Mercedes-Benz Sprinter MOT pass rates & common failures

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in Great Britain in 2025 — 24,409 tests. Figures cover every Sprinter first-tested in 2025, all trims grouped. The Sprinter is a van, tested in the car MOT class (class 4) to the same standard. How the Sprinter ages, what it fails on, and what mileage is normal, computed directly from the official DVSA record of every test.

Pass rate 2025
71.3%
1.0 points below the class-4 average (72.3%); unadjusted for age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
24,409
first tests, 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
6.2%
of Sprinter first tests; national 7.3%
Typical mileage at 10 years
118,750
middle half: 71,250–181,250 miles (2,500-mile-band midpoints)

How the Sprinter ages

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

Mercedes-Benz SprinterAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 3: 88.6%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 4: 83.6%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 5: 85.5%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 6: 83.8%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 7: 81.2%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 8: 79.9%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 9: 75.3%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 10: 74.7%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 11: 69.6%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 12: 69.7%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 13: 66.2%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 14: 66.1%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 15: 68.6%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 16: 67.7%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 17: 62.9%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 18: 64.3%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 19: 59.5%Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, vehicle age 20: 61.1%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 Sprinter 61.1%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Sprinter testsSprinter pass rateAll cars
368688.6%88.5%
476383.6%87.2%
51,02785.5%86.0%
61,18783.8%83.5%
71,27281.2%80.9%
81,32279.9%78.2%
91,27375.3%74.9%
101,65474.7%71.9%
111,48169.6%68.6%
121,24369.7%65.8%
131,21466.2%63.5%
141,08066.1%61.2%
151,06968.6%59.3%
1682467.7%58.3%
171,12062.9%57.2%
181,02364.3%57.4%
1983859.5%57.0%
2085361.1%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

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

Sprinter aheadSprinter behind
-10-5+0+5+10Age 3: +0.1 points vs the average car3Age 4: -3.6 points vs the average carAge 5: -0.5 points vs the average car5Age 6: +0.3 points vs the average carAge 7: +0.3 points vs the average car7Age 8: +1.7 points vs the average carAge 9: +0.4 points vs the average car9Age 10: +2.8 points vs the average carAge 11: +1.0 points vs the average car11Age 12: +3.9 points vs the average carAge 13: +2.7 points vs the average car13Age 14: +4.9 points vs the average carAge 15: +9.3 points vs the average car15Age 16: +9.4 points vs the average carAge 17: +5.7 points vs the average car17Age 18: +6.9 points vs the average carAge 19: +2.5 points vs the average car19Age 20: +3.5 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3+0.1
4-3.6
5-0.5
6+0.3
7+0.3
8+1.7
9+0.4
10+2.8
11+1.0
12+3.9
13+2.7
14+4.9
15+9.3
16+9.4
17+5.7
18+6.9
19+2.5
20+3.5

The Sprinter fleet on the road, by age

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

05001k1k2kAge 3: 6863Age 4: 763Age 5: 1k5Age 6: 1kAge 7: 1k7Age 8: 1kAge 9: 1k9Age 10: 1kAge 11: 1k11Age 12: 1kAge 13: 1k13Age 14: 1kAge 15: 1k15Age 16: 824Age 17: 1k17Age 18: 1kAge 19: 83819Age 20: 85320Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
3686
4763
51,027
61,187
71,272
81,322
91,273
101,654
111,481
121,243
131,214
141,080
151,069
16824
171,120
181,023
19838
20853

What a Sprinter fails on

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

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment28.3%
Brakes27.1%
Suspension13.6%
Body, chassis, structure7.9%
Visibility7.1%
Noise, emissions and leaks4.3%
Tyres4.2%
Steering3.9%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (96.4% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

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

Brakes: 33.6% of advisories33.6%Suspension: 23.5% of advisories23.5%Tyres: 12.0% of advisories12.0%Non-component advisories: 7.8% of advisories7.8%Body, chassis, structure: 6.7% of advisories6.7%Noise, emissions and leaks: 5.7% of advisories
BrakesSuspensionTyresNon-component advisoriesBody, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Brakes33.6%
Suspension23.5%
Tyres12.0%
Non-component advisories7.8%
Body, chassis, structure6.7%
Noise, emissions and leaks5.7%

What mileage is normal for a Sprinter?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, 2025. The line is the typical (median) Sprinter; 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 Sprinter (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k150k175k200k3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 48,750 miles (middle half 18,750–86,250)Age 4: typical 58,750 miles (middle half 23,750–93,750)Age 5: typical 66,250 miles (middle half 28,750–116,250)Age 6: typical 88,750 miles (middle half 41,250–161,250)Age 7: typical 88,750 miles (middle half 51,250–146,250)Age 8: typical 98,750 miles (middle half 56,250–163,750)Age 9: typical 101,250 miles (middle half 56,250–158,750)Age 10: typical 118,750 miles (middle half 71,250–181,250)Age 11: typical 126,250 miles (middle half 81,250–178,750)Age 12: typical 131,250 miles (middle half 86,250–183,750)Age 13: typical 133,750 miles (middle half 83,750–178,750)Age 14: typical 138,750 miles (middle half 81,250–186,250)Age 15: typical 138,750 miles (middle half 78,750–191,250)Age 16: typical 133,750 miles (middle half 76,250–188,750)Age 17: typical 143,750 miles (middle half 88,750–191,250)Age 18: typical 146,250 miles (middle half 93,750–191,250)Age 19: typical 136,250 miles (middle half 81,250–186,250)Age 20: typical 126,250 miles (middle half 73,750–171,250)126k mi

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

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
318,75048,75086,250
423,75058,75093,750
528,75066,250116,250
641,25088,750161,250
751,25088,750146,250
856,25098,750163,750
956,250101,250158,750
1071,250118,750181,250
1181,250126,250178,750
1286,250131,250183,750
1383,750133,750178,750
1481,250138,750186,250
1578,750138,750191,250
1676,250133,750188,750
1788,750143,750191,250
1893,750146,250191,250
1981,250136,250186,250
2073,750126,250171,250

What fails at each age

The Sprinter's failure mix by age band, 2025 — each band's top categories at their true share of that band's failure items; the pale remainder is everything else. How the mix shifts with age is the point of the chart.

BrakesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentVisibilityTyresBody, chassis, structureSuspensionNoise, emissions and leaksEverything else
View this chart as a table
Age bandCategoryShare of the band's failure items
3-5 yrsBrakes29.1%
3-5 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment19.6%
3-5 yrsVisibility14.3%
3-5 yrsTyres11.9%
3-5 yrsBody, chassis, structure7.7%
3-5 yrsEverything else17.4%
6-9 yrsBrakes33.8%
6-9 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment18.7%
6-9 yrsVisibility9.9%
6-9 yrsSuspension8.8%
6-9 yrsNoise, emissions and leaks7.2%
6-9 yrsEverything else21.6%
10-13 yrsBrakes38.3%
10-13 yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment19.1%
10-13 yrsSuspension11.5%
10-13 yrsVisibility6.8%
10-13 yrsTyres5.6%
10-13 yrsEverything else18.7%
14+ yrsLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment26.7%
14+ yrsBrakes26.2%
14+ yrsSuspension17.1%
14+ yrsBody, chassis, structure10.2%
14+ yrsVisibility5.5%
14+ yrsEverything else14.3%

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. “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.