Volvo S70
Registered from 1997 to 1999.
About this model
The Volvo S70 is a compact executive car produced by Volvo Cars from 1996 to 2000. The S70 was essentially a facelifted 850 saloon. The S70 was replaced with the Volvo S60.
From the Wikipedia article Volvo S70, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 1997 2.4 petrol. 36 of 152 tests failed, 24%.
Better than 67% of 1997 cars. The typical one fails 26%, across 225 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 61% | 22 |
| Body and structure | 44% | 16 |
| Lights and electrics | 36% | 13 |
| Suspension | 28% | 10 |
| Tyres and wheels | 28% | 10 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 25% | 9 |
The defects inspectors cite
- A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Warning device shows system malfunction
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Parking brake inoperative on one side
Where it stands out against its peers
- Brakes: failed more often than 94% of 1997 cars — 61% of its 36 failed tests, where an ordinary 1997 car has 39%.
- Tyres and wheels: failed more often than 96% of 1997 cars — 28% of its 36 failed tests, where an ordinary 1997 car has 6%.
Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.
NHTSA's investigations are American; no European regulator publishes an equivalent record, so this section has nothing to draw on for a European car. There is no European equivalent of the service-bulletin register either.
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 61% of its failures
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Parking brake inoperative on one side
- Suspension — 28% of its failures
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
- Tyres and wheels — 28% of its failures
- Exhaust and emissions — 25% of its failures
- Exhaust system leaking or insecure
- Lights and electrics — 36% of its failures
- Body and structure — 44% of its failures