Common problems

Mercedes-Benz Viano common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mercedes-Benz Viano: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 20,403 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 11 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=2,377)16.5

All cars at 11 years (n=8,087,514)13.3

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=2,377)25.5

All cars, same age (n=8,087,514)27.2

What stands out

Brakes fails show up on 11.5 of every 100 MOTs of a Mercedes-Benz Viano at 11 years old (n=2,377), against 7.3 for all cars of that age (n=8,087,514).
Suspension fails are less common: 7.0 per 100 MOTs against 11.6 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 11 years: handbrake too weak, on 4.5 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.2).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 19.9 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 11 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 Viano at 11 years (n=2,377) against all cars at 11 years (n=8,087,514). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	16.5	13.3	9.4	7.5
Brakes	11.5	7.3	19.1	22.8
Suspension	7.0	11.6	16.5	21.6
Tyres	5.8	7.0	25.5	27.2
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	5.0	3.2	8.7	5.3
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.9	4.8	6.0	4.1
Body and structure	2.8	3.5	7.1	5.1
Seat belts and airbags	2.6	0.9	0.5	0.5
Steering	2.0	2.5	3.2	2.8
Road wheels	0.6	0.4	0.3	1.0
Number plates and VIN	0.5	0.3	2.4	2.4

What testers fail most on the Viano at 11 years

Fail items on the Mercedes-Benz Viano at 11 years (n=2,377), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,087,514).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	4.5	1.2
Side repeaters: not working	Lights and electrics	4.2	0.5	£10 to £47 per lamp
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	2.9	3.2	£10 to £47 per lamp
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value	Brakes	2.4	0.3
Airbag (SRS) warning light on	Seat belts and airbags	2.4	0.5	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	2.1	2.4	£10 to £47 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.1	2.8	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	2.1	2.1	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	1.9	0.7	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Parking brake performance: inoperative on one side	Brakes	1.9	0.6

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 11 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 Viano at 11 years (n=2,377), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=8,087,514).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	19.9	17.6	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	7.9	4.6
Suspension arm pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement	Suspension	7.4	6.6	£92 to £237 per arm (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	6.5	10.0	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Exhaust system: mounting defective	Body and structure	5.2	0.9	£28 to £108 per car (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	4.4	7.8	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.2	2.6
Individual direction indicators: slightly discoloured	Lights and electrics	4.2	1.1	£10 to £47 per lamp
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	3.5	1.7
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	3.2	8.7	£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 11 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Suspension
9 years	1,554	13.4	9.6	4.7
10 years	2,112	14.2	10.1	5.7
11 years	2,377	16.5	11.5	7.0
12 years	2,212	17.6	11.8	8.1
13 years	2,013	18.6	11.4	8.0
14 years	1,934	18.1	11.6	9.8
15 years	1,896	18.1	13.0	9.8
16 years	1,849	19.1	13.4	11.1
17 years	1,819	19.1	13.0	11.5
18 years	1,580	20.8	13.0	12.5
19 years	1,057	18.8	11.2	12.8

What to check on a viewing

On the Mercedes-Benz Viano, testers most often record handbrake too weak; side repeaters: not working; side/position light not working. Look at these first, then the areas below.

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.

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.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

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 Viano?

At 11 years, the age with the most MOT tests (2,377), the fail items testers record most often on the Mercedes-Benz Viano are handbrake too weak (4.5 per 100 MOTs), side repeaters: not working (4.2 per 100 MOTs), side/position light not working (2.9 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (19.9) and engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive (7.9).

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

At 11 years: brakes (11.5 per 100 MOTs against 7.3 for all cars); lights and electrics (16.5 per 100 MOTs against 13.3 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (5.0 per 100 MOTs against 3.2 for all cars). Compared with 8,087,514 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mercedes-Benz Viano 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 Viano?

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