Pass rate
83.4%
Around average — 6.2 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 145 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £52–£129
2012 Mercedes-Benz G MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 3 trims combined
- typical 96,011 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
27.1% 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 →
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 92.6% pass
- Avoid 2012 83.4% pass · this year
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 9.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 81.1%
- Typical mileage
- 96k mi
The 2012 Mercedes-Benz G MOT pass rate is 83.4% of its MOT tests — 6.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz G does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.0× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 16.3% of everything recorded on the 2012 Mercedes-Benz G, against 5.5% nationally — 10.8 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 27.1%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- 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 83.4% — 6.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 7% 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 G? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Mercedes-Benz G first registered in 2012 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 Mercedes-Benz G compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 6.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 81.1%. The median 2012 Mercedes-Benz G in this dataset had covered 96,011 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 85.6% of the time, April–September 80.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded", noted on 3.45% of tests.
- 145 recorded tests behind this page.
- 83.4% overall pass rate, 81.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz G, the average is 89.8% — best year 2021 (92.6%), worst 2012 (83.4%).
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
- 145
- Typical mileage (median)
- 96,011 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz G
- 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 G MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the G
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 29 | 82.8% |
| East of England | 23 | 87.0% |
| Scotland | 21 | 66.7% |
| South West | 20 | 70.0% |
| West Midlands | 16 | 93.8% |
| London | 15 | 100.0% |
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 G
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 G
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 3.5% 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 3.5% 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 shock absorbers 2.1% of tests
“shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
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 G through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £52–£129 — and 7% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £52–£129
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £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
- 7%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 145 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 G, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2011 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 83.4% to 92.6% — a spread of 9.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2011 86.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 83.4%rigid brake pipes excessively…
- 2021 92.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 91.1% has a cut in excess of the…
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 G 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
- BMW 530 83.5%
- MINI Mini 83.3%
- Ford Fusion 83.3%
- BMW 640 83.7%
- MINI Countryman COOPER D 83.7%
- Volkswagen Touareg 83.1%
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 G 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 166 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 | 45 | 27.10% | 20.89% | +6.21 |
| Tyres | 38 | 22.90% | 19.76% | +3.14 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 27 | 16.30% | 5.52% | +10.78 |
| Suspension | 17 | 10.20% | 20.98% | −10.78 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 15 | 9.00% | 12.21% | −3.21 |
| Steering | 10 | 6.00% | 2.57% | +3.43 |
| Visibility | 7 | 4.20% | 4.97% | −0.77 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 5 | 3.00% | 5.57% | −2.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 0.60% | 4.18% | −3.58 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 0.60% | 1.76% | −1.16 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £80–180 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.5% | £80–200 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 2.1% | £30–75 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 1.4% | £25–65 |
| Drag link end ball joint dust cover excessively damaged or deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of… Steering | Major | 1.4% | £18–45 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.4% | £3–12 |
| Malfunctioning Steering | Major | 1.4% | £60–200 |
| Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes | Major | 1.4% | £60–150 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 13.1% | £200–700 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 12.4% | £45–95 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 9.0% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.2% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 5.5% | £45–95 |
| Individual direction indicators incorrect colour Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Advisory | 3.5% | £3–12 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 1 | 100.0% | 29,619 mi |
| 30-60k | 31 | 90.3% | 48,232 mi |
| 60-90k | 32 | 84.4% | 75,423 mi |
| 90-120k | 51 | 82.4% | 104,197 mi |
| 120k+ | 30 | 76.7% | 138,753 mi |
Source: 145 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 G MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Mercedes-Benz G?
83.4% of the 145 2012 Mercedes-Benz G tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 81.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Mercedes-Benz G?
The three most recorded items are rigid brake pipes excessively corroded (3.45%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.45%), shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (2.07%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Mercedes-Benz G MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 76.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Mercedes-Benz G in this dataset had covered 96,011 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Mercedes-Benz G MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 85.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 80.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.