Does the Volvo V40 fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?

The Volvo V40 records 7.89 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 7.34 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+0.55, 95% interval +0.48 to +0.63). It ranks 288 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 V40 by registration

What exactly fails on brakes?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Volvo V40 is “a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm”, recorded 14,214 times in 2019–2024.

Volvo V40: most frequent brakes defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm	14,214	2.53
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded	3,103	0.55
Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution.	2,794	0.50
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement	2,779	0.50
Warning device shows system malfunction	2,477	0.44

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 561,232 (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 V40 gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?

10.2% of Volvo V40 MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 6,636 miles later (72,209 advisories followed).

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 72,209 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

Does the Volvo V40 fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?

What exactly fails on brakes?

If a Volvo V40 gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?

Related pages

Other pages for this model