2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml MOT pass rate

Pass rate

72.6%

Below average — 1.2 pts behind the 73.8% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 1,524 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £23–£65

Which year to buy

  • Best 2015 87.4% pass
  • Avoid 2003 72.3% pass

Across the 16 years on record, a spread of 15.1 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
66.3%
Typical mileage
132k mi

The 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml MOT pass rate is 72.6% of its MOT tests — 1.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.9% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml on the real record

72.6% of 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml MOTs passed — 1,524 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Check your postcode

MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz Ml does in your corner of the country.

How one model's pass rate varies by postcode →

Expert verdict

Emissions & leaks: 2.0× the national share

Emissions & leaks make up 10.9% of everything recorded on the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml, against 5.5% nationally — 5.4 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 21.9%, 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.

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 Ml? Get an email when these numbers change .

How does the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 73.8%, so this figure is 1.2 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 66.3%. The median 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml in this dataset had covered 132,154 mi.

63% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Petrol, which passed 70.9% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.3% of the time, April–September 75.9%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp lens slightly defective", noted on 6.63% of tests.

  • 1,524 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 72.6% overall pass rate, 66.3% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz Ml, the average is 80.8% — best year 2015 (87.4%), worst 2003 (72.3%).

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
1,524
Typical mileage (median)
132,154 mi
Make and model
Mercedes-Benz Ml
Updated
2026-11-05

Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.

Top part to budget for

Headlight Bulb

Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.

Does mileage affect the Ml MOT pass rate?

0-30k 66.7%
30-60k 79.2%
60-90k 76.1%
90-120k 73.1%
120k+ 71.4%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 58% so small gaps stay visible.

Fuel type and reliability

Petrol 70.9%
Diesel 75.5%
LPG 80.0%

Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (63% of tests).

Regional pass rates for the Ml

Region Tests Pass rate
South East 442 75.1%
South West 248 64.1%
East of England 189 68.8%
West Midlands 177 73.4%
North West 141 80.1%
Yorkshire 85 70.6%
East Midlands 71 71.8%
Scotland 57 63.2%
Wales 47 87.2%
London 43 88.4%
North East 20 70.0%

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 2000 Ml

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.

Brakes 21.9%
+1.0 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Suspension 20.3%
−0.7 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Lamps & electrics 15.3%
+3.1 pts vs national national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Emissions & leaks 10.9%
+5.4 pts vs national national 5.5% Price emissions & leaks parts
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Tyres 8.0%
  • Steering 5.7%
  • Body & chassis 5.6%
  • Visibility 4.6%
  • Advisories 4.4%
  • Identification 2.2%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 2000 Ml

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.

  1. Check the lights 6.6% of tests

    “headlamp lens slightly defective”

    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.

  2. Check the suspension joints 4.5% 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.

  3. Check the coil springs 4.5% 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.

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 2000 Ml through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £23–£65 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£23–£65
Cheapest common item: mirrors slightly damaged
£3–£15
Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
£80–£200
Common items a careful owner can do at home
70%
Repairs that still cost under £30
36%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,524 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 Ml, side by side

16 model years on record, from 2000 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 72.3% to 87.4% — a spread of 15.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2000 72.6%
    headlamp lens slightly defective
  2. 2001 74.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
  3. 2002 74.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
  4. 2003 72.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
  5. 2004 72.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
  6. 2005 73.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
  7. 2006 78.4% joints constant velocity boot…
  8. 2007 78.4% joints constant velocity boot…
  9. 2008 78.3% joints constant velocity boot…
  10. 2009 78.3% joints constant velocity boot…
  11. 2010 78.6% joints constant velocity boot…
  12. 2011 79.9% joints constant velocity boot…
  13. 2012 83.7% joints constant velocity boot…
  14. 2013 86.5% joints constant velocity boot…
  15. 2014 86.0% coil spring fractured or broken
  16. 2015 87.4% 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 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml 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.

Compare 2000 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2000 cars with a similar record

Closest pass rates among 2000 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 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml 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 5,697 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 1,261 21.90% 20.89% +1.01
Suspension 1,168 20.30% 20.98% −0.68
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 883 15.30% 12.21% +3.09
Noise, emissions and leaks 629 10.90% 5.52% +5.38
Tyres 461 8.00% 19.76% −11.76
Steering 329 5.70% 2.57% +3.13
Body, chassis, structure 325 5.60% 5.57% +0.03
Visibility 264 4.60% 4.97% −0.37
Non-component advisories 251 4.40% 4.18% +0.22
Identification of the vehicle 126 2.20% 1.76% +0.44

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 1,524 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 6.6% £5–25 Headlight Bulb →
Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 5.7% £5–20 Number Plate Lamp →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 4.5% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension Major 4.5% £25–65 Coil Spring →
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility Minor 4.4% £80–200 Windscreen →
Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 3.8% £30–80 Headlight Alignment →
Ball joint excessively worn Suspension Major 3.1% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering Major 3.0% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension Major 2.8% £40–150 Suspension Component →
Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility Minor 2.7% £3–15 Bulb →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks Advisory 29.7% £200–700
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Advisory 24.5% £80–180
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 14.3% £45–95
Ball joint excessively worn Suspension Advisory 14.0% £18–45
Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes Advisory 13.3% £45–110
Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes Advisory 11.5% £18–45

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 3 66.7% 21,842 mi
30-60k 53 79.2% 49,366 mi
60-90k 163 76.1% 77,594 mi
90-120k 342 73.1% 105,598 mi
120k+ 956 71.4% 158,352 mi

Source: 1,524 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.

2000 Ml MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml?

72.6% of the 1,524 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.8% for cars first used in 2000. First-attempt pass rate: 66.3%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml?

The three most recorded items are headlamp lens slightly defective (6.63%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.71%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (4.53%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 66.7% of the time, falling to 71.4% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml in this dataset had covered 132,154 mi.

Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml?

Petrol: 70.9% pass rate across 963 tests. Diesel: 75.5% pass rate across 539 tests. LPG: 80.0% pass rate across 20 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.

Does the season affect the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Ml MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 75.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.