A tyre fail is the most common way a car or van leaves an MOT with a Dangerous defect, and it is also the cheapest fail to put right. This guide covers cars and vans tested in classes 4 and 7, with a note on where motorcycles differ. In summary:
DVSA publishes MOT results by defect category every three months. The full 2025 to 2026 year for class 3 and 4 vehicles (cars and light vans up to 3,000kg) was published on 10 September 2026, and the tyre line reads like this: 6.23 percent of tests had at least one tyre defect, tyres were 12.94 percent of all defects recorded, and 4.47 percent of all tests had a Dangerous tyre defect. That last number is the one that matters. Across every category, Dangerous defects appeared on 7.22 percent of tests, so tyres alone account for 60.60 percent of every Dangerous line written in the year.
Put another way, on 33.3 million class 3 and 4 tests, roughly 1.49 million cars and light vans were declared dangerous to drive because of a tyre. Suspension is a bigger defect group overall (8.90 percent of tests) and lamps are bigger still (10.44 percent), but almost all of those are Major. Tyres are the category where the fail is most likely to be the serious kind.
| Class, 2025 to 2026 full year | Tests with a tyre defect | Tyres as share of all Dangerous defects | Overall initial failure rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classes 3 and 4 (cars, vans up to 3,000kg) | 6.23 percent | 60.60 percent | 27.51 percent |
| Class 7 (vans 3,000kg to 3,500kg) | 5.22 percent | 37.46 percent | 34.00 percent |
| Classes 1 and 2 (motorcycles) | 1.85 percent | 34.77 percent | 13.40 percent |
Class 7 vans fail more often overall, but their tyre share of Dangerous defects is lower because brakes and steering take a larger slice on heavier vehicles. Motorcycles have few tyre fails in total, yet when a bike does get a Dangerous line, a third of the time it is a tyre.
Section 5.2.3 of the DVSA inspection manual for cars and light commercial vehicles (updated 1 June 2026) lists the tyre defects and the category each one carries. Only the tyres fitted to the road wheels are inspected. A spare with a problem gets you a verbal warning, not a fail. The lines that produce most of the results in the MOT record are these.
| Manual reference | Defect as it appears on the certificate | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 5.2.3 (e) | Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements | Dangerous |
| 5.2.3 (d)(ii) | Tyre has a lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure, or cords exposed | Dangerous |
| 5.2.3 (j) | Tyre valve seriously damaged or misaligned, likely to cause sudden deflation | Dangerous |
| 5.2.3 (d)(i) | Tyre has a cut deep enough to reach the ply or cords | Major |
| 5.2.3 (b) | Tyres on the same axle are different sizes | Major |
| 5.2.3 (c) | Tyres on the same axle are of different structure (radial mixed with cross-ply) | Major |
| 5.2.3 (h) | Tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously not working | Major |
| 5.2.3 (i) | Tyre not fitted in compliance with the sidewall instructions (a directional tyre on backwards) | Major |
| 5.2.3 (f) | Tyre fouling a part of the vehicle at the time of test | Major |
| 5.2.3 (l) | Tyre obviously under-inflated | Minor |
Three things in the manual are worth knowing because garages rarely quote them. First, an asymmetric tyre fitted inside-out is not a fail. The tester should advise, and that is all. Second, a cut only fails if cord can be seen, or if a cut longer than 25mm or 10 percent of the section width lets the tester feel cord with a blunt tool. A surface cut with no cord showing passes. Third, there is no tyre age limit for cars, vans or motorcycles. The ten year rule introduced in February 2021 applies to the front steered axle of buses and coaches and to minibuses on single wheels. A twelve year old tyre on a low-mileage car passes if the tread and sidewall are sound, and it will usually collect a "cracking" or "perishing" advisory rather than a fail.
The TPMS line only applies to M1 passenger cars first used on or after 1 January 2012. A tyre pressure warning lamp that stays on because a tyre is simply low is not a fail on its own. A lamp that flashes and then stays on is the system telling the tester it has a fault, and that is the Major.
For cars, vans up to 3,500kg and light trailers, the primary grooves of the tread must be at least 1.6mm deep across the central three quarters of the tread width and around the whole circumference. The outer quarter on each side can be completely bald and the tyre still passes. Only the primary grooves count, meaning the ones that carry the tread wear indicator bars. Shallow decorative sipes are ignored. Motorcycles, vehicles with more than eight passenger seats and lorries have a 1.0mm limit instead, and a moped only needs a visible pattern.
Because the limit is measured at the shallowest point anywhere round the tyre, a tyre that reads 2mm at the top can still fail if a flat spot or a worn inside edge takes one section below 1.6mm. Inside edge wear from bad alignment is the classic surprise fail: the tyre looks fine from outside the car and is bald where nobody looks.
