Volvo XC90 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

28.8% of 17,902 MOT tests of the Volvo XC90 first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 93.7 (95% CI 91.1–96.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 Volvo XC90 fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Volvo XC90 built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	28.8	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	17902
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 91.1–96.2)	93.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	17902
Rank among this model's 18 build years	3	of 18	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	17902
Tested in 2024	2903	tests	median 111,162 miles	2024	2903

Built 2012 against Volvo XC90 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 26.4% vs 22.9%; age 8: 27% vs 26.4%; age 9: 28.5% vs 31.7%; age 10: 29.7% vs 33.4%; age 11: 31% vs 34.3%; age 12: 30.2% vs 36%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 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 2012 Volvo XC90 fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 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 2012: 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)
7	3,063	26.4	24.9–28	22.9	115.1
8	2,938	27	25.5–28.7	26.4	102.2
9	3,006	28.5	27–30.2	31.7	90.1
10	3,018	29.7	28.1–31.4	33.4	89.1
11	2,974	31	29.3–32.7	34.3	90.2
12	2,903	30.2	28.5–31.9	36	83.9

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 17,902 (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 2012 Volvo XC90?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is brakes: 18.4 items per 100 first tests, against 18.1 across all build years of the Volvo XC90. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volvo XC90 built 2012 against the Volvo XC90 in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Brakes	18.4	18.1	3,295
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	11.5	25.3	2,061
Tyres	8.4	9	1,500
Visibility	7.1	6.9	1,273
Suspension	3.7	10.2	654

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 17,902 (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 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 18 published build years of the Volvo XC90, 2012 ranks 3 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 106.3. 2013: index 95.8.

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 2012 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-xc90/2012/

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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