Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Mercedes-Benz Vito 2018: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 71 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (rear).

Summary

The 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 5,693 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
71 in every 100
Did not pass first time
29 in every 1001,642 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
7 yearsabout 100,544 miles
First tests counted
5,693

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (rear)16 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)15 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Diesel engine warning light12 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 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Brakes

Three faults. The strongest is the handbrake lever: 9.2 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 1,638 of 1,642 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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

Failed on 78 first tests9.2 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake lever pivot or ratchet mechanism that is obviously worn is graded Minor. It is Major when worn to the extent that the brake may inadvertently release, and also when the ratchet is not holding correctly. A lever must have obvious excessive travel before being rejected.

Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)

Failed on 248 first tests5.9 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

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.

Handbrake performance (roller test, rear)

Failed on 38 first tests3.7 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

What it means

A parking brake that is inoperative on one side is Major. When tested on the road, the failure is the vehicle deviating excessively from a straight line. Vehicles whose parking brake was already tested as the secondary brake are not tested again for this.

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

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the coil spring (rear): 5.3 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 262 first tests5.3 times as often as similar carsStrong 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.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 144 first tests2.6 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.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre pressure monitoring system, 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Tyre pressure monitoring system

Failed on 119 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative is graded Major, and so is one listed as malfunctioning or obviously inoperative. The Minor row uses the word malfunctioning too, but its detail is a warning lamp indicating a fault, and it also covers a tyre that is obviously under-inflated.

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

Failed on 189 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

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.

Brake pedal

Noted on 29 first tests3.9 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake performance (roller test, front)

Noted on 39 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

Shock absorbers (front)

Noted on 106 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

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
71in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
6in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
23in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 71.2% of 5,693 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 77.3%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 6 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 29 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Same model, other years

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

4060801002005201020152018Older carsNewer cars
40608010020102018Older 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, 74 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200345 in every 100317
200451 in every 100605
200552 in every 1001,462
200656 in every 1002,846
200755 in every 1003,600
200857 in every 1003,729
200960 in every 1003,499
201060 in every 1003,634
201161 in every 1003,118
201263 in every 1003,765
201363 in every 1004,054
201465 in every 1004,283
201567 in every 1004,515
201668 in every 1005,697
201769 in every 1007,490
2018 This car71 in every 1005,693
201973 in every 1007,710
202074 in every 1004,043
202176 in every 1004,432
202283 in every 1001,767

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 2018 Vito.

Of 2018 Vito vehicles with under 64,000 miles, 77 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 161,000 miles or more, 70 in every 100 did.

Under 64,0001,134 tests
77
64,000–88,0001,141 tests
70
88,000–116,000 Typical car1,136 tests
68
116,000–161,0001,151 tests
71
161,000 and over1,126 tests
70

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 64,00088,000–116,000161,000 and over
Coil spring (rear)4.15.53.7
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test)1.95.56.4
Diesel engine warning light1.93.33.9
Tyre pressure monitoring system1.32.71.9
Tyre condition (front)1.41.81.3

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

When a car fails

37in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

33in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

7in 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.

The 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (rear), about 16 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 71.2% of 5,693 first MOTs on the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 77.3%. Among 1,642 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) appears more often than on similar cars (15.1% of those tests; 248 observed failures; about 5.9× 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.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito at the first attempt were Coil spring (rear) (16.0%), Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (15.1%) and Diesel engine warning light (11.5%), 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.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) (15.1% of those tests; 248 observed failures; about 5.9× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test) shows up more often than on similar cars (15.1% of those tests; 248 observed failures; about 5.9× 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 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito include Handbrake efficiency below minimum (roller test), Coil spring (rear), Handbrake lever. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Vito (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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