Photo: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0
Mercedes Benz
1,655 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where E 220 Sport D Autos pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 17.0 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
94.5%
Pass-after-fix
0.5%
Fail
4.7%
Avg miles
45,716
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Diesel cars registered from September 2015 generally meet Euro 6 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 1,655 tests
Pass rate climbs 1.5 points across the cohorts — newer E 220 Sport D Auto examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
93.2%
Fail
6.4%
PRS
0.0%
Avg mileage at test
51,674 mi
Pass
94.7%
Fail
4.4%
PRS
0.6%
Avg mileage at test
44,654 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 1,655 MOT tests, the E 220 Sport D Auto returns 94.5% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is windscreen damage. A seriously damaged tyre and tyre tread under the limit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 45,716, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
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Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
28 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
27 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
24 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
Wiper blade defective
12 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
8 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Brake lining or pad worn down to wear indicator
6 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
4 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
4 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
3 occurrences · 0.2% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
3 occurrences · 0.2% 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 3 failures
£140–£235
If every one of this E 220 Sport D Auto'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 →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 1.5-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy Mercedes Benz E 220 Sport D Auto makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
94.7%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 94.7% — a 1.5-point improvement. Tests in this band average 44,654 miles — roughly 7K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view — 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
93.2%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 93.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 94.7% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, and blade defective. Average mileage on test for this band is 51,674 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (94.7% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (93.2% pass). That's a 1.5-point spread across 250 older tests and 1,405 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
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
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades
Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Click Mechanic · affiliate
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Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
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Owner reports · Honest John
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
Lots of safety kit and tech is on the options list, best-riding air suspension a high-priced option, many are used as executive taxis which harms the classy image.
Report of AdBlue system failure on 2016 E220d at 38,250 miles. AdBlue was topped up from just a touch below half to full. MBUK will not offer any financial help because the owner has had car serviced outside of the Mercedes-Benz dealer network.
Report of alloy wheel peeling on 2017 E Class. Owner had upgraded to 18-inch wheels in tremolite grey. At worst the coating is peeling off and at best the wheels have white blemishes. The dealer has applied for a goodwill warranty with Mercedes-Benz UK, but this has been rejected.
Report of December 2018 Mercedes Bez E400D over-revving "approx 40-50% of the time, always from cold but also when the engine is hot. Occurs when the car is idling and also whilst driving. Gear changes during a journey are at much higher revs than when the car is revving normally. Fuel consumption is poor." Car has done 9,500 miles and problem started after 1,000 miles.
Report of 2019 Mercedes-Benz W213 E250d BlueEfficiency cabriolet needing fresh brake discs and pads after 1500 miles. Owner's previous identical car was replaced because it went through two sets of discs and pads in a fortnight. First symptom is after driving for more than about an hour you owner feels the car judder under braking both heavy and light.
Report of just-purchased 7500 mile 2017 Mercedes Benz E43AMG suffering front tyre 'jumping' when on lock. Currently has Continental 245/35 R20 tyres fitted.
Report of erratic oil usage of July 2018 Mercedes-Benz E220 D 1,950cc estate. Car was purchased in February 2019 with 3,000 miles, which indicates it had been sitting around. A day or two after purchase, the oil warning light lit. The light would appear every day or every other day but not until the the engine reached normal operating temperature.
Report of "brand new" (presumed 59 reg) Mercedes Benz E300 D catching fire. It broke down. Owner called Mercedes roadside assistance, which sent RAC to check the car. After 2hours of checking could not find a fault, then RAC man drove the car and it was fine again so he said take it to Mercedes tomorrow and left. Owner was 40 miles from home so got back on the motorway, but after roughly 15 miles it started jerking again so he pulled over and opened the bonnet and saw fire underneath the engine. By the time the fire brigade arrived 50% of the car was on fire.
Report of engine warning lights appearing repeatedly in leased 2017 Mercedes-Benz E Class 3.0 E350d BlueTEC 9G-Tronic Auto. Car has been back to MB dealer 6 times, stayed with them for 1 month on one occasion, but problem still returns. MB FInance is asking for a £5,000 penalty for early return of the car.
Irritating issue reported with 2017 Mercedes-Benz E350d BlueTEC 9G-Tronic Auto. Car drives well but from new has displayed an amber engine warning light. Owner took it back few times to Mercedes Benz service to check. Twice he was told it is due bumps in the road, until the automatic transmission failed late in 2018. Mercedes emergency service took the car, kept it for almost one month and reassured owner that the fault was in the exhaust and was eliminated. A few weeks later the amber warning light is permanently on again. Will require AdBlue. Could be that the owner simply isn't driving it far enough to trigger active regeneration of the DPF.
Report of vibration while braking on approved used W213 Mercedes E220d AMG Line after 5,000 miles. Dealer changed discs and brakes but after driving for 2,000 same problem again so they changed discs and pads again. Now they are saying may be problem in hubs. Car is at 25,000 miles.
Fault with September 2016 Mercedes Benz E220d (12-4-2018) turned out to be that stop start does not work is that electrical power diverted to aircon which was set at low temperature thus prioritising power to air con. Oil leak now from camshaft cover.
Report of crease appearing in offside front wing of March 2018 Mercedes Benz E-Class after 3 months; no abrasions or markings on the paintwork. Owner paid £300 to have it rectified. Now, in August 2018, a similar crease has appeared in the nearside wing in exactly the same place.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 16 reports indexed, top 12 shown
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 an E 220 Sport D Auto 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.
