Mercedes-Benz CLC MOT reliability

Mercedes-Benz CLCs passed their MOT first time 53% of the time across 70 tests in 2025. 8,152 are still licensed in Great Britain.

Example photo of a Mercedes-Benz CLC — Photo: M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

These figures come from 70 MOT tests. That's a fairly small number of cars, so they may not be typical of these cars as a whole.

First-time pass rate

53%

MOTs analysed

70

Still licensed (GB)

8,152

Body type

–

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

2008 diesel

11 MOTs

These figures come from only 11 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 46%. Typical mileage 109,298 (most between 94,819 and 134,495).

2010: 100% → 2011: 81% → 2012: 80% → 2013: 76% → 2014: 70% → 2015: 67% → 2016: 63% → 2017: 60% → 2018: 53% → 2019: 56% → 2020: 56% → 2021: 44% → 2022: 47% → 2023: 53% → 2024: 38% → 2025: 46%

Most common failures

Headlamp: not working on dipped beam (9.1%)
Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (9.1%)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded (9.1%)
Condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (9.1%)
Stop lamp: not working (9.1%)

2008 petrol

8 MOTs

These figures come from only 8 MOT tests. With so few cars, a single pass or fail changes the percentages a lot, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a true average.

Passed first time 50%. Typical mileage 110,344 (most between 92,371 and 116,422).

2010: 100% → 2011: 82% → 2012: 81% → 2013: 74% → 2014: 74% → 2015: 68% → 2016: 66% → 2017: 63% → 2018: 56% → 2019: 58% → 2020: 57% → 2021: 83% → 2022: 33% → 2023: 43% → 2024: 67% → 2025: 50%

Most common failures

Coil spring: fractured or broken (25.0%)
Ball joint excessively worn (25.0%)
Fuel cap/sealing device: missing (12.5%)
Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play (12.5%)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded (12.5%)

Where 2008 CLCs fail

Brakes

18.2%

Lights & electrics

18.2%

Suspension & axles

18.2%

Wheels & tyres

9.1%

Steering

9.1%

Looking at a particular car?

See its own MOT history, mileage and red flags, compared with these figures. Free.

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.