At a glance
How 1,065 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 62 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 38 in every 100403 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 17 yearsabout 142,908 miles
- First tests counted
- 1,065
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)25 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.
These are patterns across 2008 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 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.
Brakes
Three faults. The strongest is the rigid brake pipes (front): 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 391 of 403 failed first attempts (97.0%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like. 3.0% of failures are excluded because no mileage was recorded, so treat these shares as indicative for this model year.
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.
Rigid brake pipes (front)
What it means
Chafing, corrosion or damage to a rigid brake pipe justifies rejection once its wall thickness is reduced by a set amount, although DVSA accepts this is not easy to determine. If a tester is not sure, the benefit of the doubt applies. A leaking pipe or connection is graded Dangerous on a hydraulic system and Major on an air system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 43 first tests, 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake performance (roller test, front)
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 26 first tests, 3.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)
What it means
A parking brake with efficiency below the minimum requirement is Major, and graded Dangerous where efficiency is less than half of the required value. On a roller brake tester, the requirement counts as met if more than half of the wheels of a brake system lock. The check applies only to vehicles whose parking brake was not already tested as the secondary brake.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
Two faults. The strongest is the rear fog light: 3.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Rear fog light
What it means
A missing obligatory rear fog lamp, one that is not working, or one that does not emit a steady red light is graded Major. A rear fog lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp is Major too. The manual allows it to go out when main beam is switched on or when dipped beam headlamps are switched off.
Individual sidelight or tail light (rear)
What it means
A position lamp showing red light to the front or white light to the rear is Major. Rear lamps must show a steady red light, and front ones can show white, predominantly white with a blue tinge, or yellow if combined in a yellow headlamp. With a multiple light source, up to half not working is Minor and more than half is Major.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
One fault: diesel engine warning light, 2.2 times as often as on similar cars.
Diesel engine warning light
What it means
An engine malfunction indicator lamp that is illuminated to show a malfunction is graded Major on a diesel, but only on the diesels the test covers, which depends on the vehicle type and when it was first used. DVSA lists it under exhaust emissions for compression ignition engines, and the detail line for the row also names an inoperative lamp.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Advisories
Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.
An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.
Suspension arm ball joint (front)
Non-component advisories (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, 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
- 62in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 7in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 31in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 62.2% of 1,065 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 68.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 31 not fixed make the 38 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
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. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 67 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 62 in every 100 | 544 |
| 2002 | 60 in every 100 | 712 |
| 2003 | 60 in every 100 | 750 |
| 2004 | 58 in every 100 | 812 |
| 2005 | 60 in every 100 | 803 |
| 2006 | 58 in every 100 | 790 |
| 2007 | 64 in every 100 | 958 |
| 2008 This car | 62 in every 100 | 1,065 |
| 2009 | 67 in every 100 | 782 |
| 2010 | 68 in every 100 | 1,007 |
| 2011 | 66 in every 100 | 1,012 |
| 2012 | 66 in every 100 | 1,162 |
| 2013 | 70 in every 100 | 1,191 |
| 2014 | 69 in every 100 | 1,418 |
| 2015 | 75 in every 100 | 1,592 |
| 2016 | 75 in every 100 | 1,217 |
| 2017 | 80 in every 100 | 1,249 |
| 2018 | 81 in every 100 | 1,221 |
| 2019 | 84 in every 100 | 1,128 |
| 2020 | 86 in every 100 | 991 |
| 2021 | 84 in every 100 | 734 |
| 2022 | 88 in every 100 | 650 |
FAQs
Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.
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.
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.
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