MOT cost .
Volvo V70
MOT 2023
Wikimedia

Volvo

V70

57,151 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where V70s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 4.9 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.

Pass

70.8%

Pass-after-fix

5.6%

Fail

23.1%

Avg miles

138,797

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

The picture

V70: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 57,151 MOT tests, the V70 returns 70.8% first-time pass — below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a number-plate lamp out. A lamp out and a defective headlamp lens round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 138,797, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

    3,387 occurrences · 5.9% of tests

  2. 02

    A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

    2,254 occurrences · 3.9% of tests

  3. 03

    Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective

    2,014 occurrences · 3.5% of tests

  4. 04

    Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

    2,013 occurrences · 3.5% of tests

  5. 05

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

    1,808 occurrences · 3.2% of tests

  6. 06

    The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements

    1,701 occurrences · 3.0% of tests

  7. 07

    A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

    1,535 occurrences · 2.7% of tests

  8. 08

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    1,393 occurrences · 2.4% of tests

  9. 09

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    1,372 occurrences · 2.4% of tests

  10. 10

    Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement

    1,280 occurrences · 2.2% 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 2 failures

£18–£115

If every one of this V70'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.

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

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

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Headlight restoration kit

Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.

Search Amazon UK

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Geartronic auto where not standard extra £1,350

Where it falls short

V70 2.5T SE (200PS) manual £26,495

Buying or keeping a V70?

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 V70 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.