Volvo XC70 2009: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 951 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 68 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 32 in every 100307 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 16 yearsabout 140,391 miles
First tests counted: 951

What failed most often

Individual sidelight or tail light (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 2009 Volvo XC70 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: suspension arm pins and bushes (rear), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 307 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.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 22 first tests5.0 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Pins and bushes on suspension arms fail as Major when they are excessively worn. They are graded Dangerous when likely to become detached. DVSA uses the same wording for a suspension joint.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 23 first tests, 2.4 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.

MOT pass rates

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

Passed first time: 68in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 6in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 26in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 67.7% of 951 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 74.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 26 not fixed make the 32 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 71 in every 100 passed first time.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2003	52 in every 100	359
2004	56 in every 100	586
2005	59 in every 100	1,028
2006	58 in every 100	973
2007	60 in every 100	1,092
2008	69 in every 100	897
2009 This car	68 in every 100	951
2010	69 in every 100	1,314
2011	67 in every 100	1,722
2012	70 in every 100	1,267
2013	75 in every 100	1,508
2014	78 in every 100	1,681
2015	79 in every 100	1,561
2016	79 in every 100	988

FAQs

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

Is the 2009 Volvo XC70 reliable?

With 951 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2009 Volvo XC70 differs from the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Individual sidelight or tail light (front), about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 67.7% of 951 first MOTs on the 2009 Volvo XC70 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 74.2%. Among 307 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (7.2% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 5.0× 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.

What is most likely to fail on a 2009 Volvo XC70?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2009 Volvo XC70 at the first attempt were Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (19.5%), 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.

What common MOT faults stand out on the Volvo XC70 2009?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) (7.2% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 5.0× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) stand out?

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (7.2% of those tests; 22 observed failures; about 5.0× 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.

What are common problems with the 2009 Volvo XC70?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2009 Volvo XC70 include Suspension arm pins and bushes (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.

What does this Volvo XC70 2009 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2009 Volvo XC70 (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.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

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.