Pass rate
77.5%
Around average — 4.4 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 992 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£71
2008 Volvo XC60 MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 134,063 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
27.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 92.9% pass
- Avoid 2008 77.5% pass · this year
Across the 14 years on record, a spread of 15.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 71.6%
- Typical mileage
- 134k mi
The 2008 Volvo XC60 MOT pass rate is 77.5% of its MOT tests — 4.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 27.6% of everything recorded on the 2008 Volvo Xc60, against 21.0% nationally — 6.6 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.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.1% and this one manages 77.5% — 4.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
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 XC60? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Volvo XC60 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 4.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 71.6%. The median 2008 Volvo XC60 in this dataset had covered 134,063 mi.
96% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 77.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.2% of the time, April–September 76.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 5.44% of tests.
- 992 recorded tests behind this page.
- 77.5% overall pass rate, 71.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo XC60, the average is 84.3% — best year 2021 (92.9%), worst 2008 (77.5%).
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
- 992
- Typical mileage (median)
- 134,063 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo XC60
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the XC60 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (96% of tests).
Where the Volvo XC60 is most common
Across all XC60 model years on record (2008–2021): 132,005 Volvo XC60 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 318,684 tests. Peterborough (PE) has the most, with 2,956 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 | Peterborough (PE) | 2,956 | 86.1% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 2,947 | 86.3% |
| 3 | Nottingham (NG) | 2,791 | 84.3% |
| 4 | Sheffield (S) | 2,788 | 86.1% |
| 5 | Leicester (LE) | 2,590 | 86.7% |
| 6 | York (YO) | 2,514 | 80.7% |
| 7 | Reading (RG) | 2,411 | 85.9% |
| 8 | Guildford (GU) | 2,261 | 83.5% |
| 9 | Doncaster (DN) | 2,110 | 86.9% |
| 10 | Ipswich (IP) | 2,100 | 83.4% |
| 11 | Coventry (CV) | 2,066 | 86.8% |
| 12 | Southampton (SO) | 2,007 | 85.1% |
| 13 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 1,998 | 83.8% |
| 14 | Ashford (TN) | 1,987 | 83.3% |
| 15 | Norwich (NR) | 1,962 | 82.5% |
| 16 | Northampton (NN) | 1,929 | 84.4% |
| 17 | Derby (DE) | 1,928 | 86.5% |
| 18 | Chester (CH) | 1,774 | 82.9% |
| 19 | Oxford (OX) | 1,758 | 85.2% |
| 20 | Gloucester (GL) | 1,733 | 83.0% |
The twenty areas with the most Volvo XC60 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 XC60
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 183 | 78.1% |
| East of England | 160 | 79.4% |
| North West | 120 | 75.8% |
| South West | 118 | 72.0% |
| Yorkshire | 118 | 81.4% |
| West Midlands | 86 | 81.4% |
| East Midlands | 81 | 76.5% |
| Scotland | 58 | 72.4% |
| Wales | 36 | 80.6% |
| North East | 20 | 75.0% |
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 2008 XC60
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 2008 XC60
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 coil springs 5.4% 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 lights 5.3% 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 2.6% 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 2008 XC60 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£71 — and 36% 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: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 992 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 XC60, side by side
14 model years on record, from 2008 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.5% to 92.9% — a spread of 15.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 77.5%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2009 78.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 78.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2011 79.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 80.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 81.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 81.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 83.0% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2016 84.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 86.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2018 90.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 90.8% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2020 91.2% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2021 92.9% wipers blade defective
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 2008 Volvo XC60 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 2008 cars with a similar record
- Smart Mcc Fortwo Cabriolet 77.4%
- Mercedes-Benz Cls 77.2%
- BMW 1 Series 77.9%
- BMW 123 77.9%
- BMW 120 77.0%
- Mercedes-Benz Slk 77.0%
Closest pass rates among 2008 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 2008 Volvo XC60 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 1,948 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 | 543 | 27.60% | 20.98% | +6.62 |
| Tyres | 344 | 17.50% | 19.76% | −2.26 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 344 | 17.50% | 12.21% | +5.29 |
| Brakes | 337 | 17.10% | 20.89% | −3.79 |
| Visibility | 88 | 4.50% | 4.97% | −0.47 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 79 | 4.00% | 5.57% | −1.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 74 | 3.80% | 4.18% | −0.38 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 62 | 3.20% | 5.52% | −2.32 |
| Steering | 46 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 31 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.4% | £25–65 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.3% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.6% | £80–200 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.5% | £80–250 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.4% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.2% | £18–45 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.8% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.7% | £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 | 20.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 10.7% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.6% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.7% | £40–150 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 7.3% | £25–65 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.7% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 28,745 mi |
| 30-60k | 23 | 82.6% | 46,978 mi |
| 60-90k | 76 | 85.5% | 77,669 mi |
| 90-120k | 241 | 79.3% | 106,841 mi |
| 120k+ | 651 | 75.7% | 154,172 mi |
Source: 992 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.
2008 XC60 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Volvo XC60?
77.5% of the 992 2008 Volvo XC60 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 71.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Volvo XC60?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (5.44%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.34%), headlamp lens slightly defective (3.83%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Volvo XC60 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 75.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Volvo XC60 in this dataset had covered 134,063 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2008 Volvo XC60?
Diesel: 77.1% pass rate across 956 tests. Petrol: 88.9% pass rate across 36 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2008 Volvo XC60 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.