18,736 tests in 2025
Mercedes-Benz Citan reliability and MOT pass rate
70.1% passed first time. The 29.9% fail rate is 7.3 points worse than the all-car average, on a median example 8 years old with 99,599 miles.
MOT pass rates / Mercedes-Benz
Pass rate
70.1%
22.6% of all cars failed; 29.9% of these did.
Fixed on the day
9.7%
Passed after a defect was put right during the visit.
Median at test
99,599 mi
8 years old.
Fail rate by age
| Age at test | Tests | Fail rate |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 years | 2,163 | 19.4% |
| 6-9 years | 11,144 | 28.5% |
| 10-13 years | 5,403 | 36.9% |
| 14+ years | 0 | — |
What the Citan fails on
Share of failed tests with at least one fail item in each DVSA inspection section. A test can fail in several sections at once.
- Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment158 dangerous46%
- Brakes1,098 dangerous33.7%
- Body, chassis, structure28 dangerous26.4%
- Suspension56 dangerous26%
- Tyres1,576 dangerous24.1%
- Steering60 dangerous18.3%
- Visibility10 dangerous17.1%
- Noise, emissions and leaks1 dangerous7.7%
Is the Citan getting worse?
The fail rate rose 4.5 points to 30.1% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
| Year | Tests | Median age | Fail rate | All cars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18,952 | 6 | 25.6% | 22.5% | |
| 2023 | 19,965 | — | 27.6% | 22.8% | |
| 2024 | 17,812 | — | 29.7% | 23.2% | |
| 2025 | 18,447 | — | 30.1% | 22.6% |
Fail rate is first attempts at class 4 tests. Median age is the age of a typical Citan at its test that year, and it is the number to watch: across the whole fleet each extra year of age adds roughly 1.9 points to the fail rate, so a model whose age and fail rate rise together is simply getting older.
The exact defects that fail it
Every failure item DVSA recorded against a Citan in 2025, counted by how many tests each one appeared on.
- 1Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt1,208 tests
- 2Stop lamp: not working909 tests
- 3Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play886 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick748 tests
- 5Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm735 tests
- 6Position lamp: not working675 tests
- 7Registration plate lamp(s): inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps614 tests
- 8Coil spring: fractured or broken534 tests
What wears out first
Advisories are the tester flagging wear that is still legal. A typical Citan collects 2.54 of them per test, and these are the ones that come up most. Treat it as the running-repairs list for the next year or two.
- 1Tread depth: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm4,142 tests
- 2Brake discs: in such a condition that it is seriously weakened2,325 tests
- 3Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded2,247 tests
- 4Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick2,102 tests
- 5Condition: has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure907 tests
- 6Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play810 tests
- 7Stop lamp: with a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning792 tests
- 8Brake discs: significantly and obviously worn615 tests
Questions
What is the Mercedes-Benz Citan MOT pass rate?
70.1% of the 18,736 Mercedes-Benz Citan first-attempt MOTs in 2025 passed. The fail rate of 29.9% compares with 22.6% across all cars. A further 9.7% passed after a defect was fixed during the test visit.
What does a Mercedes-Benz Citan usually fail on?
The single most common failure is "Joints: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt", recorded on 1,208 failed tests, followed by "Stop lamp: not working" and "Track rod end: ball joint has excessive play". By section, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment appears in 46% of failures, brakes appears in 33.7% of failures, body, chassis, structure appears in 26.4% of failures.
Does age change the odds?
Sharply. At 3 to 5 years old the fail rate was 19.4%; at 10-13 years it was 36.9%. The median Mercedes-Benz Citan tested in 2025 was 8 years old with 99,599 miles.
Is the Mercedes-Benz Citan getting less reliable?
The fail rate rose 4.5 points to 30.1% from 2022 to 2025, against a rising rate across all cars.
First-attempt class 4 tests, 2025, from DVSA’s anonymised MOT data (OGL v3, retrieved 2026-09-12). DVSA records newer cars trim by trim; this page adds every Citan trim together. Year-on-year figures come from the same DVSA extracts for 2026 and earlier years. Full method on the pass rates hub.
DVSA has published 16 safety recalls naming the Mercedes-Benz Citan: Mercedes-Benz Citan recalls.
Other Mercedes-Benz models
Checking a particular Citan?
The odds above are the model. The car in front of you has its own record: every test, every advisory, the mileage at each one.
Due a test? Find an approved MOT station near you.