Mercedes Benz A Class MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Mercedes Benz A Class took 322,032 MOT tests in Britain and passed 79% of them first time, above the national average of 71% for all cars. The figures below come from the DVSA's record of every test, so they show what testers actually found on these cars rather than what owners report.

MOT tests in 2023: 322,032
First-time pass rate: 79%
All cars: 71%

What the A Class fails on

Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.

Tyres7.0% (all cars 6.4%)
Lights and electrics5.8% (all cars 11.3%)
Suspension4.3% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes4.2% (all cars 6.8%)
Visibility3.9% (all cars 4.8%)
Exhaust and emissions2.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Seat belts and airbags1.8% (all cars 1.0%)
Body and structure1.2% (all cars 3.5%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.3%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 2.1%
Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 1.8%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick 1.7%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 1.7%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.6%
SRS malfunction indicator lamp: warning lamp indicates a fault 1.6%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.3%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 18.4%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 8.5%
Brake pads: wearing thin 8.2%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.4%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 3.9%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 3.1%
Tyres, condition: has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.8%
Non-component advisories: Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt 1.8%

Pass rate by year of registration

Older cars fail more often whatever the model, so compare a car with others of the same age.

First registered	Tests	Pass rate
2000	344	57%
2001	817	55%
2002	1,245	55%
2003	1,681	53%
2004	1,618	54%
2005	3,552	58%
2006	5,181	59%
2007	6,781	59%
2008	7,306	60%
2009	7,359	63%
2010	6,457	66%
2011	5,593	69%
2012	5,341	69%
2013	14,862	70%
2014	23,434	73%
2015	26,998	76%
2016	38,331	80%
2017	40,985	83%
2018	41,297	85%
2019	51,879	87%
2020	29,711	89%
2021	999	94%

Typical mileage by age

Average odometer reading at the MOT, by the car's age in years at the test.

Age at test	Average mileage
3 years	24,500 miles
4 years	32,363 miles
5 years	39,975 miles
6 years	50,007 miles
7 years	59,521 miles
8 years	68,921 miles
9 years	78,682 miles
10 years	84,940 miles
11 years	66,881 miles
12 years	68,249 miles
13 years	74,629 miles
14 years	79,985 miles
15 years	85,310 miles
16 years	86,843 miles
17 years	88,902 miles
18 years	86,569 miles
19 years	81,112 miles
20 years	82,294 miles

Check a particular A Class

Model figures tell you what to look out for. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.

Other Mercedes Benz models

Source: Department for Transport, Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023, cars and light vans, normal tests only. Pass rates are first-time passes; a pass after repair at the test station counts as a fail. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.