Mercedes-Benz CLK MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a Mercedes-Benz CLK in Great Britain in 2025 — 25,053 tests. Figures cover every CLK first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. How the CLK ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
63.2%
9.1 points below the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
25,053
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
9.3%
of CLK first tests; national 7.3%

How many Mercedes-Benz CLK cars are still on the road?

At the end of 2025, DVLA's register held 31,601 Mercedes-Benz CLK cars that were taxed or on SORN: 19,859 taxed and 11,742 on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification — kept, but declared off the road by the keeper). The MOT figures above count tests; these count cars, across the whole United Kingdom, cars only. Mercedes-Benz CLK vans, where they exist, are counted by DVLA as goods vehicles and are not in these figures.

Still taxed, end of 2025
19,859
62.8% of the 31,601 CLK cars taxed or on SORN; 97 model variants grouped
On SORN, end of 2025
11,742
declared off the road by their keepers — 37.2% of that total

How the numbers are moving

The number of taxed CLK cars peaked at 59,491 at the end of 2014 and has since fallen by 39,632 (66.6%) to 19,859 at the end of 2025. Cars on SORN went from 3,706 at the end of 2014 to 11,742 at the end of 2025, up 216.8%. A car leaves the taxed count when it is scrapped, exported or declared off the road; the year-end counts do not say which.

Taxed CLK cars, year by year

Cars of this model taxed and on the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025.

020k40k60k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)Taxed CLK cars, year 2014: 59kTaxed CLK cars, year 2015: 56kTaxed CLK cars, year 2016: 53kTaxed CLK cars, year 2017: 49kTaxed CLK cars, year 2018: 44kTaxed CLK cars, year 2019: 40kTaxed CLK cars, year 2020: 36kTaxed CLK cars, year 2021: 33kTaxed CLK cars, year 2022: 30kTaxed CLK cars, year 2023: 26kTaxed CLK cars, year 2024: 23kTaxed CLK cars, year 2025: 20k20k
View this chart as a table
YearTaxed CLK cars
201459,491
201556,182
201652,703
201748,536
201844,350
201940,192
202036,324
202133,035
202229,741
202326,395
202422,806
202519,859

CLK cars on SORN, year by year

Cars of this model declared off the road at the end of each year, 2014–2025. Its own scale — SORN counts are a fraction of the taxed count.

05k10k15k2014201620182020202220242025Year (count at the end of the year)CLK cars on SORN, year 2014: 4kCLK cars on SORN, year 2015: 5kCLK cars on SORN, year 2016: 6kCLK cars on SORN, year 2017: 7kCLK cars on SORN, year 2018: 8kCLK cars on SORN, year 2019: 9kCLK cars on SORN, year 2020: 10kCLK cars on SORN, year 2021: 10kCLK cars on SORN, year 2022: 11kCLK cars on SORN, year 2023: 11kCLK cars on SORN, year 2024: 11kCLK cars on SORN, year 2025: 12k12k
View this chart as a table
YearCLK cars on SORN
20143,706
20154,746
20165,938
20177,126
20188,184
20199,038
202010,240
202110,180
202210,622
202311,138
202411,456
202511,742

Which model years survive

Taxed CLK cars at the end of 2025 by year of manufacture, and each year's share of the 19,859 taxed in all. Every build year holding at least 1% has its own row; the rest share one. A build year's count depends on how many were sold that year as well as how many have lasted.

Year of manufacture Taxed, end of 2025Share of taxed CLK cars
20092,42412.2%
20082,04710.3%
20072,84814.3%
20062,36011.9%
20052,78814.0%
20042,71013.6%
20031,8949.5%
20029564.8%
20016893.5%
20005332.7%
19994372.2%
All other build years (nine years, each under 1%)1730.9%

Population source: Department for Transport / DVLA vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026; counts of the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, United Kingdom, cars only, excluding cars recorded with no model name. SortedCars groups DVLA's model name CLK CLASS under this model. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DVLA or the Department for Transport.

How the CLK ages

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, CLK vs all cars, 2025.

Mercedes-Benz CLKAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Mercedes-Benz CLK, vehicle age 16: 60.6%Mercedes-Benz CLK, vehicle age 17: 60.7%Mercedes-Benz CLK, vehicle age 18: 60.5%Mercedes-Benz CLK, vehicle age 19: 62.3%Mercedes-Benz CLK, vehicle age 20: 62.2%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%Mercedes-Benz CLK 62.2%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)CLK testsCLK pass rateAll cars
162,74860.6%58.3%
172,44260.7%57.2%
183,38860.5%57.4%
192,81862.3%57.0%
203,41362.2%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

The CLK's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: the CLK beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

CLK ahead
-6-3+0+3+6Age 16: +2.3 points vs the average carAge 17: +3.5 points vs the average car17Age 18: +3.1 points vs the average carAge 19: +5.3 points vs the average car19Age 20: +4.6 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
16+2.3
17+3.5
18+3.1
19+5.3
20+4.6

The CLK fleet on the road, by age

How many took a first MOT in 2025 at each age — the shape of the CLK fleet still in use.

01k2k3k4kAge 16: 2k16Age 17: 2kAge 18: 3k18Age 19: 2kAge 20: 3k20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
162,748
172,442
183,388
192,818
203,413

What a CLK fails on

Where the failure items land when a CLK fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Use it as a pre-purchase checklist: these are the areas to look at first.

Suspension28.8%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment22.4%
Brakes16.2%
Tyres9.5%
Noise, emissions and leaks6.2%
Visibility6.0%
Steering3.3%
Body, chassis, structure2.9%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (95.2% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" for a CLK, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Brakes: 31.6% of advisories31.6%Suspension: 29.5% of advisories29.5%Tyres: 17.6% of advisories17.6%Noise, emissions and leaks: 4.9% of advisoriesBody, chassis, structure: 4.6% of advisoriesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 4.3% of advisories
BrakesSuspensionTyresNoise, emissions and leaksBody, chassis, structureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Brakes31.6%
Suspension29.5%
Tyres17.6%
Noise, emissions and leaks4.9%
Body, chassis, structure4.6%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment4.3%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid CLK?

First-time pass rate for the two most-tested CLK fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Petrol: 64.4% of 20,409 tests64.4%Petrol20,409 testsDiesel: 57.7% of 4,621 tests57.7%Diesel4,621 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Petrol20,40964.4%
Diesel4,62157.7%

What mileage is normal for a CLK?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) CLK; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical CLK (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k150k161820Vehicle age (years)Age 16: typical 96,250 miles (middle half 73,750–123,750)Age 17: typical 103,750 miles (middle half 76,250–128,750)Age 18: typical 103,750 miles (middle half 78,750–131,250)Age 19: typical 103,750 miles (middle half 78,750–131,250)Age 20: typical 103,750 miles (middle half 78,750–128,750)103k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
1673,75096,250123,750
1776,250103,750128,750
1878,750103,750131,250
1978,750103,750131,250
2078,750103,750128,750

More vehicles we've checked

How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. The taxed and SORN counts on this page are the one exception: they are not computed from MOT records but taken from the Department for Transport's vehicle licensing statistics (DfT/DVLA table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), which count the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, UK-wide, cars only. They describe a model as a whole, grouped under SortedCars' model names, and say nothing about any one car. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.