Does the Mercedes-Benz CLA fail the MOT on vehicle identification more than it should?
The Mercedes-Benz CLA records 0.71 vehicle identification failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.26 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (+0.45, 95% interval +0.42 to +0.49). It ranks 69 of 636 models on vehicle identification (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on vehicle identification · check a Mercedes-Benz CLA by registration
What exactly fails on vehicle identification?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Mercedes-Benz CLA is “Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements”, recorded 1,480 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements | 1,480 | 0.57 |
| Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off | 189 | 0.07 |
| Number plate inscription missing or illegible | 97 | 0.04 |
| Number plate showing an incorrect registration | 93 | 0.04 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 260,294 (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 CLA gets a vehicle identification advisory, how often does it fail next time?
1.7% of Mercedes-Benz CLA MOTs with a vehicle identification advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 11.9 months and 7,363 miles later (1,021 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,021 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Mercedes-Benz CLA 2013 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2014 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2015 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2016 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2017 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2018 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2019 · Mercedes-Benz CLA 2020 · Mercedes-Benz CLA in Norway · Mercedes-Benz CLA in Finland · Mercedes-Benz CLA in the Netherlands · Mercedes-Benz CLA by postcode area · Mercedes-Benz CLA body, chassis and structure failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA brakes failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA noise, emissions and leaks failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA road wheels failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA seat belts and airbags failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA steering failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA suspension failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA tyres failures · Mercedes-Benz CLA visibility failures