Pass rate
72.1%
Below average — 0.8 pts behind the 72.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 3,573 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £27–£72
2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class MOT pass rate
- 2002
- typical 79,827 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
24.1% 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 →
10.7 pts down across model years — 11.4% in 2000, 0.7% in 2016.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 93.0% pass
- Avoid 2000 70.6% pass
Across the 22 years on record, a spread of 22.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 64.6%
- Typical mileage
- 80k mi
The 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class MOT pass rate is 72.1% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz A-Class does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 10.2% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.
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 A-Class? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.9%, so this figure is 0.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 64.6%. The median 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class in this dataset had covered 79,827 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 89% of tests, with a 72.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.4% of the time, April–September 73.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 8.26% of tests.
- 3,573 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.1% overall pass rate, 64.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the average is 82.5% — best year 2021 (93.0%), worst 2000 (70.6%).
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
- 3,573
- Typical mileage (median)
- 79,827 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the A-Class MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 59% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (89% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the A-Class
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 1,226 | 74.6% |
| London | 455 | 77.8% |
| South West | 445 | 66.7% |
| East of England | 377 | 71.4% |
| North West | 281 | 72.6% |
| West Midlands | 269 | 67.3% |
| East Midlands | 172 | 69.2% |
| Yorkshire | 148 | 69.6% |
| Wales | 95 | 65.3% |
| Scotland | 55 | 69.1% |
| North East | 48 | 68.8% |
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 2002 A-Class
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 2002 A-Class
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 lights 8.3% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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.
-
Check the coil springs 5.8% 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 brake pipes 3.9% 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.
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 2002 A-Class through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £27–£72 — and 46% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £27–£72
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 46%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 3,573 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 A-Class, side by side
22 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.6% to 93.0% — a spread of 22.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 70.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 72.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2002 72.1%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2003 72.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2004 73.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 74.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 73.6% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2007 74.5% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 74.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 75.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2010 76.5% side repeaters not working
- 2011 78.4% side repeaters not working
- 2012 78.8% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 79.7% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 80.5% linkage ball joint dust cover…
- 2015 82.4% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2016 84.1% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2017 85.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 88.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 88.9% srs malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2020 87.3% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 93.0% windscreen damaged but not…
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 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class 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 2002 cars with a similar record
- Ford Fiesta 72.0%
- Honda Civic 72.2%
- Mitsubishi Shogun 72.2%
- Ford Fusion 72.2%
- Audi Tt 71.9%
- Skoda Fabia 71.8%
Closest pass rates among 2002 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 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class 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 11,385 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 | 2,803 | 24.10% | 20.89% | +3.21 |
| Suspension | 2,711 | 23.30% | 20.98% | +2.32 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,914 | 16.40% | 12.21% | +4.19 |
| Tyres | 1,185 | 10.20% | 19.76% | −9.56 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 546 | 4.70% | 5.57% | −0.87 |
| Visibility | 505 | 4.30% | 4.97% | −0.67 |
| Non-component advisories | 473 | 4.10% | 4.18% | −0.08 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 459 | 3.90% | 1.76% | +2.14 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 411 | 3.50% | 5.52% | −2.02 |
| Steering | 378 | 3.20% | 2.57% | +0.63 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.3% | £5–20 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 5.8% | £25–65 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 4.3% | £5–25 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.9% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.3% | £3–12 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 3.1% | £30–75 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £30–80 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £40–150 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 2.5% | £80–200 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 2.3% | £8–22 |
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 | 33.5% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.6% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 11.6% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 11.6% | £20–80 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 11.5% | £40–150 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 10.2% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 51 | 90.2% | 20,302 mi |
| 30-60k | 648 | 78.2% | 48,470 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,187 | 73.1% | 75,526 mi |
| 90-120k | 751 | 70.4% | 102,553 mi |
| 120k+ | 338 | 67.8% | 144,099 mi |
Source: 3,573 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.
2002 A-Class MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class?
72.1% of the 3,573 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.9% for cars first used in 2002. First-attempt pass rate: 64.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.26%), coil spring fractured or broken (5.79%), headlamp lens slightly defective (4.34%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.2% of the time, falling to 67.8% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class in this dataset had covered 79,827 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class?
Petrol: 72.3% pass rate across 3,163 tests. Diesel: 70.7% pass rate across 410 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2002 Mercedes-Benz A-Class MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 73.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.