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MOT advisory explained

“Play in steering rack joint”

Recorded on 882 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. It was an advisory 99.3% of the time.

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Cars with it
882
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
3.5%
at least once
Recorded as
Advisory
99.3% of 1,371 visits
Back next time
30%
of 1,036 follow-up visits

What it means

The steering rack moves the track rods that turn the front wheels. This note means the tester felt a small amount of play in a joint on the steering rack, usually where a track rod joins it, less than the amount that fails.

It is an advisory, which does not fail the car by itself. Excessive play in a steering joint is recorded as a failure.

How it shows up in the records

Advisory 99.3%Fail, marked dangerous 0.7%
30% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 30% of cases.
70,711 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 8 years old. From the 177 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

3.4%1971–731.2%1980–821.6%1983–853.1%1986–884.4%1989–917.9%1992–943.6%1995–975.4%1998–005.5%2001–036.7%2004–067.0%2007–097.2%2010–124.7%2013–152.0%2016–180.7%2019–210.0%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter21 of 7727%2.8%
Volkswagen Up11 of 7515%4.0%
Land Rover Discovery9 of 7312%4.1%
Lotus Elan11 of 8813%5.2%
Mazda 29 of 8111%4.0%
Renault Clio13 of 12410%3.8%
BMW 3 Series22 of 21010%4.2%
Ford Fiesta50 of 48710%4.3%

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

  • With the engine running and the car stationary, rock the steering wheel gently from side to side and feel for free movement before the wheels respond.
  • On a test drive, notice whether the car wanders or needs constant small corrections at speed.
  • Ask whether any steering parts have been replaced since the test, and for the invoice.
  • Read the later MOT tests for steering entries.

Cars checked here with this entry

Other steering entries explained

Track rod end ball joint has excessive playTrack rod end ball joint has slight playTrack rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated but preventing the ingress of dirt

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 22 Sept 2026 · figures as of 4 Oct 2026. All MOT entries explained.