The Most Common Reasons Cars Fail Their MOT

Most fails are small things

The DVSA, who run the MOT scheme, publish the areas where cars fail most often. Year after year the same few come up: lights and signalling, suspension, brakes, tyres, and the driver's view of the road.

The good news is that a lot of these are cheap and quick to put right. A blown bulb or a worn wiper blade can fail a car just as surely as a worn brake disc, but they are often spotted at home in a couple of minutes.

Mark has been in the trade for more than 30 years, and the advice has never changed: a quick walk round the car the week before your test can save you a fail and a second trip.

Lights and signalling

Lights are one of the most common reasons for a fail. The tester checks every light works, is the right colour, is not cracked or badly faded, and that the headlights are aimed correctly so they do not dazzle other drivers.

You can check most of this yourself. Park facing a wall or garage door and switch on the dipped and main beam headlights, then the indicators and hazard lights. Ask someone to stand behind the car while you press the brake pedal and select reverse.

Do not forget the number plate light. It is easy to miss, and it is part of the test.

Suspension and brakes

Suspension faults are hard to spot from the driver's seat. Broken coil springs, worn bushes, ball joints and leaking shock absorbers often show up only when the car is up on the ramp. A knocking or clunking noise over bumps is a good sign something is worn.

Brakes are checked on a roller brake tester, which measures how hard each wheel brakes and whether both sides are even. The tester also looks at the pipes, hoses, discs and pads, and checks the handbrake holds the car.

If your car pulls to one side when you brake, the pedal feels soft, or you hear grinding, get it looked at before the MOT rather than waiting to see if it passes.

Tyres and the view of the road

The legal minimum tread depth for a car is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre, all the way round. The tester also looks for cuts, bulges and exposed cords, and checks the tyres are the right size and type for the car.

The driver's view of the road covers the windscreen, wipers and washers. A chip or crack in the area swept by the wipers can be a fail depending on its size and position, and so can wipers that smear or a washer bottle that is empty.

Top up the screen wash before your test. It sounds too simple to matter, but an empty washer bottle is something a tester has to note.

What happens if your car fails

If your car fails, we show you exactly what failed and why. We give you a clear quote before any work starts, and nothing is done without your say-so.

If you leave the car with us for the repairs, or bring it back within 10 working days, the retest usually only covers the items that failed.

You may also get advisories. These are not fails, they are things the tester has noticed that are wearing and will need attention in the future. We explain each one in plain English and tell you which ones are worth doing soon and which can wait.

Book your MOT in Pelsall

We are a family-run garage at 45 High Street in Pelsall, and there has been a garage on this site since 1936. We test cars from Pelsall, Walsall and the villages around.

Call us on 01922 682200 or book online, and bring the car in a few weeks before your certificate runs out so there is time to sort anything we find.