Volvo
177,307 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where V40s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 1.0 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
78.5%
Pass-after-fix
2.9%
Fail
18.2%
Avg miles
73,803
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 177,299 tests
Pass rate climbs 7.4 points across the cohorts — newer V40 examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
77.4%
Fail
19.1%
PRS
3.1%
Avg mileage at test
79,634 mi
Pass
84.8%
Fail
13.2%
PRS
1.8%
Avg mileage at test
41,417 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
Generations on file · 2
Volvo V40 · UK market
1995–2004
2012–2019
Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.
The picture
The Volvo V40 is a diesel-powered car sold in the UK market across multiple generations, covering a broad date range in the test population.
MOT data from 122,974 tests puts this car on a 77.7% first-time pass rate, roughly in line with the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 67,323 miles. The most common fail item is fractured or weakened suspension spring, followed by tyre tread below the legal limit.
Honest John owner records point to turbocharger reliability concerns as the recurring problems to check before buying used.
Buyers weighing up a used V40 should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.
ABI Insurance Group
Above average — worth comparing quotes before buying. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
20–32
out of 50
Filter failures:
Hide categories
Tick a category to hide it from rankings sitewide. Saved in this browser only.
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
7,013 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
3,566 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
3,343 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
3,207 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
2,267 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
2,121 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
2,089 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
1,657 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
1,530 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
1,451 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures
£280–£590
If every one of this V40's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
Try the calculator
Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 7.4-point gap between bands means the year you buy Volvo V40 has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
84.8%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 84.8% — a 7.4-point improvement. Tests in this band average 41,417 miles — roughly 38K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: fractured or broken, has ply or cords exposed — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
77.4%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 77.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 84.8% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: fractured or broken, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and has ply or cords exposed. Average mileage on test for this band is 79,634 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (84.8% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (77.4% pass). That's a 7.4-point spread across 150,318 older tests and 26,981 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Hycote
Hycote Volvo Black Stone Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml
£6.59
View at My Motor World →
Hycote
Hycote Volvo Ice White Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml
£6.59
View at My Motor World →
Autotek
Autotek Volvo Dark Grey 228 300ml
£14.29
View at My Motor World →
Autotek
Autotek Volvo Ice White 300ml
£14.29
View at My Motor World →
Click Mechanic · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
Book a mechanic at your door.
Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.
Owner reports · Honest John
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
Where it falls short
Owner reports (18 entries) flag recurring problems with gearbox/clutch, EGR valve, water/oil leaks.
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a V40 and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.
