4.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 72.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 71.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 70.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 69.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 70.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 71.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 73.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 73.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 72.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 72.9%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 73.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 72.3% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2012 74.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 72.8% coil spring fractured or broken
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2009 Volvo S40 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2009 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Touran 72.9%
- Ford Galaxy 72.9%
- Mitsubishi Colt 73.0%
- Fiat Punto 73.0%
- Mitsubishi Shogun 73.0%
- Hyundai Santa Fe 72.8%
Closest pass rates among 2009 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2009 Volvo S40 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 22,185 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 5,274 | 23.40% | 20.98% | +2.42 |
| Tyres | 3,822 | 16.90% | 19.76% | −2.86 |
| Brakes | 3,769 | 16.70% | 20.89% | −4.19 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 3,397 | 15.10% | 12.21% | +2.89 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,692 | 7.50% | 5.57% | +1.93 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,376 | 6.10% | 5.52% | +0.58 |
| Visibility | 926 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Steering | 852 | 3.80% | 2.57% | +1.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 663 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 414 | 1.80% | 1.76% | +0.04 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.1% | £5–20 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 4.2% | £25–65 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £5–25 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 3.5% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.4% | £80–200 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.2% | £40–150 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 2.4% | £80–250 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £5–20 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 1.8% | £120–300 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.4% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 13.0% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 11.1% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.6% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.3% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 7.8% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 178 | 85.4% | 22,924 mi |
| 30-60k | 921 | 79.7% | 47,024 mi |
| 60-90k | 2,191 | 73.8% | 76,451 mi |
| 90-120k | 2,830 | 71.5% | 105,117 mi |
| 120k+ | 3,264 | 71.0% | 149,029 mi |
Source: 9,392 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2009 S40 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Volvo S40?
72.9% of the 9,392 2009 Volvo S40 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 64.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Volvo S40?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.08%), coil spring fractured or broken (4.22%), position lamp not working (3.99%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Volvo S40 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 85.4% of the time, falling to 71.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Volvo S40 in this dataset had covered 104,868 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Volvo S40?
Diesel: 72.1% pass rate across 5,571 tests. Petrol: 74.1% pass rate across 3,821 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Volvo S40 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 72.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.1%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.