Volvo S60 MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Volvo S60 MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Volvo S60 passed on its first attempt in 75.6%, and its overall record sits −1.1 percentage points below the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Volvo S60 in the 2023–2025 data: 65,827 tests across 20 model years (2000–2019). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Volvo S60 MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Volvo S60, the Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Volvo S60's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Volvo S60 DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Volvo S60, each with how many of the model's 65,827 tests it was noted on.

• "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources" (Minor) — noted on about 3,796 Volvo S60 tests, 5.8% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 1,784 Volvo S60 tests, 2.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Position lamp not working" (Major) — noted on about 1,324 Volvo S60 tests, 2.0% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp lens slightly defective" (Minor) — noted on about 1,059 Volvo S60 tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements" (Major) — noted on about 1,058 Volvo S60 tests, 1.6% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect" (Major) — noted on about 932 Volvo S60 tests, 1.4% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Volvo S60 Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Volvo S60 model year on record is 2019 (90.5% across 1,777 tests), and the weakest is 2004 (73.8%). The gap between them is 16.7 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Volvo S60 reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.4 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Volvo S60 Owners

These checks follow this Volvo S60's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Volvo S60.

• the lights — “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.

• the windscreen — “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.

• the brakes — “brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”

  Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Volvo S60. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Volvo S60 is most common

Across every S60 model year 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.

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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: Volvo S60 MOT & Reliability