MOT fail rates

Mercedes-Benz M-Class MOT fail rate by age

How often the Mercedes-Benz M-Class fails its MOT at each age, compared with all cars of the same age, and what it fails on. From 139,242 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 22 September 2026

At 10 years, the most tested age

MOT fail rate at age 10 (n=14,152)19.7%

All cars at 10 years (n=9,049,507)30.3%

Median mileage at test85,615

All cars, median mileage75,043

52 of 309 model groups with enough tests fail less often at 10 years.

What stands out

At 7 years the Mercedes-Benz M-Class fails 14.5% of MOTs (3,282 tests), 6.1 points below the 20.6% for all cars that age. At 24 years it fails 41.1% (1,091 tests), 3.3 points above the 37.8% average.
The gap is widest at 11 years: 11.3 points below all cars.
Its most common structural or mechanical fail item at 10 years: Coil spring broken, at 4.9 per 100 MOTs.

MOT fail rate by age

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

Mercedes-Benz M-Class: share of MOT tests that failed, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars	Difference	Median mileage
7 years	14.5%	3,282	20.6%	−6.1 pts	59,249 miles
8 years	16.5%	7,249	23.8%	−7.3 pts	68,696 miles
9 years	17.7%	11,539	27.1%	−9.5 pts	78,012 miles
10 years	19.7%	14,152	30.3%	−10.6 pts	85,615 miles
11 years	21.9%	13,780	33.3%	−11.3 pts	94,057 miles
12 years	25.3%	12,787	36.0%	−10.7 pts	102,058 miles
13 years	29.6%	10,695	38.3%	−8.7 pts	108,395 miles
14 years	31.4%	10,487	40.3%	−8.9 pts	114,970 miles
15 years	32.8%	10,203	41.6%	−8.8 pts	121,348 miles
16 years	33.5%	9,416	42.6%	−9.1 pts	125,786 miles
17 years	34.0%	8,031	43.1%	−9.1 pts	128,860 miles
18 years	37.3%	6,935	43.3%	−6.0 pts	130,761 miles
19 years	39.0%	5,786	43.2%	−4.1 pts	130,134 miles
20 years	41.9%	4,860	42.8%	−0.9 pts	130,225 miles
21 years	41.0%	3,963	42.1%	−1.1 pts	129,951 miles
22 years	38.5%	2,955	41.0%	−2.5 pts	130,033 miles
23 years	39.8%	2,031	39.6%	+0.1 pts	130,333 miles
24 years	41.1%	1,091	37.8%	+3.3 pts	129,781 miles

Most common fail items at 10 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 item	Per 100 MOTs
Coil spring broken Major	4.9
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major	2.4
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction Major	1
Driveshaft CV boot split Major	1

Out of 14,152 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Wear and upkeep

Fail item	Per 100 MOTs
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm Dangerous	2.4
Tyre with cords exposed Dangerous	2.1
Tyre condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Major	1.7
Headlight aimed too high Major	1.2
Brake pads under 1.5 mm Dangerous	1.1
Dipped headlight not working Major	1

Out of 14,152 MOTs. A test with two faults counts twice.

Other models at 10 years

Model	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
Mercedes-Benz C-Class	25.2%	115,498	30.3%
Mercedes-Benz E-Class	24.3%	76,966	30.3%
Mercedes-Benz A-Class	28.5%	72,287	30.3%

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 28 September 2026.

Latest MOT age with at least 1,000 tests for each first-use year.
First used	Age at test	MOT fail rate	Tests (n)	All cars
2002	21 years in 2023	39.0%	1,165	42.1%
2003	20 years in 2023	43.2%	1,279	42.8%
2004	21 years in 2025	41.4%	1,010	42.1%
2005	18 years in 2023	40.7%	1,269	43.3%
2006	19 years in 2025	32.5%	1,409	43.2%
2007	18 years in 2025	32.3%	1,745	43.3%
2008	17 years in 2025	31.6%	1,926	43.1%
2009	16 years in 2025	32.6%	1,808	42.6%
2010	15 years in 2025	31.8%	2,449	41.6%
2011	14 years in 2025	29.7%	2,445	40.3%
2012	13 years in 2025	23.3%	2,532	38.3%
2013	12 years in 2025	20.1%	4,120	36.0%
2014	11 years in 2025	20.2%	3,810	33.3%
2015	10 years in 2025	18.3%	3,156	30.3%

More on the Mercedes-Benz M-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 M-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