Mercedes-Benz A MOT reliability

Mercedes-Benz As passed their MOT first time 87% of the time across 129,294 tests in 2025.

First-time pass rate

87%

MOTs analysed

129,294

Still licensed (GB)

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Body type

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Pass rate by year of first registration

Older cars fail more often, so compare a car with others of the same age. Years with very few MOTs can show extreme pass rates, even 0% or 100%, so give more weight to years with more tests.

In detail:

First registered

2021 petrol

15,813 MOTs

Passed first time 90%. Typical mileage 29,528 (most between 21,331 and 39,103).

2022: 86% → 2023: 94% → 2024: 91% → 2025: 90%

Most common failures

Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (1.9%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.3%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (0.9%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (0.9%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (0.8%)

2021 diesel

7,560 MOTs

Passed first time 89%. Typical mileage 37,240 (most between 28,146 and 48,563).

2022: 100% → 2023: 93% → 2024: 90% → 2025: 89%

Most common failures

Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (2.2%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.8%)
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick (1.4%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (1.4%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (1.0%)

2021 hybrid

6,187 MOTs

Passed first time 89%. Typical mileage 39,546 (most between 28,241 and 55,962).

2022: 100% → 2023: 93% → 2024: 88% → 2025: 89%

Most common failures

Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (3.1%)
Condition: has ply or cords exposed (1.4%)
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (1.2%)
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively (0.9%)
Condition: has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (0.7%)

Where 2021 As fail

Wheels & tyres

5.0%

Brakes

1.5%

Visibility & wipers

1.5%

Lights & electrics

1.4%

Suspension & axles

0.4%

Body, structure & corrosion

0.2%

Exhaust, emissions & leaks

0.2%

Seat belts & other equipment

0.2%

Looking at a particular car?

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Based on 2025 initial MOT tests in DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset (cars and light vans). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Model details: Vehicle data by VehiclesDB.