Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volvo V60 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 75 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Volvo V60 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Tyre condition (front).

Summary

The 2015 Volvo V60 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 3,164 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
75 in every 100
Did not pass first time
25 in every 100783 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 98,378 miles
First tests counted
3,164

What failed most often

  1. Tyre condition (front)14 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)12 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)10 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 2015 Volvo V60 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.

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (rear), 4.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 781 of 783 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.

Individual direction indicators (rear)

Failed on 26 first tests4.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 41 first tests, 7.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake pads (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 91 first tests2.4 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.

Body and structure

One fault: drive shaft joints and boots (front), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Drive shaft joints and boots (front)

Failed on 77 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsPossible 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.

Suspension

One fault: shock absorbers (front), 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Shock absorbers (front)

Failed on 36 first tests2.1 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 (front), 2.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre condition (front)

Failed on 112 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.

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. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Coil spring (rear)

Noted on 62 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Number plates (rear)

Noted on 32 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
75in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
21in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 75.3% of 3,164 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 79.0%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 21 not fixed make the 25 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020152020Older 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, 77 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201168 in every 1002,307
201268 in every 1004,244
201370 in every 1003,365
201471 in every 1003,433
2015 This car75 in every 1003,164
201677 in every 1003,647
201775 in every 1003,055
201883 in every 1003,761
201983 in every 1004,595
202086 in every 1002,969
202187 in every 1003,516
202288 in every 1001,406

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2015 Volvo V60.

Of 2015 Volvo V60 vehicles with under 69,000 miles, 82 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 133,000 miles or more, 68 in every 100 did.

Under 69,000622 tests
82
69,000–89,000664 tests
79
89,000–107,000 Typical car604 tests
75
107,000–133,000646 tests
73
133,000 and over625 tests
68

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 69,00089,000–107,000133,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)2.93.83.5
Brake pads (rear)1.83.13.5
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)0.81.84.0
Diesel engine warning light0.51.53.8
Tyre tread depth (rear)0.81.22.1

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

53in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

20in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

10in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

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

The 2015 Volvo V60 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Tyre condition (front), about 14 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 75.3% of 3,164 first MOTs on the 2015 Volvo V60 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 79.0%. Among 783 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Individual direction indicators (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.3% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 4.4× 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 2015 Volvo V60 at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (14.3%), Brake pads (rear) (11.7%) and Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (9.9%), 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: Individual direction indicators (rear) (3.3% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 4.4× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Individual direction indicators (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.3% of those tests; 26 observed failures; about 4.4× 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 2015 Volvo V60 include Individual direction indicators (rear), Drive shaft joints and boots (front), Shock absorbers (front). 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 2015 Volvo V60 (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