Common problems

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 91,862 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 9 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=5,613)12.4

All cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012)5.6

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=5,613)23.8

All cars, same age (n=9,949,012)20.3

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 12.4 of every 100 MOTs of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter at 9 years old (n=5,613), against 5.6 for all cars of that age (n=9,949,012).
Tyres fails are less common: 2.3 per 100 MOTs against 6.7 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 9 years: handbrake too weak, on 5.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 0.7).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 13.2 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 9 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter at 9 years (n=5,613) against all cars at 9 years (n=9,949,012). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	12.4	5.6	23.8	20.3
Lights and electrics	8.3	9.2	7.6	4.5
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.4	4.0	5.9	3.7
Suspension	3.7	7.9	15.5	14.9
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.5	2.4	5.5	3.1
Tyres	2.3	6.7	10.8	25.8
Body and structure	1.9	2.3	3.1	2.9
Seat belts and airbags	1.7	0.6	0.9	0.4
Steering	1.6	1.8	6.1	2.1
Number plates and VIN	0.4	0.3	2.2	1.7
Road wheels	0.1	0.4	0.1	0.7

What testers fail most on the Sprinter at 9 years

Fail items on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter at 9 years (n=5,613), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	5.0	0.7
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	2.6	0.3	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.0	1.7	£15 to £30 per blade
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value	Brakes	2.0	0.2
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.5	0.6	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.4	1.3	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	1.3	1.7	£10 to £47 per lamp
Parking brake performance: inoperative on one side	Brakes	1.2	0.4
Airbag (SRS) warning light on	Seat belts and airbags	1.1	0.3	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Service brake performance: excessively binding	Brakes	1.1	0.5	£55 to £267 per wheel (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 9 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).

Advisories and minor defects on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter at 9 years (n=5,613), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=9,949,012).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	13.2	2.1	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	8.3	9.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	8.1	1.0
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	7.0	1.2	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	6.7	16.4	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.7	2.5
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.4	2.2
Track rod end: ball joint has slight play	Steering	3.3	0.9	£54 to £128 per side (rough guide)
Linkage pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	2.8	0.3
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	2.6	8.5	£88 to £145 per tyre

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.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 9 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Lights and electrics	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors
3 years	3,620	4.9	5.9	3.1
4 years	4,058	4.6	6.4	4.2
5 years	4,697	4.7	6.1	3.1
6 years	4,980	6.1	6.9	2.7
7 years	5,371	7.9	8.3	3.5
8 years	5,611	10.4	9.2	3.9
9 years	5,613	12.4	8.3	4.4
10 years	5,575	13.7	10.7	4.4
11 years	5,105	15.4	12.7	4.8
12 years	4,740	15.5	14.4	4.8
13 years	4,296	14.8	14.5	4.9
14 years	4,265	15.5	16.7	5.6
15 years	4,249	15.6	16.5	5.4
16 years	4,064	15.8	16.9	5.3
17 years	4,142	17.3	18.9	6.7
18 years	4,119	18.5	21.3	6.9
19 years	3,892	18.6	24.0	7.1
20 years	3,745	17.9	24.4	7.2
21 years	3,427	18.0	23.8	7.5
22 years	2,771	18.5	23.5	7.1
23 years	2,078	17.8	24.5	7.3
24 years	1,444	16.6	23.7	7.5

What to check on a viewing

On the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, testers most often record handbrake too weak; rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded; wipers not clearing screen. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Windscreen, wipers and mirrors

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 and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter?

At 9 years, the age with the most MOT tests (5,613), the fail items testers record most often on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter are handbrake too weak (5.0 per 100 MOTs), rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded (2.6 per 100 MOTs), wipers not clearing screen (2.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (13.2) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (8.3).

Which parts of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter fail more often than on other cars?

At 9 years: brakes (12.4 per 100 MOTs against 5.6 for all cars); seat belts and airbags (1.7 per 100 MOTs against 0.6 for all cars). Compared with 9,949,012 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter problems by area

Other Mercedes-Benz models

All Mercedes-Benz models · Common problems by make

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 Sprinter?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

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