Pass rate
81.4%
Around average — 4.2 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 59 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£74
2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 72,155 mi
Only 59 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
30.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2010 82.6% pass
- Avoid 2011 77.5% pass
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 5.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.0%
- Typical mileage
- 72k mi
The 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate is 81.4% of its MOT tests — 4.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 30.4% 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: 1.5× the national share
Brakes make up 30.4% of everything recorded on the 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350, against 20.9% nationally — 9.5 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 77.2% and this one manages 81.4% — 4.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 25% 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 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 4.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.0%. The median 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 in this dataset had covered 72,155 mi.
71% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 78.6% of the time.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 5.08% of tests.
- 59 recorded tests behind this page.
- 81.4% overall pass rate, 78.0% 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
- 59
- Typical mileage (median)
- 72,155 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
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the 350 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (71% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the 350
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 16 | 87.5% |
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 2012 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 2012 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 suspension joints 5.1% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the coil springs 5.1% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the lights 3.4% of tests
“side repeaters with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning”
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 2012 350 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£74 — and 25% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£74
- Cheapest common item: side repeaters with a multiple light source…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 25%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 59 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 2012 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Freelander 81.4%
- Land Rover Defender 81.4%
- Suzuki Jimny 81.4%
- MINI COOPER Sd 81.5%
- SEAT Mii 81.6%
- Land Rover Discovery 81.2%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 69 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 | 21 | 30.40% | 20.89% | +9.51 |
| Suspension | 20 | 29.00% | 20.98% | +8.02 |
| Tyres | 13 | 18.80% | 19.76% | −0.96 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 3 | 4.30% | 5.57% | −1.27 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3 | 4.30% | 5.52% | −1.22 |
| Road Wheels | 3 | 4.30% | 0.75% | +3.55 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 2 | 2.90% | 12.21% | −9.31 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
| Visibility | 1 | 1.40% | 4.97% | −3.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 1.40% | 4.18% | −2.78 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 5.1% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.1% | £25–65 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.4% | £18–45 |
| Side repeaters with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.4% | £3–15 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £3–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £45–110 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 1.7% | £180–450 |
| Electronic stability control warning lamp indicates a fault Brakes | Major | 1.7% | £3–15 |
| Has a lump, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.7% | £45–95 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.9% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 10.2% | £80–180 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 8.5% | £20–55 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 6.8% | £18–45 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 5.1% | £20–55 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 17,562 mi |
| 30-60k | 17 | 88.2% | 50,795 mi |
| 60-90k | 22 | 77.3% | 70,928 mi |
| 90-120k | 6 | 83.3% | 105,970 mi |
| 120k+ | 13 | 76.9% | 181,656 mi |
Source: 59 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.
2012 350 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350?
81.4% of the 59 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 78.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (5.08%), coil spring fractured or broken (5.08%), ball joint excessively worn (3.39%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 76.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350 in this dataset had covered 72,155 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 Mercedes-Benz 350?
Diesel: 78.6% pass rate across 42 tests. Petrol: 88.2% pass rate across 17 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.