Pass rate
75.9%
Around average — 1.9 pts ahead of the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 12,285 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £22–£65
2009 Volvo XC90 MOT pass rate
- 2009
- typical 134,208 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
26.4% 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 →
15.4 pts down across model years — 16.0% in 2003, 0.6% in 2017.
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 89.3% pass
- Avoid 2003 70.7% pass
Across the 19 years on record, a spread of 18.6 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 69.6%
- Typical mileage
- 134k mi
The 2009 Volvo XC90 MOT pass rate is 75.9% of its MOT tests — 1.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Volvo XC90 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 26.4% of everything recorded on the 2009 Volvo Xc90, against 21.0% nationally — 5.4 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.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 60% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 XC90? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2009 Volvo XC90 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 1.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 69.6%. The median 2009 Volvo XC90 in this dataset had covered 134,208 mi.
98% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 75.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 75.9% of the time, April–September 75.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Position lamp not working", noted on 5.41% of tests.
- 12,285 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.9% overall pass rate, 69.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Volvo XC90, the average is 80.2% — best year 2020 (89.3%), worst 2003 (70.7%).
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
- 12,285
- Typical mileage (median)
- 134,208 mi
- Make and model
- Volvo XC90
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the XC90 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 (98% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the XC90
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 2,888 | 76.8% |
| South West | 1,813 | 71.1% |
| East of England | 1,644 | 76.7% |
| North West | 1,083 | 77.0% |
| Yorkshire | 1,018 | 75.2% |
| West Midlands | 1,014 | 78.9% |
| East Midlands | 769 | 76.3% |
| Scotland | 707 | 75.4% |
| Wales | 540 | 73.9% |
| North East | 451 | 73.8% |
| London | 351 | 85.2% |
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 2009 XC90
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 2009 XC90
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 5.4% of tests
“position lamp not working”
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 2.1% of tests
“ball joint 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 2009 XC90 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £22–£65 — and 60% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £22–£65
- 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
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 60%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 12,285 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 XC90, side by side
19 model years on record, from 2003 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.7% to 89.3% — a spread of 18.6 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 70.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 70.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 71.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 72.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 72.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2008 74.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 75.9%position lamp not working
- 2010 76.7% position lamp not working
- 2011 77.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 79.9% position lamp not working
- 2013 80.3% position lamp not working
- 2014 80.7% position lamp not working
- 2015 83.6% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 84.2% track rod end ball joint has…
- 2017 86.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 88.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 88.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 89.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 88.9% has ply or cords exposed
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 2009 Volvo XC90 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 2009 cars with a similar record
- Volkswagen Passat 75.9%
- MINI COOPER 76.0%
- Jaguar Xf 75.8%
- Saab 9-3 76.1%
- Volkswagen Golf 75.7%
- Toyota RAV4 75.7%
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 Volvo XC90 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 29,575 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 | 7,864 | 26.40% | 20.98% | +5.42 |
| Brakes | 5,725 | 19.20% | 20.89% | −1.69 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 5,107 | 17.10% | 12.21% | +4.89 |
| Tyres | 4,135 | 13.90% | 19.76% | −5.86 |
| Non-component advisories | 2,202 | 7.40% | 4.18% | +3.22 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,130 | 3.80% | 5.57% | −1.77 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,122 | 3.80% | 5.52% | −1.72 |
| Visibility | 1,081 | 3.60% | 4.97% | −1.37 |
| Steering | 693 | 2.30% | 2.57% | −0.27 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 516 | 1.70% | 1.76% | −0.06 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 5.4% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.9% | £5–20 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.8% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 3.1% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Decelerometer (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £45–110 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.8% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.1% | £18–45 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £40–150 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.9% | £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 | 22.0% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 21.9% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.0% | £45–110 |
| Non-component advisories Play in steering rack inner joint(s) Non-component advisories | Advisory | 11.3% | £120–300 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.8% | £180–450 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.2% | £200–700 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 11 | 100.0% | 22,146 mi |
| 30-60k | 179 | 81.0% | 48,919 mi |
| 60-90k | 900 | 80.8% | 79,226 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,029 | 76.5% | 107,378 mi |
| 120k+ | 8,161 | 75.0% | 154,643 mi |
Source: 12,285 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.
2009 XC90 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Volvo XC90?
75.9% of the 12,285 2009 Volvo XC90 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 69.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Volvo XC90?
The three most recorded items are position lamp not working (5.41%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (4.91%), position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (3.82%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Volvo XC90 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Volvo XC90 in this dataset had covered 134,208 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Volvo XC90?
Diesel: 75.9% pass rate across 11,990 tests. Petrol: 76.7% pass rate across 292 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Volvo XC90 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 75.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.