Mercedes Benz CLC MOT failures and reliability
In 2023 the Mercedes Benz CLC took 9,143 MOT tests in Britain and passed 55% 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
- 9,143
- First-time pass rate
- 55%
- All cars
- 71%
What the CLC fails on
Share of tests with at least one failure in each area, against the figure for all cars.
- Suspension26.1% (all cars 9.0%)
- Lights and electrics17.0% (all cars 11.3%)
- Brakes10.9% (all cars 6.8%)
- Tyres10.2% (all cars 6.4%)
- Visibility7.9% (all cars 4.8%)
- Steering4.0% (all cars 1.8%)
- Exhaust and emissions3.9% (all cars 3.1%)
- Body and structure2.5% (all cars 3.5%)
Most common failure items
Share of tests on which each item was recorded.
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 11.4%
- Coil spring: fractured or broken 10.0%
- Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 4.7%
- Washers: provides insufficient washer liquid 3.4%
- Position lamp: not working 3.3%
- Linkage ball joint dust cover: ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt 3.2%
- Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play 3.1%
- Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 2.9%
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 16.3%
- Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 9.1%
- Suspension arms, pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 7.6%
- Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 7.2%
- Brake pads: wearing thin 6.5%
- Wheel bearings: has slight play 6.5%
- Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 5.9%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2,365 | 53% |
| 2009 | 3,545 | 55% |
| 2010 | 2,590 | 55% |
| 2011 | 613 | 61% |
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 |
|---|---|
| 12 years | 79,275 miles |
| 13 years | 90,405 miles |
| 14 years | 98,472 miles |
| 15 years | 104,608 miles |
Check a particular CLC
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 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 C 320
- 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.