Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volvo C70 2007: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 56 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2007 Volvo C70 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

With 957 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2007 Volvo C70 differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 957 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
56 in every 100
Did not pass first time
44 in every 100421 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
18 yearsabout 100,078 miles
First tests counted
957

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)20 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)20 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2007 Volvo C70 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 421 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 84 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A constant velocity boot that is only severely deteriorated is Minor. It is Major once it is missing, split or insecure so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt. A transmission joint excessively worn is Major, and graded Dangerous when it is so worn it is likely to fail.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Brakes

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test): 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 86 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 23 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (rear), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (rear)

Failed on 32 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Slight seepage that leaves a film of fluid on a shock absorber does not fail it. Severe leakage, or damage so that it does not function, is Major. A shock absorber missing or likely to become detached is graded Dangerous, though a missing one is only rejected if shock absorbers were fitted as standard.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (rear), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (rear)

Failed on 49 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Exposed or damaged ply or cords are graded Dangerous. A cut in excess of the requirements and deep enough to reach the ply or cords is Major, and testers may open the cut with a blunt instrument to check its depth. A tyre contacting the vehicle through flexing or suspension movement is not a defect; fouling fails only at the time of test.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Suspension arm (rear)

Noted on 32 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
56in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
7in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
37in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 56.0% of 957 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 62.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 37 not fixed make the 44 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Petrol56256
Diesel39557

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100200320042005200620072008200920102011Older carsNewer cars
40608010020072010Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 55 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200369 in every 100327
200461 in every 100401
200562 in every 100326
200656 in every 100823
2007 This car56 in every 100957
200856 in every 100854
200956 in every 100699
201058 in every 100641
201162 in every 100445

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

With 957 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2007 Volvo C70 differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 56.0% of 957 first MOTs on the 2007 Volvo C70 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 62.9%. Among 421 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Drive shaft joints and boots (front) appears more often than on similar cars (20.0% of those tests; 84 observed failures; about 3.0× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2007 Volvo C70 at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (20.4%) and Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (20.0%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (20.0% of those tests; 84 observed failures; about 3.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (20.0% of those tests; 84 observed failures; about 3.0× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2007 Volvo C70 include Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Shock absorbers (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2007 Volvo C70 (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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