Model Reports 3 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volvo S90 2019: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 88 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2019 Volvo S90 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Brake pads (rear).

Summary

The 2019 Volvo S90 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,950 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
88 in every 100
Did not pass first time
12 in every 100239 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
6 yearsabout 54,882 miles
First tests counted
1,950

What failed most often

  1. Brake pads (rear)27 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Tyre condition (front)21 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 2019 Volvo S90 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.

Brakes

Two wear patterns. The strongest is the brake pads (rear): 3.9 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 238 of 239 failed first attempts (99.6%) 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.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 64 first tests3.9 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.

Brake pads (front)

Failed on 41 first tests2.6 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre condition (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (front)

Failed on 51 first tests2.0 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.

MOT pass rates

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

Passed first time
88in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
1in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
11in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 87.7% of 1,950 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 88.8%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 1 fixed and the 11 not fixed make the 12 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel1,12886
Petrol72290

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201783 in every 1001,297
201888 in every 1002,306
2019 This car88 in every 1001,950
202088 in every 100948

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

FAQs

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

The 2019 Volvo S90 follows the pattern of the model years either side. In 2025, 87.7% of 1,950 first MOTs on the 2019 Volvo S90 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 88.8%. Among 239 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), we highlight MOT failure patterns that show up more often than on cars of a similar age and mileage when the sample is large enough to trust. 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 2019 Volvo S90 at the first attempt were Brake pads (rear) (26.9%) and Tyre condition (front) (21.4%), 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.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2019 Volvo S90 (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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