Pass rate
69.5%
Below average — 2.7 pts behind the 72.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,331 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £42–£123
2004 Volvo V50 MOT pass rate
- 2004
- typical 131,105 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
28.9% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Part only £40–£65 for Shock absorber leaking. What fitting it takes →
2.5 pts down across model years — 3.1% in 2004, 0.6% in 2012.
Which year to buy
- Best 2012 73.2% pass
- Avoid 2005 68.9% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 4.3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 58.8%
- Typical mileage
- 131k mi
The 2004 Volvo V50 MOT pass rate is 69.5% of its MOT tests — 2.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.9% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.4× the national share
Suspension accounts for 28.9% of everything recorded on the 2004 Volvo V50, against 21.0% nationally — 7.9 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 34% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 V50? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2004 Volvo V50 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.2%, so this figure is 2.7 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 58.8%. The median 2004 Volvo V50 in this dataset had covered 131,105 mi.
60% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 70.4% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 69.5% of the time, April–September 69.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 6.96% of tests.
- 3,331 recorded tests behind this page.
- 69.5% overall pass rate, 58.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo V50, the average is 71.1% — best year 2012 (73.2%), worst 2005 (68.9%).
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
- 3,331
- Typical mileage (median)
- 131,105 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo V50
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the V50 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (60% of tests).
Where the Volvo V50 is most common
Across all V50 model years on record (2004–2012): 44,478 Volvo V50 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 120,059 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 1,165 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) | 1,165 | 77.4% |
| 2 | Peterborough (PE) | 982 | 71.5% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 914 | 75.2% |
| 4 | Nottingham (NG) | 888 | 71.2% |
| 5 | Exeter (EX) | 856 | 67.0% |
| 6 | Ipswich (IP) | 810 | 72.1% |
| 7 | Norwich (NR) | 805 | 70.8% |
| 8 | Reading (RG) | 787 | 74.6% |
| 9 | Bristol (BS) | 776 | 68.4% |
| 10 | Ashford (TN) | 774 | 71.5% |
| 11 | Plymouth (PL) | 724 | 65.6% |
| 12 | Leicester (LE) | 720 | 72.1% |
| 13 | Portsmouth (PO) | 718 | 69.5% |
| 14 | Oxford (OX) | 717 | 71.6% |
| 15 | Swansea (SA) | 708 | 70.3% |
| 16 | Southampton (SO) | 699 | 71.1% |
| 17 | Guildford (GU) | 666 | 71.4% |
| 18 | Coventry (CV) | 649 | 73.3% |
| 19 | Brighton (BN) | 648 | 67.7% |
| 20 | Yeovil (BA) | 648 | 67.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Volvo V50 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 V50
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 876 | 71.0% |
| South West | 612 | 65.0% |
| East of England | 387 | 71.6% |
| North West | 293 | 72.0% |
| West Midlands | 277 | 68.2% |
| East Midlands | 189 | 71.4% |
| London | 163 | 81.0% |
| Wales | 158 | 69.0% |
| Scotland | 157 | 61.8% |
| Yorkshire | 152 | 66.4% |
| North East | 67 | 65.7% |
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 2004 V50
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 2004 V50
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 5.8% 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 4.8% 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 coil springs 4.5% 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.
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 2004 V50 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £42–£123 — and 34% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £42–£123
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 34%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,331 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 V50, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2004 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 68.9% to 73.2% — a spread of 4.3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 69.5%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 68.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 70.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 70.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 70.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 72.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 71.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 73.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
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 2004 Volvo V50 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 2004 cars with a similar record
- Citroen Xsara 69.5%
- Volkswagen Golf 69.3%
- Land Rover Freelander 69.7%
- Citroen C3 69.3%
- Hyundai Getz 69.3%
- Vauxhall Vectra 69.7%
Closest pass rates among 2004 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 2004 Volvo V50 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 9,655 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 | 2,833 | 28.90% | 20.98% | +7.92 |
| Brakes | 1,617 | 16.50% | 20.89% | −4.39 |
| Tyres | 1,398 | 14.30% | 19.76% | −5.46 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,297 | 13.20% | 12.21% | +0.99 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 907 | 9.20% | 5.57% | +3.63 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 550 | 5.60% | 5.52% | +0.08 |
| Visibility | 325 | 3.30% | 4.97% | −1.67 |
| Non-component advisories | 272 | 2.80% | 4.18% | −1.38 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 233 | 2.40% | 1.76% | +0.64 |
| Steering | 223 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 7.0% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 5.9% | £80–250 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.8% | £5–20 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 5.2% | £45–110 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.8% | £80–200 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 4.5% | £25–65 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.7% | £3–12 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.1% | £5–25 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.7% | £30–75 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.5% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 22.4% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 12.7% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 10.5% | £40–150 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.2% | £25–65 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 8.5% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.5% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 5 | 80.0% | 21,362 mi |
| 30-60k | 126 | 79.4% | 48,510 mi |
| 60-90k | 370 | 74.9% | 77,802 mi |
| 90-120k | 797 | 71.9% | 105,981 mi |
| 120k+ | 2,030 | 66.9% | 159,787 mi |
Source: 3,331 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.
2004 V50 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2004 Volvo V50?
69.5% of the 3,331 2004 Volvo V50 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.2% for cars first used in 2004. First-attempt pass rate: 58.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2004 Volvo V50?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (6.96%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (5.91%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.82%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2004 Volvo V50 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.0% of the time, falling to 66.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2004 Volvo V50 in this dataset had covered 131,105 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2004 Volvo V50?
Petrol: 70.4% pass rate across 2,007 tests. Diesel: 68.1% pass rate across 1,320 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2004 Volvo V50 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 69.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 69.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.