Tyres Make Up 60.6% of Dangerous MOT Defects While Lights Fail 10.4% of Cars

• DVSA test data puts the first-time MOT failure rate for cars and vans at 27.51% in the 2025 to 2026 financial year, down from 28.08% a year earlier.
• Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment fail 10.44% of cars, suspension 8.90% and tyres 6.23%, the three biggest causes of a first-time failure.
• Tyres account for 60.60% of the dangerous defects found and brakes for 28.80%, the faults that stop a driver taking the car away.

The Lights Check That Fails More Than One Car in Ten

More than one car in ten fails its MOT on lights and electrics. In the 2025 to 2026 financial year the category called lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment carried at least one failure on 10.44% of the 33,310,534 tests on cars, vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats. That is about 3.48 million tests, and the largest of any category.

Across every category, 27.51% of those tests ended in a first-time failure, about 9.16 million cars and vans, or just over one in four. The rate is falling. It stood at 28.08% in 2024 to 2025, 28.58% in 2023 to 2024 and 31.70% in 2019 to 2020. In 2013 to 2014 it was 40.00%. The latest drop of 0.57 points equals about 190,000 fewer failed tests at the same volume.

Lights are falling too, from 13.95% of tests in 2019 to 2020 and 10.89% a year ago. The category still tops the table. A test can fail in several places at once, and a failed car lists 2.39 defects on average, 0.37 of them dangerous. The category shares add up to far more than the 27.51% headline rate. Lamps make up 24.89% of all defects logged, and 10.37% of all tests carry a major lamp defect. Dangerous lamp defects are rare, at 0.13% of tests. Drivers who have fitted LED headlight bulbs can read the LED bulb MOT rules before the test date.

Suspension Is the One Big Category Getting Worse

Suspension failed 8.90% of tests, about 2.96 million, up from 8.73% in 2024 to 2025. Of the large categories it is the only one that rose. The 0.17 point increase is about 56,600 tests. Suspension accounts for 20.49% of all defects found, second only to lamps at 24.89%. Lamps and suspension together hold 45.38% of every defect recorded, so nearly half of all the faults testers log fall into those two categories.

The autumn quarter makes it worse. In October to December 2025 suspension failed 9.37% of tests and lamps 10.87%, both above their full-year rates.

Tyres failed 6.23% of tests, about 2.08 million, against 6.39% a year earlier. Brakes failed 6.10%, about 2.03 million, against 6.63%. Visibility failed 4.28%, about 1.43 million, against 4.54%. Body, chassis and structure failed 3.23%, about 1.08 million. Noise, emissions and leaks failed 3.08%, steering 1.94%, about 646,000, and seat belts 0.95%.

The newest quarter, April to June 2026, shows the same order of categories. The first-time failure rate was 26.75%, against 27.24% in April to June 2025. Lamps fell to 9.98% from 10.36%, suspension to 8.21% from 8.65% and brakes to 5.83% from 6.10%. Tyres went the other way, to 6.55% from 6.23%.

Tyres and Brakes Carry Nearly 90% of Dangerous Defects

A car fails its MOT when the test lists a defect graded dangerous or major. Minor and advisory items come as a separate list to monitor or fix later and do not fail the car. The driver can take the car away only if the current MOT is still valid and no dangerous problem was listed. Driving a car that failed on a dangerous problem carries a fine of up to £2,500, a driving ban and 3 penalty points. The dangerous MOT fail guide covers the drive-home rules in full.

In 2025 to 2026, 7.22% of tests carried at least one dangerous defect, about 2.41 million. That is down from 7.70% in 2024 to 2025 and 9.18% in 2019 to 2020. Major defects sat on 20.28% of tests.

Tyres drive the dangerous total. A dangerous tyre defect turned up on 4.47% of all tests, about 1.49 million, and tyres account for 60.60% of every dangerous defect found. Brakes come next with 2.39% of tests, about 796,000, and 28.80% of dangerous defects. Together they make up 89.40%. Suspension adds only 5.32% of dangerous defects, and lamps 1.27%.

The tyre rate eased from 4.74% of tests in 2024 to 2025 to 4.47%, but April to June 2026 pushed it back up to 4.64%, against 4.42% in the same quarter a year before.

Vans and the October to December Trap

Goods vehicles between 3,000 and 3,500 kg gross sit in a separate test class, class 7, and they fail more often than cars. The class recorded 34.00% first-time failures across 1,107,819 tests in 2025 to 2026, 6.49 points above the 27.51% for cars and smaller vans. April to June 2026 came in at 34.01% on 283,466 tests. After repairs at the test station the class 7 final failure rate was 27.01%.

October to December has been the worst quarter for six years running, from 2020 to 2021 to 2025 to 2026. In 2025 to 2026 it reached 28.20%, against 27.24% in April to June, 27.41% in July to September and 27.21% in January to March. The October to December rate was 28.89% in 2024 to 2025 and 29.53% in 2023 to 2024. That quarter is under way now. In each of those six years a car tested between October and December faced the highest failure rate of the year, and in 2025 to 2026 the gap to April to June was 0.96 points, about one extra failed test in every 100.

How to Avoid a Failure, and What One Costs

Lamps, registration plates, the horn, mirrors, seat belts, windscreen glass, wipers and washers, and wheels and tyres all sit on the list of items that get a free partial retest if the car goes back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day, so each is worth a look before the test. Check every tyre for damage and measure the tread against the legal limit in the tyre tread limit guide, as tyres supply 60.60% of the dangerous defects. Book early to leave time for repairs to suspension or brakes.

A car can be tested up to a month (minus a day) before the MOT runs out and still keep the same renewal date. If the MOT runs out on 15 May, the earliest test that keeps the date is 16 April. An earlier test resets the date to a year (minus a day) from that pass. Driving without a valid MOT carries a fine of up to £1,000. The only exceptions are driving to a repair or to a pre-arranged test.

The maximum test fee for a car is £54.85, with no VAT. Not every first-time failure ends as a fail. In 2025 to 2026, 1,733,209 tests, 5.20% of the total, passed after the defect was put right at the test station. That is close to one in five first-time failures, and it brought the final failure rate to 22.30% against 27.51% first time. In April to June 2026 the figure was 392,349 cars, 5.02% of tests, and the final failure rate 21.72%.

A car left at the test centre for repair and retested within 10 working days needs only a partial retest, with no fee. A car taken back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day pays nothing again for a partial retest on the listed items, and lamps exclude the headlamp aim check. A car taken away and returned within 10 working days can be charged a partial retest fee. Every other case needs a full retest and the full test fee again. The test does not cover the condition of the engine, clutch or gearbox.

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