Mercedes-Benz CLS 2005: MOT failure rate for its age

29.6% of 6,373 MOT tests of the Mercedes-Benz CLS first registered in 2005 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 91.6 (95% CI 87.4–95.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS fails less often than other build years of the same model at the same age.

Mercedes-Benz CLS built in 2005 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	29.6	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	6373
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 87.4–95.7)	91.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	6373
Rank among this model's 16 build years	2	of 16	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	6373
Tested in 2024	947	tests	median 105,712 miles	2024	947

Built 2005 against Mercedes-Benz CLS normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 14: 31% vs 37.9%; age 15: 28.1% vs 33.2%; age 16: 30.6% vs 32.4%; age 17: 28.3% vs 30.6%; age 18: 28.1% vs 29.6%; age 19: 31.3% vs 30.2%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS by registration · All Mercedes-Benz CLS 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 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS fail at each age?

Cars built in 2005 were tested at ages 14 to 19 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 CLS built 2005: 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)
14	1,073	31	28.3–33.9	37.9	81.8
15	872	28.1	25.2–31.2	33.2	84.5
16	1,239	30.6	28.1–33.2	32.4	94.4
17	1,193	28.3	25.8–31	30.6	92.5
18	1,049	28.1	25.5–30.9	29.6	95.1
19	947	31.3	28.4–34.3	30.2	103.5

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,373 (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 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2005 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 20.4 items per 100 first tests, against 6.9 across all build years of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2005 were tested at ages 14 to 19.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mercedes-Benz CLS built 2005 against the Mercedes-Benz CLS in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2005, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	20.4	6.9	1,297
Suspension	20.2	12.7	1,286
Brakes	13.1	10.6	838
Tyres	11.8	14.2	753
Visibility	6.7	4.9	429

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 6,373 (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 2005 compare with the years around it?

Among the 16 published build years of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, 2005 ranks 2 (1 = fails least for its age). 2006: index 100.1.

Mercedes-Benz CLS build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2005	91.6	87.4–95.7	better	6,373
2006	100.1	96.8–103.4	no different	10,469
2007	103.4	100.3–106.6	worse	12,036
2008	106.5	102.7–110.2	worse	9,097
2009	111.6	107.0–116.1	worse	6,672
2010	109.2	103.9–114.5	worse	4,751
2011	85.5	80.8–90.2	better	5,120
2012	96.0	91.2–100.8	no different	6,303
2013	105.0	101.9–108.0	worse	19,319
2014	102.8	98.7–106.9	no different	11,141
2015	97.4	94.1–100.6	no different	17,798
2016	94.1	90.1–98.0	better	12,884
2017	92.9	87.8–98.0	better	8,102
2018	94.8	87.4–102.3	no different	4,088
2019	107.0	98.1–116.0	no different (rough estimate)	3,376
2020	153.9	127.0–180.7	worse (rough estimate)	572

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 138,101 (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 CLS 2005 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-cls/2005/

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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