Pass rate
76.6%
Around average — 3.5 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 1,823 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £29–£76
2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano MOT pass rate
- 2008
- People carrier
- typical 143,731 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
22.4% 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 2014 79.7% pass
- Avoid 2005 73.6% pass
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 6.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 70.9%
- Typical mileage
- 144k mi
The 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano MOT pass rate is 76.6% of its MOT tests — 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.4% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Mercedes-Benz Viano does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Fewer problems with tyres
Tyres are 11.8% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a people carrier of this age.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these people carriers have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.1% and this one manages 76.6% — 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 56% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 Viano? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 70.9%. The median 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano in this dataset had covered 143,731 mi.
86% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 76.3% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 76.4% of the time, April–September 76.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 6.25% of tests.
- 1,823 recorded tests behind this page.
- 76.6% overall pass rate, 70.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mercedes-Benz Viano, the average is 77.4% — best year 2014 (79.7%), worst 2005 (73.6%).
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
- 1,823
- Typical mileage (median)
- 143,731 mi
- Make and model
- Mercedes-Benz Viano
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Viano MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 65% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (86% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Viano
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 427 | 80.6% |
| South West | 263 | 69.2% |
| East of England | 180 | 79.4% |
| North West | 179 | 74.9% |
| East Midlands | 144 | 78.5% |
| Yorkshire | 135 | 74.8% |
| West Midlands | 131 | 80.9% |
| London | 130 | 88.5% |
| Scotland | 100 | 68.0% |
| Wales | 96 | 68.8% |
| North East | 38 | 65.8% |
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 2008 Viano
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 2008 Viano
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 windscreen 6.3% 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 lights 5.3% 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 suspension joints 2.3% 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.
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 2008 Viano through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £29–£76 — and 56% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £29–£76
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 56%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 1,823 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 Viano, side by side
12 model years on record, from 2004 to 2015. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.6% to 79.7% — a spread of 6.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2005 73.6% headlamp lens slightly defective
- 2006 75.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 77.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2008 76.6%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2009 77.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2010 79.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 77.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2012 78.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 78.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 79.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2015 79.4% 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 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano 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 2008 people carriers with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2008 people carriers with at least 200 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. Full rankings: best people carriers and worst people carriers.
The full DVSA record for the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano 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 4,633 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 | 1,054 | 22.40% | 20.89% | +1.51 |
| Suspension | 798 | 16.90% | 20.98% | −4.08 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 746 | 15.80% | 12.21% | +3.59 |
| Tyres | 556 | 11.80% | 19.76% | −7.96 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 447 | 9.50% | 5.52% | +3.98 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 333 | 7.10% | 5.57% | +1.53 |
| Visibility | 277 | 5.90% | 4.97% | +0.93 |
| Non-component advisories | 187 | 4.00% | 4.18% | −0.18 |
| Steering | 140 | 3.00% | 2.57% | +0.43 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 95 | 2.00% | 0.82% | +1.18 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 6.3% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.3% | £5–20 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £45–110 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.5% | £5–25 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 3.1% | £3–12 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 2.3% | £18–45 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.1% | £3–12 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.1% | £80–180 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.9% | £3–12 |
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 | 17.5% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 15.3% | £200–700 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 14.0% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.4% | £45–110 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 5.1% | £40–150 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 4.7% | £45–95 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 12 | 100.0% | 23,411 mi |
| 30-60k | 108 | 86.1% | 46,628 mi |
| 60-90k | 181 | 79.6% | 75,735 mi |
| 90-120k | 297 | 73.4% | 104,969 mi |
| 120k+ | 1,182 | 76.1% | 188,001 mi |
Source: 1,823 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.
2008 Viano MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano?
76.6% of the 1,823 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 70.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (6.25%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.27%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (3.51%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 76.1% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano in this dataset had covered 143,731 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano?
Diesel: 76.3% pass rate across 1,568 tests. Petrol: 78.9% pass rate across 251 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Viano MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 76.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.