Mercedes Benz E Class MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Mercedes Benz E Class took 241,646 MOT tests in Britain and passed 78% 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: 241,646
First-time pass rate: 78%
All cars: 71%

What the E Class fails on

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

Tyres8.4% (all cars 6.4%)
Suspension6.8% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes5.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Lights and electrics4.4% (all cars 11.3%)
Exhaust and emissions2.6% (all cars 3.1%)
Visibility1.8% (all cars 4.8%)
Wheels1.1% (all cars 0.4%)
Body and structure0.9% (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 2.8%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 2.3%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.1%
Coil spring: fractured or broken 2.1%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 1.9%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.6%
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded 1.5%
Tyres, condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure 1.0%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 19.3%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 9.1%
Brake pads: wearing thin 7.4%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.2%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 3.8%
Brake discs: worn, but not excessively 3.3%
Wheel bearings: has slight play 3.3%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 3.2%

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
1994	740	72%
1995	840	68%
1996	554	69%
1997	380	68%
1998	675	68%
1999	598	66%
2000	660	68%
2001	883	64%
2002	1,258	67%
2003	3,741	67%
2004	5,022	67%
2005	4,971	66%
2006	4,305	68%
2007	6,270	68%
2008	4,864	68%
2009	7,503	69%
2010	12,292	71%
2011	14,369	72%
2012	15,260	72%
2013	19,579	74%
2014	20,946	77%
2015	22,105	80%
2016	21,375	83%
2017	23,290	84%
2018	21,894	85%
2019	19,756	87%
2020	6,594	86%
2021	308	93%

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	31,003 miles
4 years	45,998 miles
5 years	56,610 miles
6 years	72,966 miles
7 years	79,828 miles
8 years	89,107 miles
9 years	90,436 miles
10 years	96,879 miles
11 years	102,234 miles
12 years	105,370 miles
13 years	108,831 miles
14 years	118,046 miles
15 years	130,620 miles
16 years	133,640 miles
17 years	133,229 miles
18 years	136,581 miles
19 years	139,053 miles
20 years	135,917 miles

Check a particular E 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.