Photo: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0
Mercedes Benz
1,884 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Sprinter 316 Progressive Cdis pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 2.5 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
75.0%
Pass-after-fix
6.0%
Fail
18.4%
Avg miles
83,525
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 · 1,884 tests
Pass rate climbs 6.8 points across the cohorts — newer Sprinter 316 Progressive Cdi examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
68.8%
Fail
27.4%
PRS
3.8%
Avg mileage at test
120,023 mi
Pass
75.6%
Fail
17.5%
PRS
6.2%
Avg mileage at test
80,182 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 1,884 MOT tests, the Sprinter 316 Progressive Cdi returns 75.0% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is windscreen damage. A weak handbrake and a seriously damaged tyre round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 83,525, 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
103 occurrences · 5.5% of tests
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
81 occurrences · 4.3% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
42 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
38 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
Parking brake lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment
26 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements
24 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
Wiper blade defective
24 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
19 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
A lens defective which has no effect on emitted light
19 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
18 occurrences · 1.0% 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.
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Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 6.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Mercedes Benz Sprinter 316 Progressive Cdi has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
75.6%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 75.6% — a 6.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 80,182 miles — roughly 40K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, efficiency below requirements — 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
68.8%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 68.8% pass rate against a fleet average of 75.6% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view, efficiency below requirements, and inoperative or indicates a malfunction. Average mileage on test for this band is 120,023 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (75.6% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (68.8% pass). That's a 6.8-point spread across 157 older tests and 1,727 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.
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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
**The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter remains the benchmark by which all other large vans should be judged. Easy to drive, comfortable and capable of shifting gargantuan loads, this Sprinter follows the successful trend of its predecessors while also setting new standards for usability, technology and driver safety.**
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 Sprinter 316 Progressive Cdi 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.
