Does the Volvo S40 fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Volvo S40 records 19.14 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 19.37 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (−0.23, 95% interval −0.44 to −0.01). It ranks 339 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 S40 by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volvo S40 is “a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm”, recorded 4,355 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 4,355 | 2.80 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 4,264 | 2.74 |
| Parking brake inoperative on one side | 2,377 | 1.53 |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 2,295 | 1.47 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 1,857 | 1.19 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 155,619 (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
If a Volvo S40 gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
16.1% of Volvo S40 MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 4,677 miles later (27,041 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 27,041 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Volvo S40 1998 · Volvo S40 1999 · Volvo S40 2000 · Volvo S40 2001 · Volvo S40 2002 · Volvo S40 2003 · Volvo S40 2004 · Volvo S40 2005 · Volvo S40 2006 · Volvo S40 2007 · Volvo S40 2008 · Volvo S40 2009 · Volvo S40 2010 · Volvo S40 2011 · Volvo S40 2012 · Volvo S40 2013 · Volvo S40 in Norway · Volvo S40 in Finland · Volvo S40 in the Netherlands · Volvo S40 by postcode area · Volvo S40 body, chassis and structure failures · Volvo S40 vehicle identification failures · Volvo S40 lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Volvo S40 noise, emissions and leaks failures · Volvo S40 road wheels failures · Volvo S40 seat belts and airbags failures · Volvo S40 steering failures · Volvo S40 suspension failures · Volvo S40 tyres failures · Volvo S40 visibility failures