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MOT fail rates

Mercedes-Benz A-Class MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mercedes-Benz A-Class fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 1,360,594 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=173,010)16.2%
All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%
Median mileage at test46,814
All cars, median mileage44,951

153 of 340 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 6 years.

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Mercedes-Benz A-Class fails 11.0% of MOTs (141,475 tests), 1.1 points below the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 23 years it fails 42.9% (1,964 tests), 3.3 points above the 39.6% average.
  • The gap is widest at 22 years: 4.5 points above all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Airbag (SRS) warning light on, at 1.1 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 23 years 50.1%

Solid line: this model. Dashed line: all cars at the same age.

Mercedes-Benz A-Class: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
AgeMOT fail rateTests (n)All carsDifferenceMedian mileage
3 years11.0%141,47512.1%−1.1 pts23,219 miles
4 years11.8%161,78213.4%−1.5 pts30,654 miles
5 years14.1%171,04115.3%−1.3 pts38,390 miles
6 years16.2%173,01017.8%−1.6 pts46,814 miles
7 years19.4%148,48920.6%−1.2 pts55,659 miles
8 years22.8%130,79723.8%−1.0 pts65,008 miles
9 years25.8%105,45327.1%−1.4 pts73,822 miles
10 years28.5%72,28730.3%−1.8 pts80,480 miles
11 years30.0%50,73033.3%−3.3 pts83,754 miles
12 years31.8%33,51136.0%−4.2 pts79,126 miles
13 years34.2%25,20038.3%−4.1 pts71,231 miles
14 years36.4%27,06540.3%−3.9 pts76,309 miles
15 years38.8%27,94741.6%−2.8 pts80,714 miles
16 years40.6%26,57342.6%−2.0 pts84,176 miles
17 years41.0%22,12743.1%−2.1 pts86,154 miles
18 years42.7%15,71543.3%−0.6 pts85,374 miles
19 years42.9%10,65643.2%−0.3 pts82,415 miles
20 years43.8%7,08342.8%+1.0 pts80,196 miles
21 years44.4%4,50542.1%+2.3 pts78,018 miles
22 years45.5%3,18441.0%+4.5 pts75,656 miles
23 years42.9%1,96439.6%+3.3 pts73,967 miles

Most common fail items at 6 years

Split into structural or mechanical items and wear items. Wear items (tyres, brake pads, wipers, bulbs) say more about upkeep than about the design.

Structural and mechanical

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Airbag (SRS) warning light on Major1.1
Coil spring broken Major0.8

Out of 173,010 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.3
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous2.1
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major2
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous1.6
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid Major1.3
Wipers not clearing screen Major1.1
Tyre condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous0.9
Headlamp aim: too low Major0.8

Out of 173,010 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Mercedes-Benz C-Class15.6%133,03217.8%
Mercedes-Benz E-Class15.1%88,28017.8%
Mercedes-Benz Glc13.8%58,92717.8%

MOT fail rate by first-use year

Each year has its own page: the fail rate for cars first used that year at each MOT from 2022 to 2025 with at least 1,000 tests, the most common faults at that age, and the car tax and ULEZ rules for that year.

First-use year data updated .

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First usedAge at testMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
200221 years in 202344.2%1,26442.1%
200321 years in 202443.7%1,27342.1%
200420 years in 202443.6%1,26742.8%
200520 years in 202539.8%2,43942.8%
200619 years in 202542.2%3,75443.2%
200718 years in 202542.0%5,32543.3%
200817 years in 202541.8%6,14643.1%
200916 years in 202540.2%6,53042.6%
201015 years in 202537.4%5,93541.6%
201114 years in 202533.8%5,31140.3%
201213 years in 202533.1%5,22438.3%
201312 years in 202531.2%15,61636.0%
201411 years in 202530.4%23,34333.3%
201510 years in 202527.8%26,68930.3%
20169 years in 202524.6%38,11727.1%
20178 years in 202522.0%40,84523.8%
20187 years in 202517.4%41,45520.6%
20196 years in 202514.6%51,43417.8%
20205 years in 202512.4%36,22715.3%
20214 years in 202510.3%30,39613.4%
20223 years in 20259.6%19,24312.1%

More on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Looking at one Mercedes-Benz A-Class?

These are figures for the model, not for one car. The VetTheCar Buying Report looks at a single car: its MOT tests, defects, advisories and mileage readings.

See an example report Browse the car tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources