Does the Mercedes-Benz CL fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?

The Mercedes-Benz CL records 12.78 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 21.10 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−8.32, 95% interval −9.05 to −7.60). It ranks 631 of 712 models on brakes (1 = most failures above expected).

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on brakes · check a Mercedes-Benz CL by registration

What exactly fails on brakes?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Mercedes-Benz CL is “Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded”, recorded 439 times in 2019–2024.

Mercedes-Benz CL: most frequent brakes defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded	439	2.85
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement	213	1.38
Warning device shows system malfunction	174	1.13
Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value	131	0.85
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm	120	0.78

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 15,400 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

If a Mercedes-Benz CL gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?

10.4% of Mercedes-Benz CL MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.2 months and 2,648 miles later (2,761 advisories followed).

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,761 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

Does the Mercedes-Benz CL fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?

What exactly fails on brakes?

If a Mercedes-Benz CL gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?

Related pages

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