MOT cost .
Mercedes Benz Cls
MOT 2024

Wikimedia Commons — CC-BY-SA (image-specific)

Mercedes Benz

Cls

55,055 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Clss pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.

That's 3.4 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.

Pass

80.9%

Pass-after-fix

2.6%

Fail

15.7%

Avg miles

89,840

Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%

ULEZ borderline — check VRM

Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .

UK ULEZ & CAZ guide →

Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 55,055 tests

Pass rate climbs 8.5 points across the cohorts — newer Cls examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 49,351

Pass

80.1%

Fail

16.3%

PRS

2.8%

Avg mileage at test

95,213 mi

2018–2020 cohort 5,555

Pass

87.6%

Fail

10.6%

PRS

1.2%

Avg mileage at test

43,871 mi

2021+ cohort 149

Pass

88.6%

Fail

8.7%

PRS

1.3%

Avg mileage at test

25,838 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 3

Mercedes Benz Cls · UK market

Mercedes Benz Cls 2004-2010

2004–2010

Mercedes Benz Cls 2010-2018

2010–2018

Mercedes Benz Cls 2018-2023

2018–2023

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Mercedes Benz Cls: mixed MOT record across 30,217 tests

The Mercedes Benz Cls is a diesel-powered car sold in the UK market across multiple generations, covering a broad date range in the test population.

MOT data from 30,217 tests puts this car on a 78.5% first-time pass rate, roughly in line with the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 88,160 miles. The most common fail item is brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, followed by tyre with exposed cords.

As an alternative to your usual saloon, the CLS has lots of appeal. It's not as cumbersome as an S-Class and feels more special than an E-Class, and is a much rarer sight too.

Buyers weighing up a used Cls should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 36–48

A high-group car — insurance costs will be significantly above average. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

36–48

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

  1. 01

    Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded

    1,200 occurrences · 2.2% of tests

  2. 02

    Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

    1,121 occurrences · 2.0% of tests

  3. 03

    A tyre cords visible or damaged

    1,120 occurrences · 2.0% of tests

  4. 04

    A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

    1,078 occurrences · 2.0% of tests

  5. 05

    Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

    992 occurrences · 1.8% of tests

  6. 06

    A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

    852 occurrences · 1.5% of tests

  7. 07

    A tyre seriously damaged

    696 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

  8. 08

    A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated

    610 occurrences · 1.1% of tests

  9. 09

    A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated

    570 occurrences · 1.0% of tests

  10. 10

    A tyre seriously damaged

    461 occurrences · 0.8% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 4 failures

£240–£520

If every one of this Cls's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 8.4-point gap between bands means the year you buy Mercedes Benz Cls has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

88.6%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 88.6% — a 8.4-point improvement. Tests in this band average 25,838 miles — roughly 69K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: fractured, has a bulge, caused by separation or… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

80.1%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 80.1% pass rate against a fleet average of 88.6% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: excessively corroded, fractured or broken, and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm. Average mileage on test for this band is 95,213 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (88.6% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (80.1% pass). That's a 8.4-point spread across 49,351 older tests and 149 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Denso W14E Spark Plug (Single)

Denso

Denso W14E Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso W16EX-U Spark Plug (Single)

Denso

Denso W16EX-U Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso W16FSR Spark Plug (Single)

Denso

Denso W16FSR Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso W9LM-US Spark Plug (Single)

Denso

Denso W9LM-US Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

Get a quote →

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

Incredibly comfortable with superb ride quality, an ideal long distance car., diesel engines are quiet yet powerful.

Recall history

27 UK recalls on record.

The Cls has 27 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Cls?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Cls and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.