Does the Mercedes-Benz V-Class fail the MOT on seat belts and airbags more than it should?
The Mercedes-Benz V-Class records 0.81 seat belts and airbags failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.53 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) (+0.28, 95% interval +0.20 to +0.35). It ranks 180 of 627 models on seat belts and airbags (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on seat belts and airbags · check a Mercedes-Benz V-Class by registration
What exactly fails on seat belts and airbags?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Mercedes-Benz V-Class is “The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired”, recorded 162 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any seat belt anchorage (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired | 162 | 0.31 |
| An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction | 151 | 0.29 |
| Seat belt buckle missing, damaged or not functioning as intended | 44 | 0.08 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 52,659 (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
Other pages for this model
Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2015 · Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2016 · Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2017 · Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2018 · Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2019 · Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2020 · Mercedes-Benz V-Class in Norway · Mercedes-Benz V-Class in the Netherlands · Mercedes-Benz V-Class by postcode area · Mercedes-Benz V-Class body, chassis and structure failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class brakes failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class vehicle identification failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class noise, emissions and leaks failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class road wheels failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class steering failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class suspension failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class tyres failures · Mercedes-Benz V-Class visibility failures