Pass rate
82.6%
Around average — 7.9 pts ahead of the 74.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 92 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £51–£121
2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate
- 2010
- typical 103,603 mi
Only 92 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Brakes
29.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£55 for Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2010 82.6% pass · this year
- Avoid 2011 77.5% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 5.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.7%
- Typical mileage
- 104k mi
The 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate is 82.6% of its MOT tests — 7.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.7% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz 350 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.4× the national share
Brakes make up 29.7% of everything recorded on the 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350, against 20.9% nationally — 8.8 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 74.7% and this one manages 82.6% — 7.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 6% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Mercedes-Benz 350? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.7%, so this figure is 7.9 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.7%. The median 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 in this dataset had covered 103,603 mi.
72% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 83.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 79.5% of the time, April–September 85.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded", noted on 4.35% of tests.
- 92 recorded tests behind this page.
- 82.6% overall pass rate, 78.7% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz 350, the average is 80.6% — best year 2010 (82.6%), worst 2011 (77.5%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 92
- Typical mileage (median)
- 103,603 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz 350
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Pipe
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the 350 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 65% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (72% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the 350
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 25 | 84.0% |
| South East | 16 | 93.8% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2010 350
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2010 350
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the brake pipes 4.3% of tests
“rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”
Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.
-
Check the windscreen 4.3% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the lights 2.2% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2010 350 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £51–£121 — and 6% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £51–£121
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 6%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 92 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the 350, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2010 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 77.5% to 82.6% — a spread of 5.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2010 82.6%rigid brake pipes excessively…
- 2011 77.5% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2012 81.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2010 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2010 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 101 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 30 | 29.70% | 20.89% | +8.81 |
| Suspension | 22 | 21.80% | 20.98% | +0.82 |
| Tyres | 20 | 19.80% | 19.76% | +0.04 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 10 | 9.90% | 5.52% | +4.38 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 6 | 5.90% | 12.21% | −6.31 |
| Visibility | 5 | 5.00% | 4.97% | +0.03 |
| Non-component advisories | 4 | 4.00% | 4.18% | −0.18 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3 | 3.00% | 5.57% | −2.57 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.00% | 1.76% | −0.76 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 4.3% | £80–180 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.3% | £80–200 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 2.2% | £30–80 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.2% | £18–45 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 1.1% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £18–45 |
| Exhaust system system insecure Body, chassis, structure | Rectified | 1.1% | £45–120 |
| Has ply or cords damaged Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.1% | £45–95 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £18–45 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 13.0% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 9.8% | £200–700 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.6% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 7.6% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.4% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.4% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 100.0% | 27,886 mi |
| 30-60k | 8 | 87.5% | 50,112 mi |
| 60-90k | 24 | 87.5% | 81,595 mi |
| 90-120k | 30 | 73.3% | 106,802 mi |
| 120k+ | 27 | 85.2% | 140,289 mi |
Source: 92 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2010 350 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350?
82.6% of the 92 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.7% for cars first used in 2010. First-attempt pass rate: 78.7%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350?
The three most recorded items are rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (4.35%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.35%), headlamp aim too high (2.17%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 85.2% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 in this dataset had covered 103,603 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350?
Diesel: 83.3% pass rate across 66 tests. Petrol: 80.8% pass rate across 26 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2010 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 79.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 85.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.