Mercedes Benz S Class MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Mercedes Benz S Class took 27,853 MOT tests in Britain and passed 82% 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: 27,853
First-time pass rate: 82%
All cars: 71%

What the S Class fails on

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

Tyres5.3% (all cars 6.4%)
Suspension4.7% (all cars 9.0%)
Brakes4.5% (all cars 6.8%)
Lights and electrics4.3% (all cars 11.3%)
Exhaust and emissions2.8% (all cars 3.1%)
Visibility2.2% (all cars 4.8%)
Body and structure1.0% (all cars 3.5%)
Seat belts and airbags0.9% (all cars 1.0%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint excessively worn 2.7%
Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm 2.1%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction 1.7%
Tyres, condition: has ply or cords exposed 1.2%
Tyres, condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords 1.0%
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded 0.9%
Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 0.9%
Position lamp: not working 0.8%

Most common advisories

Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 16.9%
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 7.1%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 6.9%
Brake pads: wearing thin 6.2%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 4.9%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 4.6%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 2.9%
Wheel bearings: has slight play 2.8%

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	338	69%
2001	384	71%
2002	479	70%
2003	782	72%
2004	715	73%
2005	620	74%
2006	1,176	76%
2007	1,445	74%
2008	1,066	74%
2009	949	74%
2010	923	80%
2011	966	79%
2012	1,269	77%
2013	1,040	79%
2014	1,700	86%
2015	2,261	87%
2016	2,786	88%
2017	2,539	88%
2018	2,507	91%
2019	2,497	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	31,480 miles
4 years	52,110 miles
5 years	61,955 miles
6 years	65,800 miles
7 years	66,201 miles
8 years	82,770 miles
9 years	90,224 miles
10 years	103,095 miles
11 years	99,878 miles
12 years	106,744 miles
13 years	108,219 miles
14 years	110,968 miles
15 years	111,760 miles
16 years	113,800 miles
17 years	110,358 miles
18 years	123,817 miles
19 years	123,482 miles
20 years	121,474 miles

Check a particular S 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.