Pass rate
75.2%
Around average — 2.3 pts ahead of the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,493 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£71
2002 Volvo S60 MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 129,338 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
25.0% 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 →
13.5 pts down across model years — 14.4% in 2001, 0.9% in 2017.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 90.5% pass
- Avoid 2004 73.8% pass
Across the 20 years on record, a spread of 16.7 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 68.8%
- Typical mileage
- 129k mi
The 2002 Volvo S60 MOT pass rate is 75.2% of its MOT tests — 2.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.0% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 11.5% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Volvo S60? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 Volvo S60 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 2.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 68.8%. The median 2002 Volvo S60 in this dataset had covered 129,338 mi.
69% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 75.6% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 76.2% of the time, April–September 73.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 10.47% of tests.
- 2,493 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.2% overall pass rate, 68.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo S60, the average is 79.9% — best year 2019 (90.5%), worst 2004 (73.8%).
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
- 2,493
- Typical mileage (median)
- 129,338 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo S60
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
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 S60 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (69% of tests).
Where the Volvo S60 is most common
Across all S60 model years on record (2000–2019): 27,035 Volvo S60 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 65,819 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 891 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 891 | 84.9% |
| 2 | Sheffield (S) | 716 | 83.0% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 630 | 78.5% |
| 4 | Peterborough (PE) | 627 | 81.0% |
| 5 | Doncaster (DN) | 561 | 80.5% |
| 6 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 524 | 80.4% |
| 7 | Leicester (LE) | 510 | 83.1% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 504 | 84.0% |
| 9 | Liverpool (L) | 487 | 82.7% |
| 10 | Glasgow (G) | 478 | 82.0% |
| 11 | Northampton (NN) | 462 | 78.9% |
| 12 | Manchester (M) | 448 | 82.4% |
| 13 | Derby (DE) | 421 | 83.4% |
| 14 | York (YO) | 418 | 76.0% |
| 15 | Cardiff (CF) | 411 | 79.3% |
| 16 | Swansea (SA) | 385 | 78.6% |
| 17 | Ipswich (IP) | 385 | 77.4% |
| 18 | Reading (RG) | 378 | 80.6% |
| 19 | Chester (CH) | 375 | 78.5% |
| 20 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 339 | 79.9% |
The twenty areas with the most Volvo S60 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the S60
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 448 | 76.1% |
| East of England | 352 | 74.1% |
| South West | 295 | 69.8% |
| North West | 289 | 75.4% |
| Yorkshire | 225 | 76.9% |
| West Midlands | 212 | 78.8% |
| East Midlands | 198 | 74.2% |
| Scotland | 187 | 72.2% |
| Wales | 132 | 72.7% |
| North East | 78 | 80.8% |
| London | 77 | 87.0% |
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 2002 S60
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 2002 S60
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 10.5% 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 windscreen 3.0% 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.
-
Check the suspension joints 3.0% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
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 2002 S60 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£71 — and 47% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £25–£71
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 47%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,493 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 S60, side by side
20 model years on record, from 2000 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.8% to 90.5% — a spread of 16.7 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 76.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 74.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 75.2%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 73.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 75.2% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 75.3% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2007 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 75.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 78.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 81.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 80.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 78.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 81.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 83.4% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 83.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 84.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 85.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 87.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2019 90.5% has a cut in excess of the…
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 2002 Volvo S60 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 2002 cars with a similar record
- Mazda Mx-5 75.2%
- Toyota RAV4 75.3%
- Land Rover Discovery 75.4%
- Toyota Rav-4 75.7%
- Rover 25 75.7%
- Land Rover Defender 75.8%
Closest pass rates among 2002 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 2002 Volvo S60 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 7,610 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 | 1,928 | 25.00% | 20.98% | +4.02 |
| Brakes | 1,394 | 18.10% | 20.89% | −2.79 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,319 | 17.10% | 12.21% | +4.89 |
| Tyres | 890 | 11.50% | 19.76% | −8.26 |
| Non-component advisories | 576 | 7.50% | 4.18% | +3.32 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 462 | 6.00% | 5.57% | +0.43 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 341 | 4.40% | 5.52% | −1.12 |
| Steering | 274 | 3.50% | 2.57% | +0.93 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 219 | 2.80% | 1.76% | +1.04 |
| Visibility | 207 | 2.70% | 4.97% | −2.27 |
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 | 10.5% | £5–20 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.4% | £5–25 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.2% | £45–110 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £40–150 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.8% | £30–80 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.5% | £18–45 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 2.4% | £60–150 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.1% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 23.9% | £40–150 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 19.1% | £120–300 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 16.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 13.4% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 12.9% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.6% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 8 | 100.0% | 19,546 mi |
| 30-60k | 95 | 86.3% | 48,020 mi |
| 60-90k | 349 | 81.7% | 76,836 mi |
| 90-120k | 612 | 76.5% | 105,272 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,381 | 72.1% | 169,707 mi |
Source: 2,493 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.
2002 S60 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 Volvo S60?
75.2% of the 2,493 2002 Volvo S60 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 68.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 Volvo S60?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (10.47%), position lamp not working (5.38%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4.21%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 Volvo S60 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 72.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 Volvo S60 in this dataset had covered 129,338 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2002 Volvo S60?
Petrol: 75.6% pass rate across 1,728 tests. Diesel: 74.5% pass rate across 740 tests. LPG: 61.9% pass rate across 21 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2002 Volvo S60 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 76.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.