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MOT failure item explained

“Stop lamp not working”

Recorded on 1,895 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. It is a failure item. In 40% of cases it was put right during the test.

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Cars with it
1,895
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
7.5%
at least once
Recorded as
Fail
59% of 2,557 visits
Back next time
5.4%
of 2,130 follow-up visits

What it means

The stop lamps are checked with the brake pedal pressed. This entry means a stop lamp did not light.

It is a failure item, and the car cannot pass until the lamp works. The record often shows it as put right during the test.

How it shows up in the records

Fail 59%Fail, put right during the test 40%Fail, marked dangerous 0.7%Advisory 0.4%
5.4% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 5.4% of cases.
54,994 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 7 years old. From the 291 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

12%1971–7311%1980–8211%1983–858.8%1986–8815%1989–9117%1992–9415%1995–9713%1998–0014%2001–0316%2004–0618%2007–0913%2010–128.5%2013–153.6%2016–181.1%2019–210.2%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Suzuki Alto11 of 2348%13%
Peugeot Partner19 of 5634%5.3%
Renault Megane13 of 3735%8.4%
Ford Fiesta166 of 48734%8.6%
Citroen Berlingo21 of 6930%6.3%
Land Rover Defender16 of 5529%9.3%
Peugeot 2078 of 2335%15%
Volkswagen Beetle7 of 2330%12%

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

  • Have someone press the brake pedal while you stand behind the car. All stop lamps, including the high-level one, should light together.
  • Check the other rear lamps at the same time, with the sidelights and indicators on.
  • Confirm the pass that followed, or that the record shows the item was put right during the 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 sourcesHeadlamp not working on dipped beamHeadlamp 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?

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.