Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volvo S60 2005: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 60 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2005 Volvo S60 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

With 984 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2005 Volvo S60 differs from the model years either side.

At a glance

How 984 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
60 in every 100
Did not pass first time
40 in every 100394 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
20 yearsabout 130,679 miles
First tests counted
984

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)24 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)16 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim14 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 2005 Volvo S60 vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Two faults. The strongest is the handbrake performance (roller test, rear): 3.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 393 of 394 failed first attempts (99.7%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

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.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 24 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 94 first tests2.5 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.

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 pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 76 first tests2.1 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
60in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
8in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
32in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 60.0% of 984 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 67.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 8 fixed and the 32 not fixed make the 40 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel58260
Petrol40260

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

406080100200220032004200520062007Older carsNewer cars
406080100200220032004200520062007Older 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, 61 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200260 in every 100512
200357 in every 100728
200457 in every 100817
2005 This car60 in every 100984
200664 in every 100786
200762 in every 100487

FAQs

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

With 984 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2005 Volvo S60 differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 24 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 60.0% of 984 first MOTs on the 2005 Volvo S60 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 67.9%. Among 394 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 3.8× 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 2005 Volvo S60 at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (23.9%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (16.0%) and Headlight aim (14.0%), 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: Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) (6.1% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 3.8× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake performance (roller test, rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 24 observed failures; about 3.8× 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 2005 Volvo S60 include Handbrake performance (roller test, rear), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test). 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 2005 Volvo S60 (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.

Check any vehicle’s MOT history

Full MOT history, mileage records, and reliability insights for any UK vehicle.

Run a free check