Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Volvo XC90 2005: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 55 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2005 Volvo XC90 were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test).

Summary

The 2005 Volvo XC90 follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 2,213 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
55 in every 100
Did not pass first time
45 in every 100990 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
20 yearsabout 158,238 miles
First tests counted
2,213

What failed most often

  1. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)20 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Individual sidelight or tail light (front)19 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)13 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 XC90 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 efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test): 18 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 983 of 990 failed first attempts (99.3%) 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 efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)

Failed on 130 first tests18 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is graded Major, and efficiency less than half of the required value is graded Dangerous. This check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake has not already been tested as the secondary brake.

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

Failed on 87 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

ABS is failed as removed only where it has obviously been removed, because not every vehicle in the age range where removal is not permitted has ABS. A warning lamp that does not light or shows an ABS fault is Major, as is a missing or excessively damaged wheel speed sensor. Every failure row for this component is Major.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the other suspension component ball joint (front): 4.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Other suspension component ball joint (front)

Failed on 23 first tests4.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Under DVSA's general suspension wording, a ball joint that is excessively worn is Major. One likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Suspension arm pins and bushes (rear)

Failed on 50 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely 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 146 first tests, 4.4 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.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 26 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

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

Lamps and electrical

One fault: rear fog light, 2.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Rear fog light

Failed on 22 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.

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.

Suspension sub-frame (rear)

Noted on 175 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Non-component advisories (front)

Noted on 92 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Exhaust system (rear)

Noted on 69 first tests2.3 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Suspension sub-frame mounting area (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests2.0 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
55in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
9in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
36in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 55.3% of 2,213 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 63.5%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 36 not fixed make the 45 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152020Newer cars
406080100200520102020Newer 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, 54 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200357 in every 100466
200455 in every 1001,446
2005 This car55 in every 1002,213
200656 in every 1001,817
200757 in every 1001,951
200858 in every 1001,313
200961 in every 1002,890
201063 in every 1005,304
201164 in every 1003,915
201269 in every 1002,736
201371 in every 1002,296
201469 in every 1002,176
201580 in every 1002,620
201680 in every 1004,981
201782 in every 1005,275
201885 in every 1006,004
201986 in every 1006,859
202086 in every 1004,650
202187 in every 1006,508
202287 in every 1006,003

If you are buying one

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

Mileage matters most on a 2005 Volvo XC90.

Of 2005 Volvo XC90 vehicles with under 126,000 miles, 62 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 192,000 miles or more, 54 in every 100 did.

Under 126,000444 tests
62
126,000–149,000439 tests
53
149,000–169,000 Typical car439 tests
52
169,000–192,000438 tests
56
192,000 and over441 tests
54

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 126,000149,000–169,000192,000 and over
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)7.29.112.5
Individual sidelight or tail light (front)5.98.49.1
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test)4.57.35.4
Headlight aim5.07.34.8
Suspension arm ball joint (front)1.64.64.1

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

When a car fails

18in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

61in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

13in 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 2005 Volvo XC90 follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), about 20 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 55.3% of 2,213 first MOTs on the 2005 Volvo XC90 passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 63.5%. Among 990 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) appears more often than on similar cars (13.2% of those tests; 130 observed failures; about 18× 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 XC90 at the first attempt were Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (20.4%), Individual sidelight or tail light (front) (18.8%) and Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) (13.2%), 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 efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) (13.2% of those tests; 130 observed failures; about 18× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test) shows up more often than on similar cars (13.2% of those tests; 130 observed failures; about 18× 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 XC90 include Handbrake efficiency below minimum (decelerometer test), Other suspension component ball joint (front), 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.
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 XC90 (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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