2004 Mercedes-Benz Viano: MOT pass rate and reliability

70.6% of 2004 Mercedes-Benz Vianos pass the MOT first time, measured across 269 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 115,657 miles.

How the 2004 compares

  • Against all Mercedes-Benz Vianos (71.3%, 5,395 tests): -0.7 points
  • Against all 2004 cars (64%): +6.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Mercedes-Benz Viano model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2004 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Mercedes-Benz Viano:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2004 70.6% 269 115,657
2005 65.9% 384 141,298
2006 65% 374 151,406
2007 69.9% 459 157,055
2008 69.3% 486 161,362
2009 69.1% 431 162,852
2010 75.6% 434 162,505
2011 71.6% 497 158,354
2012 71.7% 580 152,908
2013 73.1% 662 140,413
2014 76.2% 661 137,538

What this means if you are buying a 2004 Viano

The 2004 sits close to the Mercedes-Benz Viano average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 22-year-old car fails on

A 2004 car is 22 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2004 Mercedes-Benz Viano the average at test was 115,657 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2014 at 76.2%, and the weakest in our data is 2006 at 65%. That 11.2 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2004 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Mercedes-Benz Viano MOT data · Every model