The category changes what you can do next. A Major fail on an in-date MOT can be driven to a garage for repair. A Dangerous fail cannot. GOV.UK is plain that driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition carries a fine of up to £2,500, three penalty points and a possible ban, and that applies per tyre. A car with two bald tyres is six points. In practice a Dangerous tyre fail means the tyre is changed where the car stands, either by the test station or by a mobile fitter called to the forecourt.
This is also why tyres are the fail that most often leads to a same-day pass. Most test stations fit tyres, the job takes twenty to thirty minutes per wheel, and the retest is free. Compare that with a brake fail, where brakes are not on the free retest list and a car taken away for repair pays for a partial retest on return.
Tyre prices are set by size and brand tier far more than by the garage. The figures below are from the Checkatrade tyre change cost guide, last updated June 2026, and cover a standard car size fitted at a garage.
| Item | Typical 2026 range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Budget tyre, supplied and fitted | £45 to £70 per tyre | Checkatrade, June 2026 |
| Mid-range tyre, supplied and fitted | £75 to £120 per tyre | Checkatrade, June 2026 |
| Premium tyre, supplied and fitted | £220 to £1,200 per tyre (large wheels and performance cars at the top end) | Checkatrade, June 2026 |
| Wheel balancing | £7 to £15 per wheel | Checkatrade, June 2026 |
| Puncture repair (tread area only) | around £40 | Checkatrade, June 2026 |
| Set of four winter tyres | £600 to £800 | Checkatrade, June 2026 |
| Partial retest for a tyre, returned next working day | £0 | GOV.UK, retest after a repair |
So the realistic bill for the most common tyre fail, one tyre below 1.6mm on a normal family car, is £85 to £135 for a mid-range tyre with balancing, or £55 to £85 on a budget tyre. A pair on the same axle is double that. Van tyres in 15 and 16 inch commercial sizes sit at the upper end of the mid-range band because of the higher load rating, and a class 7 van with two worn rears should budget £220 to £300.
The one cost that is easy to miss is alignment. If the tyre failed on inside-edge wear, fitting a new tyre without correcting the alignment means the new one wears the same way. Alignment is not part of the MOT and is not needed for the retest, but it is the difference between a tyre lasting the 20,000 to 30,000 miles Checkatrade quotes as normal and one that is back at the legal limit within the year.
GOV.UK lists the items that qualify for a free partial retest if the vehicle goes back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day. "Wheels and tyres (excluding motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecar)" is on that list, and so is "tyre pressure monitoring system". That gives you three routes after a tyre fail.
Come back between the second and the tenth working day and the station may charge a partial retest fee. After ten working days it is a full test at the full fee. Motorcycle tyres are the exception throughout: a bike tyre fail is either repaired on site or pays for a partial retest on return.
A tyre fail is where garages most often sell more than the test requires. The manual only requires tyres on the same axle to match in size and structure. It does not require them to match in brand, tread pattern or wear, and it says nothing at all about the other axle. Replacing one tyre is legal and passes the test. Four new tyres because one failed is a choice, not a requirement, although keeping a pair matched on the driven axle is sensible on any car and on all-wheel-drive cars it is usually specified by the maker.
You also do not need a premium tyre to pass. A budget tyre with 8mm of tread passes exactly as a £250 tyre does. Where premium tyres earn their money is wet braking and lifespan, which is a running cost decision rather than an MOT one. Part-worn tyres are legal but must have at least 2mm of tread and be marked "part worn", and you have no way of knowing how they were stored or how old they are. On a £50 saving that is a poor trade.
Finally, nitrogen inflation, tyre sealant top-ups and "tyre protection" plans do nothing for the test. Correct pressure, checked monthly, is the whole of the maintenance the MOT cares about.
For a buyer, the tyre section of an MOT history is less about the tyres, which the seller will usually have replaced, and more about how the car was run. Pull the record at MOT Check UK and look for these patterns.
If you are choosing between two cars, the side-by-side comparison puts both records next to each other so a pattern of tyre advisories on one and none on the other stands out straight away.
A tyre fail is serious on the certificate and cheap on the invoice. It is the most likely reason a car or van is declared dangerous at its MOT, six in every ten Dangerous lines in 2025 to 2026, and yet one mid-range tyre fitted and balanced is around £100 and the retest is free if you sort it by the next working day. Fix the tyre that failed, fix the alignment if the wear was on one edge, and ignore anyone telling you the test requires four. For a buyer, a single tyre fail in a car's history means nothing. Repeated "close to the limit" advisories mean the seller ran the car to the wire, and that is worth knowing before you agree a price.
Figures in this guide: DVSA MOT testing data for Great Britain, initial failures by defect category for classes 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 7, 2025 to 2026 total, published 10 September 2026, and MOT test results by class of vehicle for the same period. DVSA MOT inspection manual for private passenger and light commercial vehicles, section 5.2.3, updated 1 June 2026. GOV.UK pages "Getting an MOT: retest after a repair" and "Check your vehicle is safe to drive". Checkatrade tyre change cost guide, updated June 2026.
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