Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt on the Mercedes-Benz Clk

Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt on the Mercedes-Benz Clk is recorded on 1,516 tests — 1.5% of all its MOT tests, against 0.7% across every car in the data. That is 2.1× the national share.

Is this unusual for this model?

Compared with	What it says
Every car in the data	0.7% of tests record it — this model is 2.1× that share
The 266 models compared	37 of 266, highest first
The model's own record	104,027 tests · every year of the Clk →

A share of tests is not a probability for your car: it counts every Mercedes-Benz Clk tested, whatever its mileage, service history and use. The like-for-like comparison on the model page is the fairer number.

Year by year

In 2000, 0.3% of this model's tests recorded it; in 2009, 0.8%. The share has risen 0.5 points over that time. Worst year 2008 at 0.8%; best 2000 at 0.3%.

Year	Failures recorded	Tests	Share of tests
2000	13	3,892	0.3%
2001	24	4,815	0.5%
2002	63	11,866	0.5%
2003	172	21,916	0.8%
2004	239	29,994	0.8%
2005	250	29,988	0.8%
2006	165	24,718	0.7%
2007	221	28,612	0.8%
2008	171	20,260	0.8%
2009	189	22,644	0.8%

Years with fewer than 0.2% of tests recording the item are left out: a year with two failures in 400 tests is noise, and this table is not here to make noise look like a trend.

What it costs

A typical UK repair for this item is £18–£45 fitted. It is a job a careful owner can do at home. What the part is, and what to buy →

Prices are typical UK supply-and-fitting estimates, not quotes. What happens if it fails covers the retest rules.

Where this sits

Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt: every model, every year → — the item's own page, with the part guide.
Mercedes-Benz Clk MOT pass rate by year → — the model's whole record, and what else it fails on.
Every Mercedes-Benz model →