Mercedes-Benz Cls: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mercedes-Benz Cls fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 0.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 23,853 individual Mercedes-Benz Cls tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 76.1% first-time pass rate means roughly 24 in every 100 Mercedes-Benz Cls 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 Cls tested had covered 91,021 miles and was built around 2013.

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 Cls 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 Cls 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 Cls actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mercedes-Benz Cls

1. Any fracture or welding defect on a wheel, 1% of tests (21.13x the national rate for this defect)
2. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 2.6% of tests (3.2x the national rate for this defect)
3. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 2.6% of tests (2.11x the national rate for this defect)
4. A tyre seriously damaged, 3.4% of tests (1.68x the national rate for this defect)
5. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 2.3% of tests (1.42x the national rate for this defect)
6. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 1.1% of tests (1.16x the national rate for this defect)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 2.8% of tests
8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 2.6% of tests
9. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.3% of tests
10. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 0.8% of tests

From 45,775 DVSA-tracked Mercedes-Benz Cls tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 7.55% of these flagged Mercedes-Benz Cls defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mercedes-Benz Cls 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 Cls year:

• 2005 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 74.9% first-time pass, 951 tests
• 2006 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 72.9% first-time pass, 1,369 tests
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 71% first-time pass, 1,707 tests
• 2008 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 70% first-time pass, 1,367 tests
• 2009 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 68.1% first-time pass, 1,112 tests
• 2010 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 69.8% first-time pass, 1,062 tests
• 2011 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 75.7% first-time pass, 1,154 tests
• 2012 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 76% first-time pass, 1,116 tests
• 2013 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 76.2% first-time pass, 3,041 tests
• 2014 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 77.7% first-time pass, 1,788 tests
• 2015 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 81.4% first-time pass, 2,898 tests
• 2016 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 81.5% first-time pass, 2,109 tests
• 2017 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 82.3% first-time pass, 1,507 tests
• 2018 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 83.1% first-time pass, 992 tests
• 2019 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 85.2% first-time pass, 1,091 tests
• 2020 Mercedes-Benz Cls - 80.1% first-time pass, 292 tests

Mercedes-Benz Cls by fuel type

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

• Diesel Mercedes-Benz Cls - 76.5% first-time pass, 20,881 tests
• Petrol Mercedes-Benz Cls - 79.5% first-time pass, 2,608 tests

Other Mercedes-Benz models

• Mercedes-Benz C - 77.4%
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class - 78.7%
• Mercedes-Benz E - 79.2%
• Mercedes-Benz A - 89.5%
• Mercedes-Benz Vito - 72.7%
• Mercedes-Benz Gla - 85.2%
• Mercedes-Benz Glc - 87.8%
• Mercedes-Benz B-Class - 74.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Mercedes-Benz Ml - 76.2%
• BMW 728 - 76.2%
• Volvo V40 - 76.1%
• Ford Tourneo - 76.1%
• Volkswagen Cc - 76.1%
• Renault Koleos - 76.1%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate