Mercedes-Benz A-Class 2002: MOT failure rate for its age

49.0% of 11,270 MOT tests of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class first registered in 2002 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 106.2 (95% CI 103.4–109.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Mercedes-Benz A-Class built in 2002 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	49.0	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	11270
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 103.4–109.1)	106.2	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	11270
Rank among this model's 23 build years	21	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	11270
Tested in 2024	910	tests	median 78,931 miles	2024	910

Built 2002 against Mercedes-Benz A-Class normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 17: 50.8% vs 47.7%; age 18: 48.9% vs 45.9%; age 19: 50.9% vs 46.1%; age 20: 47.6% vs 45.1%; age 21: 44.9% vs 44.8%; age 22: 46.2% vs 44.5%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class by registration · All Mercedes-Benz A-Class MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class fail at each age?

Cars built in 2002 were tested at ages 17 to 22 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Mercedes-Benz A-Class built 2002: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
17	3,183	50.8	49.1–52.5	47.7	106.6
18	2,110	48.9	46.8–51	45.9	106.4
19	2,178	50.9	48.8–53	46.1	110.5
20	1,644	47.6	45.2–50	45.1	105.4
21	1,245	44.9	42.2–47.7	44.8	100.3
22	910	46.2	42.9–49.4	44.5	103.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 11,270 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2002 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 47.3 items per 100 first tests, against 7.7 across all build years of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2002 were tested at ages 17 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mercedes-Benz A-Class built 2002 against the Mercedes-Benz A-Class in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2002, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	47.3	7.7	5,328
Suspension	35.7	6.4	4,021
Brakes	27.4	6.9	3,084
Visibility	16.5	6.7	1,857
Tyres	11.8	8.7	1,327

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 11,270 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2002 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, 2002 ranks 21 (1 = fails least for its age). 2001: index 100.8. 2003: index 104.0.

Mercedes-Benz A-Class build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	105.9	86.4–125.5	no different (rough estimate)	219
1999	102.5	95.2–109.8	no different (rough estimate)	1,532
2000	101.6	96.2–107.0	no different (rough estimate)	2,836
2001	100.8	97.2–104.3	no different	6,635
2002	106.2	103.4–109.1	worse	11,270
2003	104.0	101.6–106.5	worse	15,091
2004	107.4	104.7–110.1	worse	12,814
2005	98.1	96.2–99.9	better	25,137
2006	101.0	99.4–102.6	no different	35,201
2007	99.6	98.0–101.1	no different	40,053
2008	101.7	100.1–103.2	worse	41,744
2009	98.4	96.8–100.0	no different	41,716
2010	98.3	96.5–100.0	no different	36,775
2011	96.0	94.1–98.0	better	32,122
2012	103.1	100.9–105.2	worse	31,022
2013	101.9	100.5–103.3	worse	82,444
2014	106.5	105.3–107.7	worse	132,394
2015	104.7	103.6–105.9	worse	162,933
2016	101.0	100.0–102.0	no different	231,111
2017	99.1	98.0–100.2	no different	216,951
2018	98.2	96.9–99.5	better	166,490
2019	101.1	99.7–102.5	no different	156,006
2020	90.7	88.5–92.9	better	58,994

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,541,490 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Mercedes-Benz A-Class 2002 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/mercedes-a-class/2002/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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