MOT cost .
Volvo Xc60
MOT 2023
Wikimedia

Volvo

Xc60

107,060 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Xc60s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 5.8 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,988 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

81.5%

Pass-after-fix

3.0%

Fail

15.1%

Avg miles

78,295

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

The picture

81.52% pass rate — class-leading, with caveats

At 81.52% across 107,060 tests, the Volvo XC60 posts the highest pass rate in this batch — a result that holds even at an average presenting mileage of 78,295. Top failures are spring fractures, rear number plate lamps, and brake pads worn below 1.5mm. The brake pad failure is worth noting: owners of SUVs with heavy kerbweights often run pads down further than they realise before the advisory turns into a fail.

Owner reports flag some specific costs. Rear trailing arm bushes split at 52,000 miles on a 2017 XC60 — Volvo dealer quoted £540 for replacement. A buckled alloy on 21-inch wheels appeared at just 21,000 miles. An AdBlue dosing fault appeared on a new V60 D3 within days of delivery, requiring dealer intervention under warranty. None of these fail an MOT directly, but a pad below 1.5mm and a fractured spring absolutely do. The XC60 rewards regular inspection; ignore it and the pass rate advantage disappears.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

  1. 01

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    4,659 occurrences · 4.4% of tests

  2. 02

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

    3,428 occurrences · 3.2% of tests

  3. 03

    a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

    3,320 occurrences · 3.1% of tests

  4. 04

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    2,908 occurrences · 2.7% of tests

  5. 05

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

    2,226 occurrences · 2.1% of tests

  6. 06

    A tyre seriously damaged

    1,699 occurrences · 1.6% of tests

  7. 07

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    1,275 occurrences · 1.2% of tests

  8. 08

    Wiper blade defective

    1,151 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

  9. 09

    Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated

    1,144 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

  10. 10

    A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

    1,069 occurrences · 1.0% 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

£228–£530

If every one of this Xc60'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

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

Item 03 · 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

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.

Recent owner-reported faults

  1. 10 Sep 2021

    Report of rear trailing arm bushes failure on Volvo XC60 (2017). Bushes have split after 52,000 miles. The owner has been quoted £540 to replace at the dealer.

  2. 10 Sep 2021

    Report of alloy wheel buckle on XC60 T5. Car has 21-inch wheels and 21,000 miles on the clock. * Terms and Conditions * Privacy * Cookies * Advertise on this site * Contact * Mobile) Website of the Year 2016, 2017 & 2018

  3. 17 Oct 2018

    Report of Adblue problem with new Volvo V60 D3 Momentum delivered 25-10-2018 with 241 delivery miles. A warning message stating "Adblue Dosing Service required. No restart after 550mi" appeared. Owner took it to Volvo dealer under warranty who explained that they would have to take it for a 30 mile test drive. They then tried to update/upgrade the software but this hasn't worked and the message is still there.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 3 reports indexed

Buying or keeping a Xc60?

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 Xc60 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.