Pass rate
71.1%
Below average — 2.9 pts behind the 74.0% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 13,013 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£63
2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc MOT pass rate
- 2009
- 5 trims combined
- typical 100,294 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
29.4% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2011 74.7% pass
- Avoid 2008 70.8% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 3.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 61.5%
- Typical mileage
- 100k mi
The 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc MOT pass rate is 71.1% of its MOT tests — 2.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 29.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz Clc does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.4× the national share
Suspension accounts for 29.4% of everything recorded on the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc, against 21.0% nationally — 8.4 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 17% 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 Clc? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Mercedes-Benz Clc first registered in 2009 is combined here — 5 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.0%, so this figure is 2.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 61.5%. The median 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc in this dataset had covered 100,294 mi.
62% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 72.5% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.3% of the time, April–September 70.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint excessively worn", noted on 9.11% of tests.
- 13,013 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.1% overall pass rate, 61.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz Clc, the average is 71.4% — best year 2011 (74.7%), worst 2008 (70.8%).
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
- 13,013
- Typical mileage (median)
- 100,294 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz Clc
- 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 Clc MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (62% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Clc
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 3,454 | 73.1% |
| East of England | 1,645 | 71.1% |
| North West | 1,369 | 68.6% |
| London | 1,336 | 80.8% |
| South West | 1,198 | 66.1% |
| West Midlands | 1,093 | 71.0% |
| Yorkshire | 825 | 69.5% |
| East Midlands | 682 | 67.9% |
| Scotland | 581 | 65.6% |
| Wales | 541 | 65.2% |
| North East | 289 | 68.2% |
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 2009 Clc
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 2009 Clc
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 9.1% of tests
“ball joint excessively worn”
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 6.4% 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 windscreen 3.8% 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.
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 2009 Clc through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£63 — and 17% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £25–£63
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp with a multiple light source up to…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 17%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 13,013 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 Clc, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2008 to 2011. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.8% to 74.7% — a spread of 3.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2008 70.8% ball joint excessively worn
- 2009 71.1%ball joint excessively worn
- 2010 71.5% ball joint excessively worn
- 2011 74.7% ball joint excessively worn
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 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc 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 2009 cars with a similar record
- Kia Ceed 71.1%
- Kia Sportage 71.1%
- Citroen Nemo 71.1%
- Peugeot Bipper 71.1%
- Alfa Romeo Mito 71.0%
- Fiat 500 71.2%
Closest pass rates among 2009 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 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc 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 34,978 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 10,491 | 29.40% | 20.98% | +8.42 |
| Brakes | 7,704 | 21.60% | 20.89% | +0.71 |
| Tyres | 5,182 | 14.50% | 19.76% | −5.26 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 4,762 | 13.40% | 12.21% | +1.19 |
| Visibility | 1,596 | 4.50% | 4.97% | −0.47 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1,560 | 4.40% | 5.57% | −1.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,133 | 3.20% | 4.18% | −0.98 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 1,100 | 3.10% | 5.52% | −2.42 |
| Steering | 939 | 2.60% | 2.57% | +0.03 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 511 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 9.1% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 6.4% | £25–65 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.8% | £80–200 |
| Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.6% | £3–12 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.0% | £5–20 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.8% | £18–45 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 2.7% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.6% | £18–45 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 2.6% | £18–45 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.5% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 19.4% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 18.9% | £80–180 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 12.3% | £40–150 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.7% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.9% | £18–45 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 8.8% | £20–55 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 155 | 84.5% | 22,343 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,187 | 79.2% | 48,519 mi |
| 60-90k | 3,578 | 71.9% | 77,064 mi |
| 90-120k | 4,390 | 70.1% | 104,557 mi |
| 120k+ | 3,680 | 68.3% | 144,823 mi |
Source: 13,013 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.
2009 Clc MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc?
71.1% of the 13,013 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.0% for cars first used in 2009. First-attempt pass rate: 61.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc?
The three most recorded items are ball joint excessively worn (9.11%), coil spring fractured or broken (6.40%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.77%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.5% of the time, falling to 68.3% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc in this dataset had covered 100,294 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc?
Petrol: 72.5% pass rate across 8,080 tests. Diesel: 68.7% pass rate across 4,930 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Clc MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.