Mercedes-Benz Citan: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mercedes-Benz Citan fails its first MOT more often than the average UK vehicle, by 7.2 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 18,132 individual Mercedes-Benz Citan tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

First-time pass rate69.5%
UK national average76.7%
Difference-7.2 points
Tests analysed18,132
Average mileage at test101,264 miles
Average year of manufacture2016
Reliability rank1,774 of 2,005 models

What this means if you are buying one

A 69.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 31 in every 100 Mercedes-Benz Citans presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Mercedes-Benz Citan tested had covered 101,264 miles and was built around 2016.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Mercedes-Benz Citan bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Mercedes-Benz Citan rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Mercedes-Benz Citans actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mercedes-Benz Citan

  1. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 6% of tests (5.39x the national rate for this defect)
  2. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 4.6% of tests (4.81x the national rate for this defect)
  3. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 3.9% of tests (4.75x the national rate for this defect)
  4. A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps, 2.8% of tests (4.38x the national rate for this defect)
  5. Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3.9% of tests (4.02x the national rate for this defect)
  6. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 1.6% of tests (2.73x the national rate for this defect)
  7. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 3.5% of tests (2.25x the national rate for this defect)
  8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 4.8% of tests (2.08x the national rate for this defect)
  9. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.7% of tests (1.94x the national rate for this defect)
  10. A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 3.1% of tests (1.92x the national rate for this defect)

From 26,397 DVSA-tracked Mercedes-Benz Citan tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 6.59% of these flagged Mercedes-Benz Citan defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mercedes-Benz Citan pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Mercedes-Benz Citan year:

Mercedes-Benz Citan by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

Other Mercedes-Benz models

Models with a similar pass rate

If this van is a salvage or write-off

Embed this data

Run a site about the Mercedes-Benz Citan? Embed the real DVSA pass-rate badge free, linked back to this page.

Mercedes-Benz Citan MOT pass rate badge: 69.5%

<a href="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/mot/mercedes-benz-citan"><img src="https://www.salvageprophet.co.uk/badge/mercedes-benz-citan.svg" width="340" height="92" alt="Mercedes-Benz Citan MOT Pass Rate: 69.5% - Salvage Prophet"></a>

All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate