Pass rate
88.3%
Above average — 2.9 pts behind the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 103 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£82
2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core MOT pass rate
- 2021
- typical 28,110 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
43.8% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 91.3% pass
- Avoid 2021 88.3% pass · this year
Across the 2 years on record, a spread of 3 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.2%
- Typical mileage
- 28k mi
The 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core MOT pass rate is 88.3% of its MOT tests — 2.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 43.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volvo XC40 Momentum Core does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 2.1× the national share
Brakes make up 43.8% of everything recorded on the 2021 Volvo Xc40 Momentum Core, against 20.9% nationally — 22.9 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 12% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 103 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 XC40 Momentum Core? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 2.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.2%. The median 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core in this dataset had covered 28,110 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 92.6% of the time, April–September 83.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 3.88% of tests.
- 103 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.3% overall pass rate, 87.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo XC40 Momentum Core, the average is 89.7% — best year 2020 (91.3%), worst 2021 (88.3%).
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
- 103
- Typical mileage (median)
- 28,110 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo XC40 Momentum Core
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the XC40 Momentum Core MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 75% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the XC40 Momentum Core
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 32 | 90.6% |
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 2021 XC40 Momentum Core
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 2021 XC40 Momentum Core
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 brakes 3.9% of tests
“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.
-
Check the tyre tread 1.9% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
-
Check the wheel bearings 1.9% of tests
“wheel bearings rough when rotated”
Listen for a hum that rises and falls with speed and changes when you load one side in a bend. A noisy bearing is an easy pre-test diagnosis and an awkward surprise at the test station.
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 2021 XC40 Momentum Core through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£82 — and 12% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£82
- Cheapest common item: wipers blade defective
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot split or…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 12%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 103 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 XC40 Momentum Core, side by side
2 model years on record, from 2020 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 88.3% to 91.3% — a spread of 3 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2020 91.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 88.3%brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
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 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core 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 2021 cars with a similar record
- Isuzu D-Max 88.2%
- BMW 420D 88.2%
- Ford Mondeo 88.4%
- Tesla Model 3 88.1%
- Nissan Navara 88.5%
- BMW 840I 88.5%
Closest pass rates among 2021 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 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 7 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 73 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 32 | 43.80% | 20.89% | +22.91 |
| Tyres | 26 | 35.60% | 19.76% | +15.84 |
| Visibility | 5 | 6.80% | 4.97% | +1.83 |
| Non-component advisories | 4 | 5.50% | 4.18% | +1.32 |
| Suspension | 3 | 4.10% | 20.98% | −16.88 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 2.70% | 0.82% | +1.88 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1 | 1.40% | 5.57% | −4.17 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 3.9% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.9% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings rough when rotated Suspension | Major | 1.9% | £20–55 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Major | 0.97% | £45–110 |
| Buckle not functioning as intended Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 0.97% | £40–120 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.97% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 0.97% | £45–95 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 0.97% | £80–250 |
| Not functioning as intended Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 0.97% | £40–120 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 17.5% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.5% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.9% | £45–95 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 2.9% | £20–80 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 1.9% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 57 | 91.2% | 19,858 mi |
| 30-60k | 43 | 83.7% | 42,960 mi |
| 60-90k | 3 | 100.0% | 71,703 mi |
Source: 103 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.
2021 XC40 Momentum Core MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core?
88.3% of the 103 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 87.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (3.88%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.94%), wheel bearings rough when rotated (1.94%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 91.2% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core in this dataset had covered 28,110 mi.
Does the season affect the 2021 Volvo XC40 Momentum Core MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 92.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 83.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.