Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2015: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 80 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class were passes.

Summary

With 902 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist.

At a glance

How 902 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
80 in every 100
Did not pass first time
20 in every 100184 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
10 yearsabout 133,684 miles
First tests counted
902

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 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class 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.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the suspension arm ball joint (front): 3.1 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 184 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.

Suspension arm ball joint (front)

Failed on 37 first tests3.1 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A suspension arm ball joint is failed under the general suspension pin, bush or joint wording. Excessively worn is Major, and likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 23 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

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
80in 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
18in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 79.6% of 902 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 81.9%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 2 fixed and the 18 not fixed make the 20 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

40608010020152016201720182019202020212022Newer cars
40608010020152020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 77 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
2015 This car80 in every 100902
201678 in every 1001,328
201777 in every 1001,882
201881 in every 1001,927
201982 in every 1002,101
202081 in every 100779
202182 in every 100503
202284 in every 100556

FAQs

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

With 902 first tests, there are too few to say whether the 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class differs from the model years either side. Treat the faults below as a checklist. In 2025, 79.6% of 902 first MOTs on the 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 81.9%. Among 184 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Suspension arm ball joint (front) appears more often than on similar cars (20.1% of those tests; 37 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.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Suspension arm ball joint (front) (20.1% of those tests; 37 observed failures; about 3.1× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Suspension arm ball joint (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (20.1% of those tests; 37 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.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class include Suspension arm ball joint (front), Coil spring (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.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2015 Mercedes-Benz V-Class (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.
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.

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