How often does the Mercedes-Benz EQS fail its MOT?

3.2% of 280 first-time tests in 2024 were failures, against 12.0% for all electric cars.

What does the Mercedes-Benz EQS most often fail on?

Tyres, 100.0% of failing defects. The single most common defect was: Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements.

Mercedes-Benz · Fully electric · 280 inspections in 2024 · Rank 5 of 81DVSA MOT analysis

The Mercedes-Benz EQS has the fifth-lowest MOT failure rate of any electric car tested

280 inspections in a single year make the EQS a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 100.0% of its failures; tyres take 4.2× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.

FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSMercedes-Benz EQS

Top three failure systems, annotated from 9 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.

First-time test findings

First-time failure rate

OVERALL3.2%

Overall first-time failure rate.

ALL ELECTRIC CARS12.0%

All electric cars in the data.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS fails 3.2% of first-time inspections. Tyres cause 100.0% of its failures.

FIGURE 2 // TYRE SECTION3 certificates in 2024

The tyre that wears from the inside

Tyres take 100.0% of the defects that fail this car, 4.2× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", recorded 3 times in 2024.

SECTION // TYRES CONCENTRATION

Where it concentrates

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

DEFECT CONCENTRATION IN FAILED TESTS:

EQS tyres share100.0%

Petrol and diesel average23.7%

The single most common item on a EQS certificate is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", recorded 3 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: 280
Passed: 269
Failed: 9
Passed after repair: 2
Failure rate: 3.2% (all EV 12.0%)
Average age: 3.0 years
Top cause: Tyres 100.0%

TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects

System	Share	vs petrol/diesel
Tyres	100.0%	4.2× 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

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3
A tyre seriously damaged3
A tyre cords visible or damaged2
A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative1
A tyre has a lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure. This includes any lifting of the tread rubber1

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

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 (100.0% vs 23.7%)

VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded

EQS 450+ EXCLUSIVE LUXURY120
EQS 450+ AMG LINE PREMIUM +50
EQS 450+ AMG LINE48
EQS 450+ AMG LINE PREMIUM40
EQS 450+ LUXURY12
EQS 450+ BUSINESS CLASS5
EQS 350 AMG LINE PREMIUM4
EQS 450 BUSINESS CLASS 4MATIC1

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.

SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands

Peugeot Expert3.3% fail · 1,137 tests Lexus UX4.4% fail · 1,019 tests Volkswagen ABT4.2% fail · 263 tests Toyota Proace4.8% fail · 208 tests

OTHER MERCEDES-BENZ ELECTRIC CARS

Mercedes-Benz B-Class15.6% fail first time Mercedes-Benz EQA10.1% fail first time Mercedes-Benz EQB4.7% fail first time Mercedes-Benz EQC14.7% fail first time

Three things the data shows

280 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
Tyres take 4.2× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
It ranks 5 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.