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Mercedes-Benz CLC, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

8,291 Mercedes-Benz CLCs are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 55.7% of initial MOT tests, 16.6 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific CLC? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Mercedes-Benz CLC at the MOT

55.7% of 7,983 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the CLC 529th of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Mercedes-Benz CLC55.7%
  • All Mercedes-Benz modelsThe CLC is 21.4 pts behind77.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Where CLCs fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Mercedes-Benz CLC tests in 2025.

  • Suspension33.4%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment20.4%
  • Brakes14.9%
  • Tyres9.9%
  • Visibility6.6%

The items testers recorded most often were ball joint excessively worn (10.5%), coil spring fractured or broken (7%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (4.1%).

The MOT page lists every common CLC MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Mercedes-Benz CLC MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The CLC's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.33.4% of CLC failure items

  2. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.20.4% of CLC failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.14.9% of CLC failure items

Mercedes-Benz CLCs in the UK

8,291 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 39% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−39%from 13,508 licensed
Typical year of first use
2009half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2009 or earlier
Declared off the road
1,08012% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Mercedes-Benz CLCs since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201413,508
End of 201513,318
End of 201613,088
End of 201712,900
End of 201812,659
End of 201912,322
End of 202012,051
End of 202111,768
End of 202211,357
End of 202310,670
End of 20249,773
End of 20258,836
End of June 20268,291

How old they are

Licensed Mercedes-Benz CLCs by year of first use.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
2011714
20102,633
20093,263
20082,145

CLC engines and fuel

1.8 litre engines made up 60% of Mercedes-Benz CLC MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.1 litre at 33%. Petrol accounts for 69% of licensed CLCs and diesel for 31%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 7,956 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.8 litre60.1%
  • 2.1 litre33.3%
  • 1.6 litre5.3%

Fuel type, licensed CLCs

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol5,73169%
Diesel2,55931%
Gas1<0.1%

Mercedes-Benz CLC recalls

4 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Mercedes-Benz CLC. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every CLC is affected.

  1. Feb 2023 R/2023/020

    The bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame might not meet specifications

    CLCs built Mar 2000 to Dec 2010 · 3,267 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles the bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame might not meet specifications. In consequence a separation of the glass panel from the vehicle cannot be excluded.
    Remedy
    Check the glass panel and replace the sliding roof if necessary.

  2. Feb 2023 R/2023/019

    The bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame might not meet specifications

    CLCs built Mar 2000 to Dec 2010 · 16,535 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On affected vehicles the bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame might not meet specifications. In consequence a separation of the glass panel from the vehicle cannot be excluded.
    Remedy
    Check the glass panel and replace the sliding roof if necessary.

  3. Feb 2023 R/2023/018

    On affected vehicles the bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame might not meet specifications. In consequence a separation of the glass panel from the vehicle cannot be excluded

    CLCs built Mar 2000 to Dec 2010 · 9,567 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Check the glass panel and replace the sliding roof if necessary.

  4. May 2021 R/2021/145

    The bonding between the glass panel and the sliding roof frame might not meet specifications

    CLCs built Dec 2005 to Sep 2006 · 310 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Check the glass panel bonding on the affected vehicles and replace the sliding roof if necessary.
How to check a specific CLC for recalls

Other Mercedes-Benz models

The most-tested Mercedes-Benz models in 2025, against the CLC's 55.7% MOT pass rate.

All 35 Mercedes-Benz models

Mercedes-Benz CLC FAQs

How many Mercedes-Benz CLCs are there in the UK?

8,291 Mercedes-Benz CLCs were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 1,080 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Mercedes-Benz CLC reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 55.7% first-time pass rate for the Mercedes-Benz CLC across 7,983 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Mercedes-Benz CLC had any recalls?

4 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Mercedes-Benz CLC. The most recent was published in February 2023. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Mercedes-Benz CLC?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Mercedes-Benz CLC's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a CLC?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Mercedes-Benz history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Mercedes-Benz VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.