Volvo XC90 2004: MOT failure rate for its age

46.9% of 21,276 MOT tests of the Volvo XC90 first registered in 2004 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 103.0 (95% CI 101.0–105.0; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Volvo XC90 built in 2004 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	46.9	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	21276
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.0–105.0)	103.0	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	21276
Rank among this model's 18 build years	16	of 18	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	21276
Tested in 2024	2053	tests	median 160,588 miles	2024	2053

Built 2004 against Volvo XC90 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 15: 48.3% vs 47.5%; age 16: 46.7% vs 45.6%; age 17: 47.5% vs 45.4%; age 18: 46% vs 44.4%; age 19: 45.6% vs 44%; age 20: 45.3% vs 44.2%. Axis from 0% to 50%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2004 Volvo XC90 by registration · All Volvo XC90 MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2004 Volvo XC90 fail at each age?

Cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Volvo XC90 built 2004: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
15	5,020	48.3	46.9–49.7	47.5	101.8
16	4,225	46.7	45.2–48.3	45.6	102.4
17	3,898	47.5	45.9–49.1	45.4	104.5
18	3,356	46	44.4–47.7	44.4	103.7
19	2,724	45.6	43.7–47.5	44	103.7
20	2,053	45.3	43.2–47.5	44.2	102.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 21,276 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2004 Volvo XC90?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2004 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 68.5 items per 100 first tests, against 25.3 across all build years of the Volvo XC90. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2004 were tested at ages 15 to 20.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volvo XC90 built 2004 against the Volvo XC90 in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2004, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	68.5	25.3	14,568
Brakes	36.4	18.1	7,755
Suspension	33.7	10.2	7,176
Visibility	10.1	6.9	2,149
Body, chassis, structure	9.7	3.3	2,058

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 21,276 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2004 compare with the years around it?

Among the 18 published build years of the Volvo XC90, 2004 ranks 16 (1 = fails least for its age). 2003: index 105.0. 2005: index 101.8.

Volvo XC90 build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2003	105.0	101.7–108.3	worse	8,072
2004	103.0	101.0–105.0	worse	21,276
2005	101.8	99.9–103.6	no different	25,671
2006	99.7	97.6–101.8	no different	20,028
2007	102.7	100.4–104.9	worse	18,738
2008	99.0	96.0–101.9	no different	11,080
2009	99.4	97.2–101.5	no different	21,390
2010	102.7	101.0–104.4	worse	37,448
2011	106.3	104.1–108.4	worse	26,142
2012	93.7	91.1–96.2	better	17,902
2013	95.8	92.8–98.8	better	14,572
2014	101.1	97.7–104.5	no different	13,824
2015	90.7	87.5–93.9	better	16,349
2016	98.3	95.7–100.9	no different	31,704
2017	90.4	87.6–93.2	better	29,290
2018	94.7	91.5–97.9	better	25,312
2019	102.5	98.8–106.2	no different	21,896
2020	101.4	95.8–107.0	no different	9,929

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 370,623 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Volvo XC90 2004 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/volvo-xc90/2004/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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