Does the Volvo 400 Series fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Volvo 400 Series records 44.62 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 20.27 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+24.35, 95% interval +21.37 to +27.32). It ranks 12 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Volvo 400 Series by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volvo 400 Series is “Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement”, recorded 156 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 156 | 8.04 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 89 | 4.59 |
| Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. | 81 | 4.17 |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 72 | 3.71 |
| Parking brake inoperative on one side | 70 | 3.61 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,941 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Volvo 400 Series body, chassis and structure failures · Volvo 400 Series lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Volvo 400 Series noise, emissions and leaks failures · Volvo 400 Series seat belts and airbags failures · Volvo 400 Series steering failures · Volvo 400 Series suspension failures · Volvo 400 Series tyres failures · Volvo 400 Series visibility failures