Does the Mercedes-Benz CLC fail the MOT on brakes more than it should?
The Mercedes-Benz CLC records 17.74 brakes failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 17.26 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) (+0.48, 95% interval +0.09 to +0.87). It ranks 291 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 CLC by registration
What exactly fails on brakes?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Mercedes-Benz CLC is “Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded”, recorded 1,691 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 1,691 | 3.84 |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 1,190 | 2.70 |
| a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm | 888 | 2.02 |
| Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake | 498 | 1.13 |
| Excessive fluctuation in brake effort through each wheel revolution. | 437 | 0.99 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 44,029 (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 CLC gets a brakes advisory, how often does it fail next time?
15.9% of Mercedes-Benz CLC MOTs with a brakes advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12 months and 5,280 miles later (9,179 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 9,179 (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 CLC 2008 · Mercedes-Benz CLC 2009 · Mercedes-Benz CLC 2010 · Mercedes-Benz CLC 2011 · Mercedes-Benz CLC by postcode area · Mercedes-Benz CLC body, chassis and structure failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC vehicle identification failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC noise, emissions and leaks failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC road wheels failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC seat belts and airbags failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC steering failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC suspension failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC tyres failures · Mercedes-Benz CLC visibility failures