Mercedes Benz C 320 MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Mercedes Benz C 320 took 1,454 MOT tests in Britain and passed 62% of them first time, below 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
- 1,454
- First-time pass rate
- 62%
- All cars
- 71%
What the C 320 fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Suspension17.8% (all cars 9.0%)
- Lights and electrics13.5% (all cars 11.3%)
- Brakes10.0% (all cars 6.8%)
- Tyres8.4% (all cars 6.4%)
- Exhaust and emissions5.6% (all cars 3.1%)
- Visibility4.3% (all cars 4.8%)
- Body and structure3.0% (all cars 3.5%)
- Seat belts and airbags2.3% (all cars 1.0%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Coil spring: fractured or broken 7.3%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 6.1%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.9%
- Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 2.5%
- Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded 2.5%
- Ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 2.2%
- Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 2.1%
- Headlamp: not working on dipped beam 2.0%
Most common advisories
- Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 21.5%
- Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 19.1%
- Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 12.4%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 7.7%
- Brake pads: wearing thin 6.8%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 6.4%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 6.2%
- Coil spring: corroded 5.4%
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 |
|---|---|
| 14 years | 116,852 miles |
| 15 years | 119,311 miles |
| 16 years | 120,600 miles |
| 17 years | 125,423 miles |
| 18 years | 123,810 miles |
| 19 years | 105,411 miles |
| 20 years | 104,573 miles |
Check a particular C 320
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
- Mercedes Benz C Class
- Mercedes Benz A Class
- Mercedes Benz E Class
- Mercedes Benz Vito
- Mercedes Benz GLA
- Mercedes Benz GLC
- Mercedes Benz B Class
- Mercedes Benz SLK
- Mercedes Benz CLA
- Mercedes Benz ML
- Mercedes Benz CLK
- Mercedes Benz S Class
- Mercedes Benz GLE
- Mercedes Benz CLS
- Mercedes Benz Sprinter
- Mercedes Benz SL
- Mercedes Benz Citan
- Mercedes Benz V Class
- Mercedes Benz CLC
- Mercedes Benz SLC
- Mercedes Benz Viano
- Mercedes Benz GL
- Mercedes Benz X Class
- Mercedes Benz CL
- Mercedes Benz 190
- Mercedes Benz 300
- Mercedes Benz GLS
- Mercedes Benz R Class
- Mercedes Benz A 200
- Mercedes Benz G Class
- Mercedes Benz GT
- Mercedes Benz 500
- Mercedes Benz 280
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.