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MOT failure item explained

“Headlamp not working on dipped beam”

Recorded on 1,513 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. It is a failure item. In 38% of cases it was put right during the test.

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Cars with it
1,513
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
6.0%
at least once
Recorded as
Fail
62% of 1,817 visits
Back next time
2.6%
of 1,466 follow-up visits

What it means

Dipped beam is the headlamp setting used in normal night driving. This entry means a headlamp did not light on dipped beam during the test.

It is a failure item. The car cannot pass until it works, and the record shows it as put right during the test when the tester saw it fixed on the day.

How it shows up in the records

Fail 62%Fail, put right during the test 38%Fail, marked dangerous 0.3%
2.6% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 2.6% of cases.
63,972 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 7 years old. From the 325 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

16%1971–737.3%1980–8211%1983–857.5%1986–8812%1989–917.4%1992–9411%1995–977.4%1998–009.2%2001–039.0%2004–0611%2007–0911%2010–128.3%2013–153.6%2016–181.5%2019–210.3%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Peugeot 20710 of 2343%11%
Peugeot Partner15 of 5627%4.7%
Renault Megane9 of 3724%6.9%
Volkswagen Beetle6 of 2326%9.2%
Ford Transit Connect11 of 5420%4.8%
Citroen Berlingo14 of 6920%5.4%
Peugeot 20818 of 10817%4.7%
Mercedes-Benz Vito6 of 3418%6.1%

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

  • Switch on dipped beam and check that both headlamps light with a similar colour and brightness.
  • Switch to main beam as well, and try the indicators and sidelights while you are there.
  • If a bulb was replaced, ask whether it was the type specified for the lamp unit.
  • Confirm the pass that followed the failed test.

Cars checked here with this entry

Other lighting entries explained

Position lamp not workingHeadlamp aim too lowRegistration plate lamp inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sourcesStop lamp not workingHeadlamp aim too highRegistration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lampsHeadlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect

Checking a car with this on its MOT?

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Check a car’s MOT history

Counts are of cars checked on this site, from official public records. Updated 22 Sept 2026 · figures as of 4 Oct 2026. All MOT entries explained.