MOTindex

Common Mercedes-Benz Unknown MOT failures

Based on 8,103 Mercedes-Benz Unknown tests on record carrying an official DVSA defect code, so every category below is counted from real failures rather than estimated.

Full Mercedes-Benz Unknown MOT data, pass rate and models →

Real DVSA defect codes

Every category comes from the official MOT Inspection Manual section code DVSA attaches to each defect, not guessed from keywords.

Choose a make or model

Filter the chart below to one make or one specific model, and it updates without leaving the page.

The whole national record

Built from DVSA's published MOT data for Great Britain, not only from vehicles looked up here.

See the breakdown for one make or model

Defaults to every make on record.

Where MOT tests find problems: Mercedes-Benz Unknown

Axles, wheels, tyres and suspension 1,659 tests (20.5%)
Brakes 1,381 tests (17.0%)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 655 tests (8.1%)
Visibility 330 tests (4.1%)
Nuisance (emissions and noise) 288 tests (3.6%)
Body, structure and attachments 207 tests (2.6%)
Steering 165 tests (2.0%)
Registration plates and vehicle identification 155 tests (1.9%)

A test can find problems in more than one category, so the figures above do not sum to 100%. Each percentage is the share of classifiable tests that found at least one defect in that category. Based on 8,103 classifiable tests for Mercedes-Benz Unknown.

View the full Mercedes-Benz Unknown page →

What Mercedes-Benz Unknown failures look like

8,103 Mercedes-Benz Unknown tests on record carry the manual reference DVSA attaches to each defect. The most frequent problems were with axles, wheels, tyres and suspension on 1,659 tests (20.5%), with brakes on 1,381 tests (17.0%) and with lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment on 655 tests (8.1%). A test can fail on more than one thing, and an MOT can be failed on one defect while another is only advised, so these counts do not add up to the number of tests.

Narrowed down from the categories to the individual defects themselves, three come up on more than one test:

  • Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge

    MOT inspection manual reference 5.2.3, in axles, wheels, tyres and suspension

    Recorded on 969 of the 8,103 tests: 165 failures and 804 advisories or minors.

  • Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement

    MOT inspection manual reference 5.3.4, in axles, wheels, tyres and suspension

    Recorded on 542 of the 8,103 tests: 131 failures and 411 advisories or minors.

  • Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened

    MOT inspection manual reference 1.1.14, in brakes

    Recorded on 429 of the 8,103 tests: 27 failures and 402 advisories or minors.

Where there is enough data to compare: Mercedes-Benz C (3,856,305 tests), Mercedes-Benz A Class (2,377,529 tests), Mercedes-Benz E (2,316,593 tests), Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (2,034,252 tests), every Mercedes-Benz model (18,381,473 tests).

Clauses are read from the manual reference at the end of every defect on the cached test records, and a defect shown here has to appear on at least two of them before it is named. The site-wide breakdown explains how that works and compares every make.