Common problems

Mercedes-Benz SL windscreen and wiper problems

How often MOT testers find windscreen, wiper and mirror faults on the Mercedes-Benz SL at each age, against all cars of the same age, and which items come up most. From 70,445 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 20 years, the most tested age

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails per 100 MOTs (n=6,607)2.1

All cars at 20 years (n=1,845,952)7.6

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=6,607)3.8

All cars, same age (n=1,845,952)6.4

What stands out

At 20 years, 2.1 of every 100 MOTs of the Mercedes-Benz SL found a windscreen, wiper and mirror fail (n=6,607), against 7.6 for all cars of that age (n=1,845,952).
It is level with or below the all-car rate at every age with at least 1,000 tests.
The gap is widest at 20 years: 2.1 per 100 MOTs against 7.6 for all cars.
The windscreen, wiper and mirror fail item recorded most often at 20 years: wipers not clearing screen, on 0.8 per 100 MOTs.
The most common windscreen, wiper and mirror advisory or minor defect: windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, on 1.9 per 100 MOTs.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails by age

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

Mercedes-Benz SL: windscreen, wipers and mirrors fails and advisories per 100 MOTs, by age, against all cars. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
4 years	1,098	0.2	3.6	1.6	3.0
5 years	1,717	0.3	3.4	2.3	3.0
6 years	2,269	0.7	3.3	1.9	3.1
7 years	2,669	0.5	3.4	2.1	3.3
8 years	3,319	0.7	3.7	2.7	3.4
9 years	3,828	1.4	4.0	2.5	3.7
10 years	3,439	1.1	4.4	2.2	3.9
11 years	2,919	1.3	4.8	2.1	4.1
12 years	2,220	1.2	5.2	2.6	4.4
13 years	1,537	1.9	5.6	2.5	4.7
14 years	1,910	1.8	6.1	2.8	5.1
15 years	2,458	2.4	6.5	3.3	5.4
16 years	2,947	2.1	6.8	2.6	5.7
17 years	3,605	2.3	7.1	3.6	6.0
18 years	4,851	2.4	7.3	3.6	6.2
19 years	6,567	2.2	7.5	3.9	6.3
20 years	6,607	2.1	7.6	3.8	6.4
21 years	5,503	2.5	7.5	3.7	6.5
22 years	4,069	2.5	7.4	4.0	6.4
23 years	2,312	2.9	7.3	3.2	6.2
24 years	2,122	3.1	6.9	3.5	5.9
25 years	2,479	2.7	6.7	3.9	5.6

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fail items at 20 years

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors fail items on the Mercedes-Benz SL at 20 years (n=6,607), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,845,952).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Wipers not clearing screen	0.8	3.4	£15 to £30 per blade
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	0.5	2.2	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Washers: not working	0.5	1.4	£28 to £118 per car (rough guide)

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors advisories and minor defects at 20 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors advisories and minor defects on the Mercedes-Benz SL at 20 years (n=6,607), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=1,845,952).
Item	Per 100 MOTs	All cars
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	1.9	3.8
Mirrors: slightly damaged	1.2	0.8

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mercedes-Benz SL, the windscreen, wiper and mirror items testers fail most are wipers not clearing screen; washers: provides insufficient washer liquid; washers: not working.

Look for chips or cracks in the windscreen, above all in front of the driver.
Run the wipers and washers: they should clear the screen without smearing.
Check that the mirrors are present, secure and not cracked.

Ask for the car's MOT history: a windscreen, wiper and mirror advisory that repeats from year to year has not been fixed. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the common windscreen and wiper problems on the Mercedes-Benz SL?

At 20 years (6,607 MOTs), the windscreen, wiper and mirror fail items testers record most often are wipers not clearing screen (0.8 per 100 MOTs), washers: provides insufficient washer liquid (0.5 per 100 MOTs), washers: not working (0.5 per 100 MOTs). The most common windscreen, wiper and mirror advisories or minor defects are windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.9) and mirrors: slightly damaged (1.2).

Does the Mercedes-Benz SL have more windscreen and wiper problems than other cars?

At 20 years it has 2.1 windscreen, wiper and mirror fails per 100 MOTs against 7.6 for all cars of the same age (5.5 fewer). It is level with or below the all-car rate at every age with enough tests.

What does a windscreen, wiper and mirror repair cost on the Mercedes-Benz SL?

For wipers not clearing screen, an independent garage estimate is £15 to £30 per blade. This is a guide built from the national median garage labour rate and estimated labour hours, not a quote.

Windscreen and wiper problems on other Mercedes-Benz models

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.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Mercedes-Benz SL?

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Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

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 28 September 2026.

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