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MOT advisory explained

“Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement”

Recorded on 2,955 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. Every time it was an advisory.

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Cars with it
2,955
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
12%
at least once
Recorded as
Advisory
100% of 4,482 visits
Back next time
29%
of 3,504 follow-up visits

What it means

A suspension arm is held to the car by pins and rubber bushes. This note means the tester found wear in one of them, and that the movement it allowed was still inside the limit set by the test.

That is why it is written up as an advisory, which does not fail the car by itself. If the same joint is later found to move excessively, it is recorded as a major defect and the car fails until it is repaired.

How it shows up in the records

Advisory 100%
29% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 29% of cases.
59,720 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 7 years old. From the 911 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

1.7%1971–733.7%1980–821.6%1983–852.2%1986–884.1%1989–913.3%1992–945.5%1995–974.9%1998–0012%2001–0315%2004–0623%2007–0925%2010–1219%2013–1511%2016–183.4%2019–211.0%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Suzuki Alto20 of 2387%22%
Nissan Micra60 of 11552%16%
Mercedes-Benz SLK10 of 2050%19%
Nissan Note37 of 7649%20%
Audi Q521 of 5240%13%
Skoda Fabia31 of 7342%16%
Audi A437 of 9141%14%
Volkswagen Beetle10 of 2343%18%

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

  • Read the car's later MOT tests. See whether the note came back, stopped appearing, or turned into a failure.
  • Ask the seller for an invoice showing a suspension arm or bush replaced after the date of the advisory.
  • On a test drive, listen for knocking over bumps and check that the car tracks straight on a level road.
  • Look across the tread of the front tyres for wear that is heavier on one edge.

Cars checked here with this entry

Other suspension entries explained

Coil spring fractured or brokenShock absorbers has light misting of oilCoil spring corrodedSuspension arm ball joint excessively wornSuspension arm ball joint has slight playAnti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirtAnti-roll bar linkage ball joint has slight playShock absorbers has a serious fluid leakSuspension arm ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated

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.