What Wears Out
Mercedes-Benz · Fully electric · 939 inspections in 2024 · Rank 3 of 81DVSA MOT analysis

The Mercedes-Benz EQE has the third-lowest MOT failure rate of any electric car tested

939 inspections in a single year make the EQE the best-documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 93.9% of its failures; tyres take 4.0× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.

FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSMercedes-Benz EQE
TYRES 93.9%(4.0× the petrol/diesel share)SUSPENSION 0.0%(0.0× the petrol/diesel share)BRAKES 0.0%(0.0× the petrol/diesel share)

Top three failure systems, annotated from 26 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.

First-time test findings

First-time failure rate

OVERALL2.8%

Overall first-time failure rate.

ALL ELECTRIC CARS12.0%

All electric cars in the data.

The Mercedes-Benz EQE fails 2.8% of first-time inspections. Tyres cause 93.9% of its failures.

FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION20 certificates in 2024

The tyre that wears from the inside

Tyres take 93.9% of the defects that fail this car, 4.0× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "A tyre seriously damaged", recorded 20 times in 2024.

1.6 mm legal minimumA TYRE SERIOUSLY DAMAGED20 CERTIFICATES
SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATION

Where it concentrates

The EQE stays under the petrol fleet at every age we can measure. What it does fail on is unusually concentrated.

DEFECT CONCENTRATION IN FAILED TESTS:
EQE tyres share93.9%
Petrol and diesel average23.7%

The single most common item on a EQE certificate is "A tyre seriously damaged", recorded 20 times.

Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
Buyer's protocolPre-purchase checklist

What to check

Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.

3 inspection points:
✓ Tyre inner-edge wear and age
✓ Free DVSA MOT history check
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars

    Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.

    Data sheet
    Inspections
    939
    Passed
    912
    Failed
    26
    Passed after repair
    1
    Failure rate
    2.8% (all EV 12.0%)
    Average age
    0.0 years
    Top cause
    Tyres 93.9%
    TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
    SystemThis car (mark = petrol/diesel)Sharevs petrol/diesel
    Tyres
    93.9% 4.0× more
    Suspension
    0.0% in line
    Brakes
    0.0% in line
    Visibility
    0.0% in line
    Lighting
    0.0% in line
    Steering
    0.0% in line
    Body
    0.0% in line
    TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
    1. A tyre seriously damaged20
    2. A tyre cords visible or damaged5
    3. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3
    4. A tyre has a lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure. This includes any lifting of the tread rubber2
    5. Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements1
    6. An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction1

    Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.

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    Where it holds up
    • Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 13.6%)
    • Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 18.7%)
    • Visibility fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 11.9%)
    • Lighting fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 16.5%)
    Where it fails
    • Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (93.9% vs 23.7%)
    VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
    • EQE 300 AMG LINE PREMIUM464
    • EQE 300 AMG LINE130
    • EQE 300 AMG LINE PREMIUM +125
    • EQE 300 SPORT EDITION81
    • EQE 350+ AMG LINE PREMIUM75
    • EQE 350+ EXCLUSIVE LUXURY29
    • EQE 300 EXCLUSIVE LUXURY20
    • EQE 350 AMG LINE PREMIUM +6
    OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
    No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.

    Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.

    Three things the data shows
    • 939 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
    • Tyres take 4.0× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
    • It ranks 3 of 81 electric cars by first-time failure rate.
    LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU

    No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.

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    By What Wears Out editorial team. Data: DVSA anonymised MOT tests, 2024 test year, OGL v3.0. Updated .
    Methodology • Mercedes-Benz EQE dossier