In 2025, 22,801 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cars had a regular MOT in Great Britain. 70% passed first time, compared with 68% for all cars of the same ages, which makes the Sprinter about average. Most are commercial vans or pick-ups, which usually cover far higher mileages and harder work than private cars, so we leave them out of the car rankings.
That comparison matters: older cars fail more often, so a raw pass rate flatters models that are mostly young. We compare each model against every car on the road at the same age.
Pass rate by age
At 4 years old, 90% of Sprinters passed first time (all cars that age: 87%). By 20 years, that figure is 61% (all cars: 58%). It beats the average car at every age with enough data, from 10 to 20 years.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter All cars of that age
| Age | Tests | Sprinter passed first time | All cars | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 years | 335 | 90% | 87% | 66,112 |
| 5 years | 932 | 86% | 86% | 82,149 |
| 6 years | 1,184 | 84% | 84% | 106,921 |
| 7 years | 1,264 | 81% | 81% | 109,809 |
| 8 years | 1,315 | 80% | 78% | 125,960 |
| 9 years | 1,268 | 75% | 75% | 119,667 |
| 10 years | 1,648 | 75% | 72% | 140,951 |
| 11 years | 1,477 | 70% | 69% | 138,836 |
| 12 years | 1,238 | 70% | 66% | 147,116 |
| 13 years | 1,210 | 66% | 63% | 138,271 |
| 14 years | 1,074 | 66% | 61% | 142,853 |
| 15 years | 1,062 | 68% | 59% | 145,313 |
| 16 years | 822 | 68% | 58% | 140,618 |
| 17 years | 1,113 | 63% | 57% | 146,194 |
| 18 years | 1,016 | 64% | 57% | 148,077 |
| 19 years | 836 | 60% | 57% | 141,175 |
| 20 years | 845 | 61% | 58% | 131,737 |
What fails most on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
The area that lets the Sprinter down most, relative to other cars, is brakes: 23.6% of tests failed on it, 2.4 times the rate for the average car. It does comparatively well on tyres.
Share of Sprinter tests failing on this area Average car
The six most common failure items
| Failure item | Area | Share of tests |
|---|---|---|
| A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | Suspension | 5.6% |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | Brakes | 5.3% |
| The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | Lights and electrics | 5.1% |
| A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | Lights and electrics | 4.8% |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | Brakes | 3.5% |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | Visibility | 3.2% |
What to check when buying a used Sprinter
Based on where the Sprinter fails more often than other cars, these are the checks worth making before you buy:
- Brakes: Look through the wheels for lipped or scored discs, check the handbrake holds on a slope, and feel for pulling or vibration under firm braking. Repair guide
- Body and structure: Get underneath with a torch: sills, jacking points, subframe mounts and floor pans. Structural rust is the failure that can make a car uneconomic to fix. Repair guide
- Steering: Feel for play or knocking through the wheel, and check power-steering fluid isn’t leaking. More
Then check the individual car: its own MOT history will show whether it follows the pattern. A car with repeated advisories in the same weak area is more likely to fail its next test.
Check a specific Sprinter
Enter the registration to see its full MOT history, mileage record and reliability score, compared with these figures.
Check a SprinterFrequently asked questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter?
In 2025, 70% of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cars passed their MOT first time, across 22,801 tests. Cars of the same ages averaged 68%.
What do Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cars most often fail their MOT on?
The most common failure items were: a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn (5.6% of tests); parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement (5.3% of tests); the aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements (5.1% of tests).
Other Mercedes-Benz models
Mercedes-Benz C-Class (74%), Mercedes-Benz A-Class (77%), Mercedes-Benz E-Class (77%), Mercedes-Benz Vito (67%), Mercedes-Benz B-Class (72%), Mercedes-Benz Glc (85%). All Mercedes-Benz models
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2025 (class 4 normal tests; first-time pass means passed with no faults fixed at the test). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.