MOT faults that come in pairs

A pair is two areas of the car that both had something recorded at the same MOT. DVSA publishes every MOT result as open data^[1]. We read what the tester recorded in each area, at any level: an advisory, a minor, a major or a dangerous item^[2]. Items fixed during the test count too. So a pair doesn’t mean the car failed.

The share is out of the MOTs that had something recorded in two or more areas. It counts MOTs, not cars: a vehicle tested twice in a year counts twice. It also counts all MOT-tested vehicles, so vans and motorbikes are in it.

Age 8 is the age our guide to minor, major and dangerous MOT faults uses for its list of faults found together. Each bar is the share of the 1,072,121 MOTs at that age that had something recorded in two or more areas.

Brakes and tyres were both recorded at about 3 in 10 (30.4%) of those MOTs. Suspension and tyres were recorded together at about 1 in 4 (24.4%), and brakes and suspension at about 1 in 5 (21.2%). This is MOT Wise analysis of DVSA MOT results, 2025.

The figures can’t say why. What they do show is that tyre and brake items are among those recorded most often on their own. That holds at every age we looked at. See the most common MOT failures. Items recorded often on their own will also turn up together often.

Both parts wear with use, so mileage and age may play a part. The data doesn’t test that. It also doesn’t show whether the wear on one is linked to the wear on the other.

The leading pairs aren’t the same at every age. Here are the three commonest pairs we can name, at six ages.

On younger vehicles, tyres are in every one of the leading pairs. By age 12, suspension is in the top two. By age 15, brakes and suspension lead, at about 1 in 3 (31.8%) of the MOTs counted. The figures show the pattern, not the reason. This is MOT Wise analysis of DVSA MOT results, 2025.

The pairs aren’t a judgement on any one car. They describe what turns up together across MOTs in general. A car’s own MOT history shows which of its areas have come up^[3].

• One pair on its own can’t tell you what is wrong. At age 8, brakes and tyres is the commonest pair, so it turns up on many records. What matters is what each line says and what was done.
• The same area at two tests in a row is worth a question. It may be a different part each time, or the same one that wasn’t put right. Read the lines and ask what was done.
• Read the advisories as well as the fails. A car can pass with advisories on both brakes and tyres. Testers don’t have to add an advisory, so a record without any isn’t a clean bill of health^[4].
• Look at the lines either side. If brakes are on a record, look at the tyres and suspension lines too. At age 8, they are the areas most often recorded with brakes.

For how faults are graded, see minor, major and dangerous MOT faults. For the faults recorded most often on their own, see the most common MOT failures. For what a good record looks like, see what a good MOT history looks like.