Brakes and tyres the most common ‘dangerous defects’ identified in MOT

With the government’s controversial consultation on delaying MOT testing underway, new analysis has found that nearly one in 10 (8 per cent) fail the test due to dangerous defects, with unreliable brakes and worn tires the most common. common problems.

According to the RAC, the latest data show that every year about 7.3 million vehicles on our roads fail their MOT, although about 2.4 million of these are cars and vans with dangerous problems, most of them related to the brakes and tires .

The report comes days after the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said the Department for Transport’s plans to delay the first MOT tests from year three to fourth and then hold its annual test biennial would lead to an increase in the number of electric vehicles on the road with dangerously damaged and worn tires.

The automotive group has analyzed the latest MOT registrations from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) showing that lamps, reflectors and indicators are still the most common reasons why vehicles fail their MOT.

Lighting issues accounted for just over a quarter (25.5 percent) of all MOT failures in the 12 months to March 2022, while faulty or broken suspensions accounted for just under a fifth (18.3 percent) of all failures.

Problems with brakes (17 percent) and tires (12 percent) were the third and fourth biggest reasons for an MOT error, with poor visibility – likely cracks in the windscreens – affecting the top five laps, accounting for just 8.7 percent of all APK inspections failures.

However, brake and tire issues identified by MOT stations are the main concern for the RAC, as these are the most common ‘dangerous defects’ that result in vehicles automatically failing the test.

While a third of all initial MOTs of cars, vans and small passenger cars resulted in failure and mean drivers have to resort to remedial repair work, alarmingly nearly one in 10 tests results in a failure with at least one dangerous defect found.

In these most serious cases, where a researcher states that a vehicle cannot be driven until that defect is repaired, brakes and tires are responsible for 88 percent of all such failures, highlighting the importance of routine checks for these items by drivers. to be carried out.

While the top causes of MOT breakdowns have remained consistent over many years, the share of tire breakdowns has increased slightly from 10 percent in 2018/19 to 12 percent in 2021/22.

And road casualty data shows that brakes and tires are the failures most often linked to serious injuries and deaths in the UK.

The latest figures from the DfT show that 26 people were killed in accidents in Britain in 2021, with vehicle breakdown being a contributing factor.

While brake failures were by far the most common type of failure – with a total of 750 casualties in 2021 and one of the causes of 10 fatalities – tires were the second most common failure associated with accidents and were among the contributing factors in 491 injuries.

And worn and under-inflated tires were most often linked to vehicle breakdown and the cause of road death, with 12 people needlessly killed in collisions with vehicles using worn-out or illegal rubber.

The RAC’s report comes as the government is currently in talks with experts and the automotive industry about renewing MOTs – a process to be completed next week (March 22) before the DfT makes a decision to proceed with proposed changes.

All cars and vans would receive their first MOT after four years instead of three years, and the annual inspection would be extended to every two years.

Ministers say it will help save drivers £100 million a year and bring Britain in line with other European countries – namely Denmark, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal – where these longer periods between roadworthiness tests are already in place.

It could lead to the biggest shake-up of MOTs in decades, although more than half of drivers surveyed by the RAC (55 per cent) said extending checks was a bad idea.

RAC Chief of Road Administration Nicholas Lyes said: ‘Many drivers are afraid to bring their vehicle in for its annual MOT for fear that they will eventually have to spend a lot of money on repairs to get it through. This is undoubtedly the case for an unlucky third of owners whose car initially fails the MOT.

Drivers should never ignore the warning lights on the dashboard, as they could endanger themselves or others and cost themselves a lot of money with a higher repair bill than necessary if they had acted immediately.

“Moreover, routine maintenance helps reduce the chance of a vehicle failing the MOT as it includes many important basic checks.”

The MOT has been in force across the UK since 1960 and has been expanded over the years to include additional checks such as vehicle emissions being added to the list of items to check in 2018.

In 2021/22, emissions failures accounted for 5 percent of all failures combined with noise and leakage failures.

It also underwent a major change in May 2018 with the transition from a simple pass or fail with advisories to a new five-category system.

Failures were split into two classes: major and dangerous, while three pass categories were introduced: pass; pass with minor flaws; and a pass with advice.

Safety of tires fitted to electric cars is a concern for IMI

The IMI has carried out its own MOT study and believes that delaying the first test for new cars would not only be ‘detrimental to road safety as a whole’, but above all ‘pose a significant risk to consumer confidence in electric vehicles’ .

The main concern with electric cars is the higher MOT failure rate than petrol cars, and the main reason for failing the test is tire failure.

The institute says this is because electric cars are heavier and have more torque and faster acceleration, which causes rubber to wear out more quickly.

The combined effect is faster tire wear than equivalent petrol or diesel models, it says.

However, tire manufacturers dispute this suggestion, claiming that they often outlast tires fitted to internal combustion engine cars. This is due to their different connections and structures, which are specifically designed around the increased weight of the vehicles.

Still, the institute points to data from the Department for Transport showing that electric cars have a higher failure rate than petrol cars from 2012 – and this is mainly due to tire problems.

The latest data (2021) shows that 11.51 percent of electric cars that undergo their first MOT are disapproved.

This is lower than diesel cars being tested for the first time (15.98 percent), but higher than petrol cars (10.89 percent).

Analysis shows that 46 percent of initial breakdowns for electric cars are related to the poor condition of their rubber.

For petrol and diesel models, tires are the first defect in only 32 percent and 29 percent of MOT inspections respectively.

The IMI believes that if EV tires go unchecked for another year, these cars are likely to pose a greater threat on the road, especially to more vulnerable users.

Lyes added: “With over 7.3 million small passenger cars initially failing their MOT, and worryingly about 2.4 million of these failures with at least one dangerous defect, the idea of easing inspections could very well result in making our roads much better. dangerous with the increasing number of immobile vehicles.

“We hope the government has finally dismissed such an idea.”