Mercedes-Benz GLA 2022: reliability & common MOT faults

At a glance

How 4,367 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time: 91 in every 100
Did not pass first time: 9 in every 100380 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car: 3 yearsabout 22,193 miles
First tests counted: 4,367

What failed most often

Tyre condition (front)22 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Seat belts and restraints

One fault: seat belt condition (rear), 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 380 failed first attempts in 2025 that had a mileage recorded, which allows a like-for-like comparison.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Seat belt condition (rear)

Failed on 23 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Any sign of overstretching is a deficiency, and so is a cut anywhere on a child seat belt. On other belts the size of a cut decides it, with a stricter limit at the webbing edge than away from it. Webbing significantly stretched or weakened has rows in both Major and Dangerous grades.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time: 91in every 100; Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station: 2in every 100; Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed: 7in every 100; Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 91.3% of 4,367 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 92.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 2 fixed and the 7 not fixed make the 9 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

By fuel type

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as testedPassed first time, same mileage

Petrol2,85520,746 miles9191

Hybrid88027,282 miles9090

Diesel63123,769 miles9293

Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.

Year	Passed first time	First tests
2014	79 in every 100	3,299
2015	76 in every 100	8,408
2016	77 in every 100	10,093
2017	80 in every 100	12,155
2018	82 in every 100	15,653
2019	85 in every 100	16,123
2020	90 in every 100	8,596
2021	92 in every 100	8,268
2022 This car	91 in every 100	4,367

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage makes a modest difference on a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Of 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA vehicles with under 14,000 miles, 95 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 33,000 miles or more, 87 in every 100 did.

Under 14,000861 tests

95

14,000–20,000919 tests

93

20,000–25,000 Typical car842 tests

91

25,000–33,000869 tests

91

33,000 and over875 tests

87

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

	Under 14,000	20,000–25,000	33,000 and over
Tyre condition (front)	1.4	2.5	1.8

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

69in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

9in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

2in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

Is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA reliable?

A 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA passed first time about 2 in every 100 less often than the average of the 2021 and 2023 model years. In 2025, 91.3% of 4,367 first MOTs on the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 92.9%. Among 380 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Seat belt condition (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 23 observed failures; about 3.1× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.

What is most likely to fail on a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA?

Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA at the first attempt were Tyre condition (front) (22.4%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.

What common MOT faults stand out on the Mercedes-Benz GLA 2022?

Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Seat belt condition (rear) (6.1% of those tests; 23 observed failures; about 3.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.

Why does Seat belt condition (rear) stand out?

Seat belt condition (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.1% of those tests; 23 observed failures; about 3.1× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.

What are common problems with the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA?

Common MOT problem areas for the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA include Seat belt condition (rear). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.

What does this Mercedes-Benz GLA 2022 MOT report cover?

This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLA (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.

Does this include engine and gearbox problems?

No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.