The picture
Ml: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass
Across 43,144 MOT tests, the Ml returns 75.3% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a broken or weak spring. A split CV-joint boot and windscreen damage round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 108,624, 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.
Top ten reasons for rejection.
- 01
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
2,131 occurrences · 4.9% of tests
- 02
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
1,957 occurrences · 4.5% of tests
- 03
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
1,344 occurrences · 3.1% of tests
- 04
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
1,227 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
- 05
Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective
1,055 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
- 06
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
1,028 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
- 07
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
966 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
- 08
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
878 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
- 09
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
735 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
- 10
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
622 occurrences · 1.4% 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
£98–£355
If every one of this ML'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.
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
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Headlight restoration kit
Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.
Search Amazon UK
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
Comfortable ride, tidy handling, excellent engines including 320 CDI, plenty of safety kit, upmarket interior.
Where it falls short
I currently have a 2013 Nissan Qashqai petrol. I've had it from new, but really want my dream car, which is a Mercedes ML. However, I can only afford a 2007 or 2008 model with high mileage, but been told that buying a high mileage Mercedes-Benz is not a problem. Is this true?
Buying or keeping a ML?
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 ML 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.