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MOT advisory explained

“Brake pad(s) wearing thin”

Recorded on 7,344 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. It was an advisory 100.0% of the time.

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Cars with it
7,344
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
29%
at least once
Recorded as
Advisory
100.0% of 10,821 visits
Back next time
12%
of 9,107 follow-up visits

What it means

Brake pads have a layer of friction material that wears away in use. This note means the tester saw pads that were getting thin but still had more than the 1.5 mm minimum.

It is an advisory. Pads found below 1.5 mm are recorded as a failure.

How it shows up in the records

Advisory 100.0%Fail, marked dangerous 0.0%
12% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 12% of cases.
43,594 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 5 years old. From the 3,107 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

3.4%1971–736.1%1980–827.1%1983–859.2%1986–8812%1989–9114%1992–9419%1995–9719%1998–0027%2001–0337%2004–0643%2007–0944%2010–1241%2013–1535%2016–1819%2019–214.1%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Ford Mondeo29 of 4073%38%
Ford C-MAX35 of 4774%41%
Land Rover Discovery Sport30 of 4961%30%
Volvo XC6030 of 5159%28%
Vauxhall Insignia45 of 6668%38%
Jaguar XF20 of 3067%38%
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque40 of 6859%31%
Nissan X-Trail23 of 3959%31%

Models with 20 or more cars checked here. “Same-age cars” is the share among all checked cars built in the same years, so an older model is compared with older cars.

What to check before you buy

  • Ask for an invoice showing the pads replaced after the date of the advisory.
  • Look through the wheel spokes at the pad where it meets the disc. A few millimetres of material should be visible.
  • On a test drive, listen for grinding or a metallic scraping when braking.
  • Read the later MOT tests to see whether the note came back or became a failure.

Cars checked here with this entry

Other brakes entries explained

Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakenedBrake pad(s) less than 1.5 mm thickBrake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other materialParking brake efficiency below requirementsBrake disc worn, but not excessivelyService brake binding but not excessivelyService brake excessively bindingBrakes imbalanced across an axleService brake fluctuating but not excessively

Checking a car with this on its MOT?

Repair costs depend on the car, so this page does not quote one. Enter the plate and the free report estimates them for that car, alongside every test and advisory on its record.

Check a car’s MOT history

Counts are of cars checked on this site, from official public records. Updated 19 Sept 2026 · figures as of 4 Oct 2026. All MOT entries explained.