Mercedes-Benz Vito: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Mercedes-Benz Vito fails its first MOT more often than the average UK vehicle, by 4 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 85,562 individual Mercedes-Benz Vito tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 72.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 27 in every 100 Mercedes-Benz Vitos 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 Vito tested had covered 139,506 miles and was built around 2014.

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 Vito 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 Vito 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 Vitos actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Mercedes-Benz Vito

1. Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value, 1.7% of tests (6.01x the national rate for this defect)
2. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 1.8% of tests (4.06x the national rate for this defect)
3. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 3.2% of tests (3.23x the national rate for this defect)
4. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 2.2% of tests (2.32x the national rate for this defect)
5. The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired, 1.7% of tests (2.08x the national rate for this defect)
6. A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, 3% of tests (1.84x the national rate for this defect)
7. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 1.5% of tests (1.65x the national rate for this defect)
8. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 2% of tests (1.6x the national rate for this defect)
9. A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 1.7% of tests (1.25x the national rate for this defect)
10. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 2.1% of tests (1.22x the national rate for this defect)

From 142,960 DVSA-tracked Mercedes-Benz Vito tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 4.96% of these flagged Mercedes-Benz Vito defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Mercedes-Benz Vito 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 Vito year:

• 2001 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 58.1% first-time pass, 227 tests
• 2002 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 60.8% first-time pass, 403 tests
• 2003 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 62.3% first-time pass, 424 tests
• 2004 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 62% first-time pass, 865 tests
• 2005 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 60.9% first-time pass, 1,934 tests
• 2006 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 64.5% first-time pass, 3,610 tests
• 2007 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 65.2% first-time pass, 4,283 tests
• 2008 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 65.8% first-time pass, 4,326 tests
• 2009 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 67.7% first-time pass, 4,156 tests
• 2010 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 68.1% first-time pass, 4,304 tests
• 2011 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 68.1% first-time pass, 3,869 tests
• 2012 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 69.3% first-time pass, 4,857 tests
• 2013 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 72.3% first-time pass, 5,411 tests
• 2014 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 72.9% first-time pass, 5,330 tests
• 2015 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 73.2% first-time pass, 5,620 tests
• 2016 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 74.7% first-time pass, 6,944 tests
• 2017 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 78.4% first-time pass, 9,791 tests
• 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 79% first-time pass, 7,445 tests
• 2019 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 81% first-time pass, 9,604 tests
• 2020 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 81.3% first-time pass, 3,635 tests
• 2021 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 85.9% first-time pass, 4,325 tests
• 2022 Mercedes-Benz Vito - 89.7% first-time pass, 438 tests

Mercedes-Benz Vito 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 Vito - 73.5% first-time pass, 91,677 tests
• Electric Mercedes-Benz Vito - 88.2% first-time pass, 382 tests
• Petrol Mercedes-Benz Vito - 67.2% first-time pass, 262 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 Gla - 85.2%
• Mercedes-Benz Glc - 87.8%
• Mercedes-Benz B-Class - 74.7%
• Mercedes-Benz Cla - 82.8%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Chrysler 300 C - 72.8%
• Fiat Camper - 72.8%
• Nissan Qashqai - 72.7%
• Volkswagen Touran - 72.7%
• Peugeot 205 - 72.7%
• Kia Sorento - 72.6%

If this van is a salvage or write-off

• Britain's most and least reliable vans: 2.1 million MOT tests analysed
• Does high mileage mean a worse MOT pass rate? The workhorses say no
• 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