69%
Volvo S80
Volvo S80 MOT pass rate and common problems
The Volvo S80 passed 69% of its initial MOT tests in 2025, 3.3 percentage points below the 72.3% UK average. The item testers recorded most often was position lamp not working.
Checking a specific car? Its own results, advisories and recorded mileages are in a free MOT history check.
How the S80 compares
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. A car that failed and was repaired at the test station counts as a fail.
75.3%
Volvo average
72.3%
UK average, all cars
The S80 runs 6.3 points behind the Volvo average. It is 11th of the 18 Volvo models in the data. The average S80 arrived at its test 16.6 years old with 126,213 miles recorded.
A pass rate records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day. It is not a reliability score, and part of any gap reflects how old the tested cars were.
S80 MOT pass rate by age
The same 2025 tests split by the car's age at test.
Volvo S80 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 80.8% of MOT tests. For cars aged 11 years and over that fell to 67.3%, a drop of 13.5 percentage points.
| Age at test | Tests | Pass rate | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 10 years | 771 | 80.8% | 8.5 pts above |
| 11 years and over | 5,436 | 67.3% | 5 pts below |
That is a steep decline with age, so the headline rate flatters older examples. The UK average of 72.3% covers cars of every age, so compare like with like.
Where S80 failures cluster
Every failure item recorded on Volvo S80 cars in 2025, grouped into the DVSA's test areas.
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes together account for 46.1% of recorded failure items. These are recorded failures across the model, not faults every car has.
The 10 most common S80 MOT failures
Specific items recorded on Volvo S80 cars that failed their 2025 MOT, as a share of all recorded failure items.
Together these 10 items make up 36.1% of everything testers recorded against failed Volvo S80 cars. The rest is spread across many smaller items, and one failed test often records several at once.
What to look at on a S80
The recorded failures above, grouped by area, biggest first.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Recorded most often: position lamp not working, headlamp aim too low, registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps and headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect. 16.5% of failure items.
2
Tyres
Recorded most often: condition has ply or cords exposed and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. 7.1% of failure items.
3
Brakes
Recorded most often: brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick. 3.5% of failure items.
4
Suspension
Recorded most often: pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn. 3.1% of failure items.
The car's own MOT history matters more than any model average. A free MOT history check shows whether a specific S80 has failed on these items before, or had them noted as advisories. Buying one? See the used Volvo S80 buying guide.
Already found one?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Volvo S80 MOT FAQs
What is the Volvo S80 MOT pass rate?
69% of Volvo S80 cars passed their initial MOT first time in 2025, from 6,207 tests. That is 3.3 percentage points below the 72.3% average for all cars, and ranks 366th of 575 models.
What does a Volvo S80 most commonly fail its MOT on?
The item testers recorded most often on Volvo S80 cars failing their 2025 MOT was position lamp not working, on 7.8% of failure items. Next were condition has ply or cords exposed (3.7%) and headlamp aim too low (3.5%).
Which area causes the most Volvo S80 MOT failures?
Across every recorded failure item, the largest area was lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 30.9%, followed by brakes at 15.2%.
Do older Volvo S80 cars fail their MOT more often?
Volvo S80 cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 80.8% of MOT tests in 2025, against 67.3% for cars aged 11 years and over.
Does this mean every Volvo S80 has these problems?
No. These are the items testers recorded across every Volvo S80 that failed in 2025. They show where the model most often needs attention, not the condition of any individual car.
How do I see a specific Volvo S80's MOT history?
Enter its registration on the free Carpeep MOT history check to see that car's own test results, failures, advisories and recorded mileages.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025: class 4 initial tests, retests excluded, with failure items from failed tests (advisories and minor defects excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.