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MOT fail rates

Mercedes-Benz E-Class MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mercedes-Benz E-Class fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 964,062 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

At 6 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 6 (n=88,280)15.1%
All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)17.8%
Median mileage at test57,466
All cars, median mileage44,951

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

What stands out

  • At 3 years the Mercedes-Benz E-Class fails 12.9% of MOTs (43,819 tests), about the same as the 12.1% for all cars that age. At 25 years it fails 31.0% (2,079 tests), 5.3 points below the 36.3% average.
  • The gap is widest at 17 years: 11.5 points below all cars.
  • Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 6 years: Suspension ball joint worn, at 2.4 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

3 years 25 years 47.6%

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

Mercedes-Benz E-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 years12.9%43,81912.1%+0.9 pts27,265 miles
4 years12.9%62,84213.4%−0.5 pts36,947 miles
5 years14.0%77,95315.3%−1.3 pts47,590 miles
6 years15.1%88,28017.8%−2.7 pts57,466 miles
7 years16.8%87,92520.6%−3.8 pts66,532 miles
8 years18.7%86,67823.8%−5.1 pts75,159 miles
9 years21.8%83,15227.1%−5.4 pts81,367 miles
10 years24.3%76,96630.3%−6.0 pts88,186 miles
11 years26.4%69,02633.3%−6.8 pts94,034 miles
12 years28.4%60,49436.0%−7.6 pts99,675 miles
13 years29.7%47,98538.3%−8.5 pts104,910 miles
14 years30.4%37,09440.3%−9.8 pts110,971 miles
15 years30.7%29,28141.6%−10.9 pts118,120 miles
16 years31.1%21,84242.6%−11.4 pts126,327 miles
17 years31.6%19,54343.1%−11.5 pts131,226 miles
18 years32.3%19,57443.3%−11.0 pts133,717 miles
19 years32.9%16,92843.2%−10.3 pts133,407 miles
20 years33.1%12,94242.8%−9.7 pts131,262 miles
21 years32.7%8,83342.1%−9.4 pts126,383 miles
22 years32.8%5,24541.0%−8.2 pts118,522 miles
23 years33.7%3,00039.6%−5.9 pts106,550 miles
24 years32.7%2,58137.8%−5.1 pts108,057 miles
25 years31.0%2,07936.3%−5.3 pts106,977 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
Suspension ball joint worn Major2.4
Road wheel condition: fractured Dangerous1.4
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major1.1
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major0.6

Out of 88,280 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail itemPer 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous3.5
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous2.6
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major1.9
Tyre condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Dangerous1.2
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous0.9
Headlight aimed too high Major0.6

Out of 88,280 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 6 years

ModelMOT fail rateTests (n)All cars
Mercedes-Benz A-Class16.2%173,01017.8%
Mercedes-Benz C-Class15.6%133,03217.8%
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
200222 years in 202432.2%1,02141.0%
200322 years in 202531.4%2,46741.0%
200421 years in 202531.2%3,40642.1%
200520 years in 202533.5%3,41642.8%
200619 years in 202531.0%3,09443.2%
200718 years in 202528.7%4,75343.3%
200817 years in 202529.9%3,87843.1%
200916 years in 202529.7%6,12342.6%
201015 years in 202530.7%10,59641.6%
201114 years in 202530.1%12,58440.3%
201213 years in 202530.8%13,84538.3%
201312 years in 202528.8%17,99836.0%
201411 years in 202524.6%19,59933.3%
201510 years in 202522.1%20,86330.3%
20169 years in 202518.9%20,09527.1%
20178 years in 202516.8%21,96123.8%
20187 years in 202516.1%20,91320.6%
20196 years in 202514.3%21,03917.8%
20205 years in 202513.6%10,50415.3%
20214 years in 202512.1%6,83613.4%

More on the Mercedes-Benz E-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 E-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