2003 Volvo V40: MOT pass rate and reliability

56.3% of 2003 Volvo V40s pass the MOT first time, measured across 933 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 123,213 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Volvo V40s (76.4%, 98,852 tests): -20.1 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): -8.4 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Volvo V40 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2003 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volvo V40:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2000 56.8% 264 113,507
2001 63.2% 505 117,451
2002 59.9% 648 123,519
2003 56.3% 933 123,213
2004 55.4% 783 122,610
2012 68.8% 2,334 106,923
2013 72.7% 11,240 100,368
2014 73.2% 16,089 89,108
2015 74.2% 15,556 79,468
2016 77.5% 15,447 67,613
2017 80.3% 13,530 57,346
2018 82% 12,939 46,530
2019 84.7% 8,219 37,571

What this means if you are buying a 2003 V40

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 20.1 points less often than the Volvo V40 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2003 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 23-year-old car fails on

A 2003 car is 23 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2003 Volvo V40 the average at test was 123,213 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2019 at 84.7%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 55.4%. That 29.3 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2003 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Volvo V40 MOT data · Every model