Volvo 400 MOT reliability

Volvo 400s passed their MOT first time 65% of the time across 331 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

65%

MOTs analysed

331

Still licensed (GB)

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Body type

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Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

1995 petrol

94 MOTs

These figures come from 94 MOT tests. That's a fairly small number of cars, so they may not be typical of these cars as a whole.

Passed first time 68%. Typical mileage 77,636 (most between 57,546 and 99,710).

2021: 61% → 2022: 50% → 2023: 64% → 2024: 58% → 2025: 68%

Most common failures

Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements (9.6%)
Component mounting prescribed areas: prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.4%)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded (5.3%)
Catalyst emissions: carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (4.3%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (4.3%)

1995 diesel

2 MOTs

These figures come from only 2 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 100%. Typical mileage 91,393 (most between 79,768 and 103,018).

2021: 86% → 2022: 50% → 2023: 50% → 2024: 50% → 2025: 100%

Most common failures

Where 1995 400s fail

Brakes

18.1%

Suspension & axles

17.0%

Lights & electrics

11.7%

Body, structure & corrosion

10.6%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

10.6%

Seat belts & other equipment

5.3%

Visibility & wipers

5.3%

Wheels & tyres

1.1%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.