Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volvo V70 2006: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 58 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2006 Volvo V70 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2006 Volvo V70 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,267 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
58 in every 100
Did not pass first time
42 in every 100958 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
19 yearsabout 145,932 miles
First tests counted
2,267

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)18 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Headlight aim11 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 2006 Volvo V70 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.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), 8.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 958 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.

Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 31 first tests8.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An anti-roll bar pin or bush that is excessively worn is Major, and one likely to become detached is graded Dangerous. The wording is DVSA's general rule for a suspension pin, bush or joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 61 first tests, 9.6 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

Four faults. The strongest is the flexible brake hoses (front): 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Flexible brake hoses (front)

Failed on 48 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

Testers reject a flexible brake hose for being excessively damaged or chafed only if it is severe enough to expose the reinforcement. Slight damage, chafing or twisting is graded Minor. A leak is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic braking system and Major on an air system, and a hose damaged and likely to fail is also Dangerous.

Electronic stability control

Failed on 30 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

An ESC warning lamp is failed only when the tester is certain it indicates an ESC malfunction, because the lamp takes various forms and the owner's handbook may need checking. The system is also called ESP, VDC or DSC, among many other names. Every failure row is Major, covering the lamp, wheel speed sensors, wiring, other components and the switch.

Handbrake lever

Failed on 23 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 34 first tests2.1 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.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: individual direction indicators (front), 2.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Individual direction indicators (front)

Failed on 31 first tests2.3 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.

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.

Anti-roll bar (rear)

Noted on 21 first tests3.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Coil spring

Noted on 24 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension arm pins and bushes (front)

Noted on 218 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Wheel condition (front)

Noted on 23 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
58in 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
35in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 57.7% of 2,267 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 65.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 35 not fixed make the 42 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage
Diesel1,477155,468 miles5859
Petrol786128,042 miles5756

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002000200620102015Older carsNewer cars
406080100200020062010Older carsNewer cars

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

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
199760 in every 100440
199859 in every 100634
199961 in every 100777
200060 in every 1001,030
200154 in every 1001,244
200253 in every 1001,825
200354 in every 1002,042
200454 in every 1002,407
200557 in every 1002,886
2006 This car58 in every 1002,267
200760 in every 1002,320
200865 in every 1003,014
200963 in every 1003,328
201067 in every 1002,662
201170 in every 1001,993
201271 in every 1001,501
201372 in every 1001,656
201477 in every 1001,887
201580 in every 1001,942
201681 in every 100735

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2006 Volvo V70.

Of 2006 Volvo V70 vehicles with under 106,000 miles, 67 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 185,000 miles or more, 51 in every 100 did.

Under 106,000455 tests
67
106,000–134,000447 tests
57
134,000–157,000 Typical car453 tests
56
157,000–185,000463 tests
58
185,000 and over448 tests
51

Petrol or diesel?

Typical mileagePassed first time,
as tested		Passed first time,
same mileage
Diesel155,468 miles5859
Petrol128,042 miles5756

Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.

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 106,000134,000–157,000185,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)4.27.911.6
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)5.17.58.9
Headlight aim3.54.66.7
Headlight (front)4.05.12.7
Tyre condition (rear)3.53.14.7

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

When a car fails

23in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

52in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

11in 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 2006 Volvo V70 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 18 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 57.7% of 2,267 first MOTs on the 2006 Volvo V70 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 65.2%. Among 958 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (3.2% of those tests; 31 observed failures; about 8.7× 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 2006 Volvo V70 at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (18.0%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (17.8%) and Headlight aim (11.3%), 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: Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) (3.2% of those tests; 31 observed failures; about 8.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (3.2% of those tests; 31 observed failures; about 8.7× 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 2006 Volvo V70 include Anti-roll bar pins and bushes (rear), Flexible brake hoses (front), Electronic stability control. 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 2006 Volvo V70 (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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