The Most Common MOT Failures and How to Avoid Them

Most fails are small and avoidable

DVSA figures consistently show that a large share of MOT failures come down to simple things: a blown bulb, a worn tyre, an empty screenwash bottle or a wiper blade that smears. None of these are expensive, but each one is enough to turn a pass into a fail and a second trip to the test centre.

Knowing where cars usually fall down means you can spend ten minutes on the driveway before your test and give yourself a much better chance of passing first time.

Lighting and signalling

Lamps and indicators are the single biggest failure category. Check every bulb with someone standing behind the car: dipped and main beam, sidelights, brake lights including the high-level one, indicators, hazards, reversing lights, rear fog light and number plate lights.

Headlight aim also matters. If a headlight has been knocked or a bulb fitted badly, the beam pattern can be wrong and it will fail even though the bulb works.

Tyres and wheels

The legal minimum tread depth for a car is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, all the way round the tyre. The examiner will also fail cuts, bulges, exposed cord and tyres of the wrong size or type for the car.

Run your hand around the inner edge of each front tyre too. Tracking faults wear the inside shoulder first, and it is the part you cannot see without kneeling down.

Brakes, suspension and steering

The brake test checks both efficiency and balance side to side, so a seized caliper or a sticking handbrake cable can fail a car even when the pads look fine. Worn discs, corroded brake pipes and warning lights on the dash are also common fail items.

Suspension and steering failures usually mean worn ball joints, split drop link bushes, broken coil springs or split steering rack gaiters. You will often hear these as knocks over speed bumps before the examiner finds them.

Visibility and the little things

Damage larger than 10mm in the area directly in front of the driver, or larger than 40mm elsewhere in the swept area, will fail. Wipers must clear the screen and the washers must work, so fill the screenwash before you come in.

A horn that does not work, a seatbelt that does not retract, a warning light left on the dash and a number plate in the wrong font are all fails that catch people out.

Book your MOT with us in Oldbury

We are a DVSA-approved Class 4 test centre on Park Lane in Oldbury and our MOT is £40. If your car does fail, we will show you exactly why, explain which items are urgent and give you a clear quote before we touch anything. Call us on 0121 544 3736 to book.