Mercedes Benz Sprinter MOT failures and reliability

In 2023 the Mercedes Benz Sprinter took 22,642 MOT tests in Britain and passed 71% of them first time, close to 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: 22,642
First-time pass rate: 71%
All cars: 71%

What the Sprinter fails on

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

Lights and electrics14.5% (all cars 11.3%)
Brakes13.2% (all cars 6.8%)
Suspension6.3% (all cars 9.0%)
Visibility5.3% (all cars 4.8%)
Body and structure4.6% (all cars 3.5%)
Exhaust and emissions3.1% (all cars 3.1%)
Tyres2.8% (all cars 6.4%)
Steering2.7% (all cars 1.8%)

Most common failure items

Share of tests on which each item was recorded.

Rbt (sp): efficiency below requirements 4.7%
Position lamp: not working 3.0%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively 2.8%
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded 2.5%
Rbt (sp): efficiency less than 50% of the required value 1.8%
Rear fog lamp: not working 1.7%
Stop lamp: not working 1.6%
Service brake performance: excessively binding 1.6%

Most common advisories

Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material 13.4%
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened 10.3%
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge 8.1%
Non-component advisories: Play in steering rack inner joint(s) 7.7%
Suspension arms, ball joint: ball joint has slight play 7.5%
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive 6.0%
Tyres, condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing 3.9%
Linkage pins and bushes: pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement 3.4%

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	381	60%
2001	677	64%
2002	886	58%
2003	918	59%
2004	1,060	60%
2005	968	63%
2006	888	63%
2007	1,039	65%
2008	1,132	63%
2009	826	70%
2010	1,058	66%
2011	1,002	69%
2012	1,149	69%
2013	1,125	75%
2014	1,326	75%
2015	1,459	76%
2016	1,149	77%
2017	1,250	84%
2018	1,120	85%
2019	1,064	85%
2020	987	85%

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	54,148 miles
4 years	76,528 miles
5 years	92,060 miles
6 years	111,596 miles
7 years	115,386 miles
8 years	138,941 miles
9 years	139,422 miles
10 years	146,257 miles
11 years	131,797 miles
12 years	144,146 miles
13 years	146,278 miles
14 years	136,678 miles
15 years	138,216 miles
16 years	144,872 miles
17 years	138,601 miles
18 years	130,335 miles
19 years	136,820 miles
20 years	136,333 miles

Check a particular Sprinter

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.