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Volvo XC70, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

14,977 Volvo XC70s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 69.4% of initial MOT tests, 2.9 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific XC70? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Volvo XC70 at the MOT

69.4% of 16,660 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the XC70 357th of 575 models. Volvo XC70s aged 6 to 10 years passed 79% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 66.6%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Volvo XC7069.4%
  • All Volvo modelsThe XC70 is 5.9 pts behind75.3%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Volvo XC70 tests in 2025.

  • 6 to 10 years3,729 tests79%
  • 11 years and over12,931 tests66.6%

Where XC70s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Volvo XC70 tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment29.8%
  • Suspension23%
  • Brakes15.6%
  • Tyres10.1%
  • Steering7.1%

The items testers recorded most often were position lamp not working (6.9%), coil spring fractured or broken (6.4%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (5.1%).

The MOT page lists every common XC70 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Volvo XC70 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The XC70's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.29.8% of XC70 failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.23% of XC70 failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.15.6% of XC70 failure items

Volvo XC70s in the UK

14,977 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 18% since the end of 2014, and 27% from its peak of 20,448 at the end of 2016.

Change since 2014
−18%from 18,205 licensed
Typical year of first use
2011half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2011 or earlier
First registered in 2025
8against 1,663 in 2015
Declared off the road
1,6089.7% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Volvo XC70s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201418,205
End of 201519,684
End of 201620,448
End of 201720,257
End of 201819,693
End of 201919,217
End of 202018,677
End of 202118,215
End of 202217,689
End of 202316,924
End of 202416,134
End of 202515,375
End of June 202614,977

How old they are

Licensed Volvo XC70s by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 56 were first used before 2003.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20169901,048
20151,5521,663
20141,652
20131,487
20121,260
20111,685
20101,256
2009904
2008801
2007991
2006831
2005892
2004502
2003298

1,552 XC70s first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 93% of the 1,663 first registered that year.

XC70 engines and fuel

2.4 litre engines made up 91% of Volvo XC70 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.0 litre at 4.3%. Diesel accounts for 97% of licensed XC70s and petrol for 2.9%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 16,657 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.4 litre91.2%
  • 2.0 litre4.3%
  • 2.5 litre3%

Fuel type, licensed XC70s

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol4333%
Diesel14,54197%
Gas3<0.1%

Volvo XC70 recalls

38 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volvo XC70. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every XC70 is affected.

  1. Jul 2020 R/2020/210

    There is a risk for trapped air to be in the cooling system which may result in insufficient cooling of engine components

    XC70s built Nov 2013 to Apr 2016 · 76,945 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Add an extra degassing line (Bleeder Hose) between the cooling system radiator and the cooling system expansion tank which will evacuate the trapped air

  2. Jul 2020 R/2020/205

    There is a risk for trapped air to be in the cooling system

    XC70s built Nov 2012 to May 2016 · 15,167 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    There is a risk for trapped air to be in the cooling system which may result in insufficient cooling of engine components.
    Remedy
    Add an extra degassing line (Bleeder Hose) between the cooling system radiator and the cooling system expansion tank which will evacuate the trapped air.

  3. Jul 2020 R/2020/192

    Potential breakage/fatigue of a flexible steel cable supporting the front seatbelt anchor point

    XC70s built May 2007 to May 2016 · 170,160 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Replace the seat belt fastener with a new designed seat belt fastening.

  4. Oct 2019 R/2019/180

    The engine's plastic inlet manifold may melt and deform

    XC70s built Nov 2012 to May 2016

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The engines plastic inlet manifold may melt and deform
    Remedy
    Update vehicles with improved soot reducing software cleaning of TMAP and EMAP. Fit additional hoses where necessary.

  5. Jan 2019 R/2018/377

    Small cracks on the inside of a rubber fuel hose

    XC70s built Apr 2015 to May 2016 · 30,777 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Replacement of affected fuel hoses.

  6. Jun 2016 R/2016/117

    Driver's airbag module may not deploy as intended

    XC70s built May 2016 · 123 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to a potential manufacturing defect the gas generator in the driver's airbag module may not deploy as intended. This may reduce the affectivities of the airbag.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace the driver's air bag module.

  7. Feb 2016 R/2016/027

    Stalling and loss of steering power assistance

    XC70s built Oct 2014 to Feb 2016 · 7,237 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Involved vehicles may have a software issue which could cause the engine to momentarily cut-out and restart while driving. This could also cause disturbances in some electrical systems such as shut down of the instrument cluster infotainment system and loss of power steering assistance.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and upgrade the software of the control units.

  8. Jan 2016 R/2015/253

    Fuel guage may not show fuel level correctly

    XC70s built Nov 2014 to Apr 2015 · 1,109 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Fuel gauge may not show correct level
    Remedy
    The remedy is not yet available for all models. Until a remedy is available the manufacturer advises to maintain fuel level above approx one third.
How to check a specific XC70 for recalls

Other Volvo models

The most-tested Volvo models in 2025, against the XC70's 69.4% MOT pass rate.

All 18 Volvo models

Volvo XC70 FAQs

How many Volvo XC70s are there in the UK?

14,977 Volvo XC70s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,608 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Volvo XC70 reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 69.4% first-time pass rate for the Volvo XC70 across 16,660 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Volvo XC70 had any recalls?

38 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Volvo XC70. The most recent was published in July 2020. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Volvo XC70?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Volvo XC70's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found an XC70?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Volvo history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Volvo VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.