At a glance
How 3,118 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 61 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 39 in every 1001,220 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 14 yearsabout 160,067 miles
- First tests counted
- 3,118
What failed most often
- Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)21 in every 100 failed tests
- Diesel engine warning light10 in every 100 failed tests
- Coil spring (rear)9 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 2011 Mercedes-Benz Vito 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
Four faults. The strongest is the handbrake lever: 4.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 1,216 of 1,220 failed first attempts (99.7%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.
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.
Handbrake lever
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 97 first tests, 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Rigid brake pipes (rear)
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 181 first tests, 3.3 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
Three faults. The strongest is the reversing lights: 3.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Reversing lights
What it means
Reversing lamps must show a white light to the rear, and on some vehicles the engine has to be running before they work. A lamp that does not emit a steady white light, does not face the rear or has its light intensity significantly reduced is Major. A lamp not securely attached is Minor, but one likely to become detached is Major.
Horn
What it means
A horn that does not work, or is likely to be confused with an emergency vehicle siren, is graded Major. Gongs, bells, sirens and anything with more than one tone, which includes a horn that alternates between its notes, are not allowed, except a gong, bell or siren on vehicles first used before a set date. Sound defects are Minor for named cases such as a bell or harsh sound, and Major under a general row.
Individual direction indicators (front)
What it means
Direction indicators must be amber, though vehicles first used before a set date may have white at the front and red at the rear when the indicators are combined with stop or position lamps, and sequential or dynamic ones are not a reason to fail. A lamp that is missing, inoperative or has more than half of a multiple light source not functioning is graded Major. A flashing rate outside the permitted range is graded Minor.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 42 first tests, 4.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Seat belts and restraints
One fault: airbag warning light, 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.
Airbag warning light
What it means
The airbag warning lamp (SRS MIL in DVSA's wording) is failed only if it indicates a system malfunction, which is Major. A lamp lit to show the passenger airbag is disabled is not to be regarded as a defect. Dashboard messages are not a defect in their own right, though they can help the tester confirm a malfunction.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Noise, emissions and leaks
Two faults. The strongest is the diesel engine warning light: 2.5 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.
Diesel emissions test (compression-ignition rules for vehicles from 01/07/2008)
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.
Transmission oil leaks (rear)
Individual direction indicators (rear)
Brake pedal
Exhaust system (rear)
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
- 61in 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
- 32in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 60.9% of 3,118 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 68.2%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 7 fixed and the 32 not fixed make the 39 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, 60 in every 100 passed first time.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 45 in every 100 | 317 |
| 2004 | 51 in every 100 | 605 |
| 2005 | 52 in every 100 | 1,462 |
| 2006 | 56 in every 100 | 2,846 |
| 2007 | 55 in every 100 | 3,600 |
| 2008 | 57 in every 100 | 3,729 |
| 2009 | 60 in every 100 | 3,499 |
| 2010 | 60 in every 100 | 3,634 |
| 2011 This car | 61 in every 100 | 3,118 |
| 2012 | 63 in every 100 | 3,765 |
| 2013 | 63 in every 100 | 4,054 |
| 2014 | 65 in every 100 | 4,283 |
| 2015 | 67 in every 100 | 4,515 |
| 2016 | 68 in every 100 | 5,697 |
| 2017 | 69 in every 100 | 7,490 |
| 2018 | 71 in every 100 | 5,693 |
| 2019 | 73 in every 100 | 7,710 |
| 2020 | 74 in every 100 | 4,043 |
| 2021 | 76 in every 100 | 4,432 |
| 2022 | 83 in every 100 | 1,767 |
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 2011 Vito.
Of 2011 Vito vehicles with under 112,000 miles, 68 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 216,000 miles or more, 61 in every 100 did.
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 112,000 | 144,000–174,000 | 216,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) | 4.8 | 8.7 | 11.0 |
| Diesel engine warning light | 3.0 | 4.6 | 3.7 |
| Coil spring (rear) | 2.9 | 4.1 | 2.9 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 1.9 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| Suspension arm ball joint (front) | 1.0 | 4.3 | 3.2 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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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