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

99,036 Mercedes-Benz Vitos are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 67.3% of initial MOT tests, 5 points below the 72.3% UK average.

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Mercedes-Benz Vito at the MOT

67.3% of 85,900 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Vito 398th of 575 models. Mercedes-Benz Vitos aged 3 to 5 years passed 76.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 60%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Mercedes-Benz Vito67.3%
  • All Mercedes-Benz modelsThe Vito is 9.8 pts behind77.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Mercedes-Benz Vito tests in 2025.

  • 3 to 5 years14,880 tests76.2%
  • 6 to 10 years33,321 tests70.2%
  • 11 years and over35,774 tests60%

Where Vitos fail

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

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment23.4%
  • Brakes22.7%
  • Suspension19.6%
  • Tyres8.9%
  • Visibility7.5%

The items testers recorded most often were coil spring fractured or broken (5.6%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4.4%) and malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (4.3%).

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

Full Mercedes-Benz Vito MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

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

  1. 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.23.4% of Vito failure items

  2. 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.22.7% of Vito failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.19.6% of Vito failure items

Mercedes-Benz Vitos in the UK

99,036 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 24% since the end of 2014, although it peaked at 102,947 at the end of 2022.

Change since 2014
+24%from 79,562 licensed
Typical year of first use
2017half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2017 or earlier
First registered in 2025
4,182against 9,775 in 2019
Declared off the road
16,38314% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Mercedes-Benz Vitos since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201479,562
End of 201581,677
End of 201685,549
End of 201789,637
End of 201892,331
End of 201996,428
End of 202096,585
End of 2021101,921
End of 2022102,947
End of 2023102,102
End of 2024100,847
End of 202599,830
End of June 202699,036

How old they are

Licensed Mercedes-Benz Vitos by year of first use.

  • Licensed at the end of 2025
  • First registered that year

A further 2,566 were first used before 2006.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025First registered that year
20254,0984,182
20244,3064,470
20234,0354,252
20224,9485,226
20217,2947,767
20204,8405,194
20198,8209,775
20186,7937,674
20178,2939,442
20166,4217,778
20155,0516,238
20144,767
20134,418
20124,127
20113,339
20103,571
20093,311
20083,491
20073,355
20062,597

5,051 Vitos first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 81% of the 6,238 first registered that year.

Vito engines and fuel

2.1 litre engines made up 71% of Mercedes-Benz Vito MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 11%. Diesel accounts for 95% of licensed Vitos and battery electric for 4.4%. Electric examples were 0.8% of tests.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 85,866 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.1 litre70.8%
  • 1.6 litre10.6%
  • 2.0 litre8.9%
  • 3.0 litre3.8%
  • 1.8 litre3.3%

Fuel type, licensed Vitos

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol1050.1%
Diesel94,55695%
Battery electric4,3674%
Hybrid electric1<0.1%
Gas7<0.1%

Mercedes-Benz Vito recalls

75 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Mercedes-Benz Vito. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Vito is affected.

  1. Aug 2025 R/2025/239

    Check driver's airbag replace if necessary

    Vitos built Oct 2003 to Feb 2006 · 1,527 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The manufacturer has determined that on affected vehicles a potentially defective airbag module from Takata might have been installed during a driver-airbag replacement. In the event of an accident with airbag deployment the airbag may not provide any restraining effect and there could be a risk of injury to the occupants from separating inflator parts.
    Remedy
    Check the airbag on the affected vehicles and replace it if necessary.

  2. Aug 2025 R/2025/238

    Check driver's airbag replace if necessary

    Vitos built Oct 2003 to Feb 2006 · 17,349 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The manufacturer has determined that on affected vehicles a potentially defective airbag module from Takata might have been installed during a driver-airbag replacement. In the event of an accident with airbag deployment the airbag may not provide any restraining effect and there could be a risk of injury to the occupants from separating inflator parts.
    Remedy
    Check the airbag on the affected vehicles and replace it if necessary.

  3. May 2025 R/2025/116

    Update software of control units

    Vitos built Sep 2010 to Nov 2014 · 572 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Mercedes-Benz are updating the engine control unit software in diesel vehicles with emissions standard Euro 5 as part of a mandatory recall. This measure was supposedly carried out previously on the vehicles included in this measure but the software update was not properly documented in our systems at that time.
    Remedy
    Mercedes-Benz will perform control unit programming on the vehicles affected using the Service Measure special process as part of a recall. As part of this the software of the affected control units will be updated. The scope of the affected control units may vary depending on the vehicle equipment.

  4. Feb 2023 R/2023/012

    On affected vehicles the routing of the fuel filter drainpipe might not meet specifications. The drainpipe could come into contact with the underbody and become damaged leading to a diesel leak

    Vitos built Dec 2020 to Apr 2022 · 7 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Replace the drainpipe with a drain plug on the affected vehicles.

  5. Sep 2022 R/2022/271

    The rear view camera could display frozen images due to a defect in a memory chip

    Vitos built Dec 2014 to Jun 2020 · 13,217 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The rear-view camera could display frozen images due to a defect in a memory chip.
    Remedy
    Conduct a software update on the potentially affected vehicles

  6. Sep 2022 R/2022/244

    Configurations were written into one or more control units that might not meet specifications

    Vitos built May 2005 · 1 vehicle across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Update the configuration of the affected control units on the affected vehicles.

  7. Sep 2022 R/2022/258

    The driver's airbag may not correctly deploy if activated

    Vitos built Feb 2006 to Sep 2010 · 4,469 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The drivers airbag may not correctly deploy if activated.
    Remedy
    Replace the drivers air bag assembly.

  8. Aug 2022 R/2022/233

    On certain vehicles the gear recognition sensor could under certain circumstances while shifting to the reverse gear underrun a certain limit parameter and therefore transmit incorrect particular sensor signals

    Vitos built Oct 2019 to Nov 2020 · 1,835 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Remedy
    Replace the gear recognition sensor of the affected vehicles. In individual cases it may also be necessary to replace the transmission.
How to check a specific Vito for recalls

Other Mercedes-Benz models

The most-tested Mercedes-Benz models in 2025, against the Vito's 67.3% MOT pass rate.

All 35 Mercedes-Benz models

Mercedes-Benz Vito FAQs

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

99,036 Mercedes-Benz Vitos were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 16,383 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Mercedes-Benz Vito 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 67.3% first-time pass rate for the Mercedes-Benz Vito across 85,900 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Mercedes-Benz Vito had any recalls?

75 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Mercedes-Benz Vito. The most recent was published in August 2025. 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 Vito?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and suspension. 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 Vito'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 Vito?

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

Across the 1,548 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 Vito 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 October 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.