Common problems

Mercedes-Benz Vito common problems

What MOT testers find on the Mercedes-Benz Vito: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 350,481 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 6 years, the most tested age

Brakes fails per 100 MOTs (n=31,108)8.5

All cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720)3.5

Tyres advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=31,108)20.4

All cars, same age (n=10,382,720)24.3

What stands out

Suspension fails show up on 8.0 of every 100 MOTs of a Mercedes-Benz Vito at 6 years old (n=31,108), against 2.9 for all cars of that age (n=10,382,720).
The fail item testers record most often at 6 years: coil spring broken, on 4.6 per 100 MOTs (all cars 1.0).
The most common advisory or minor defect: tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge, on 14.4 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 6 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 Vito at 6 years (n=31,108) against all cars at 6 years (n=10,382,720). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Brakes	8.5	3.5	18.0	16.9
Suspension	8.0	2.9	7.7	6.1
Lights and electrics	7.1	4.7	1.9	1.9
Tyres	6.6	5.6	20.4	24.3
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.6	1.3	3.4	1.2
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.5	3.3	6.2	3.1
Body and structure	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.2
Seat belts and airbags	0.8	0.4	0.6	0.2
Road wheels	0.3	0.2	0.8	0.6
Number plates and VIN	0.2	0.2	1.1	1.0
Steering	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.8

What testers fail most on the Vito at 6 years

Fail items on the Mercedes-Benz Vito at 6 years (n=31,108), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,382,720).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Coil spring broken	Suspension	4.6	1.0	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.9	0.5	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	2.4	0.2
Brake pads under 1.5 mm	Brakes	2.3	1.9	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Dipped headlight not working	Lights and electrics	2.2	0.7	£18 to £86 per lamp
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	2.1	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension ball joint worn	Suspension	2.0	0.4	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Tyre pressure monitoring system: malfunctioning or obviously inoperative	Tyres	2.0	0.5	£53 to £125 per wheel (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.9	1.8	£15 to £30 per blade
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.5	0.9	£2 to £14 per car (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 6 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 Vito at 6 years (n=31,108), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=10,382,720).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	14.4	14.3	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	7.6	7.3	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Brake pads: wearing thin	Brakes	6.8	9.3	£72 to £174 per axle (rough guide)
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	4.3	1.8
Shock absorbers: has light misting of oil	Suspension	3.9	1.9	£122 to £484 per axle (pair) (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively	Brakes	3.8	2.5	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	3.7	9.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.8	0.9
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	2.4	2.0	£88 to £145 per tyre
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	1.9	0.5	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)

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 6 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Brakes	Suspension	Lights and electrics
3 years	21,097	5.9	2.1	6.9
4 years	25,400	7.3	3.8	7.0
5 years	29,246	7.8	5.7	6.9
6 years	31,108	8.5	8.0	7.1
7 years	27,435	9.3	9.3	8.4
8 years	25,668	9.7	9.8	9.8
9 years	21,660	11.4	10.1	12.5
10 years	20,217	12.8	10.0	15.0
11 years	18,766	13.5	10.5	17.0
12 years	17,762	14.8	11.9	18.3
13 years	17,143	14.8	12.5	19.5
14 years	17,451	16.3	13.8	20.1
15 years	18,411	17.2	14.9	21.1
16 years	17,707	18.5	16.5	22.5
17 years	15,468	18.6	18.3	22.9
18 years	11,630	18.4	18.9	23.1
19 years	7,104	18.9	20.5	24.4
20 years	3,874	19.5	21.7	25.7
21 years	2,073	18.3	22.2	25.6
22 years	1,261	20.9	22.7	26.6

Mileage

At 6 years, Mercedes-Benz Vito cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 22.6% of MOTs (n=5,148); the band that failed most, 90,000 to 120,000 miles, failed 28.6% (n=6,316). For pass and fail rates by age, see Mercedes-Benz Vito MOT fail rates.

What to check on a viewing

On the Mercedes-Benz Vito, testers most often record coil spring broken; malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction; handbrake too weak. 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.

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.

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.

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 Vito?

At 6 years, the age with the most MOT tests (31,108), the fail items testers record most often on the Mercedes-Benz Vito are coil spring broken (4.6 per 100 MOTs), malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction (2.9 per 100 MOTs), handbrake too weak (2.4 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (14.4) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (7.6).

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

At 6 years: suspension (8.0 per 100 MOTs against 2.9 for all cars); brakes (8.5 per 100 MOTs against 3.5 for all cars); exhaust, emissions and leaks (4.6 per 100 MOTs against 1.3 for all cars). Compared with 10,382,720 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Mercedes-Benz Vito 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 Vito?

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