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MOT failure item explained

“Tyre has ply or cords exposed”

Recorded on 1,652 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. It is a failure item. In 82% of cases here it was marked dangerous.

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Cars with it
1,652
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
6.5%
at least once
Recorded as
Dangerous
82% of 1,828 visits
Back next time
0.7%
of 1,476 follow-up visits

What it means

Under the rubber of a tyre are layers of cord that give it its strength. This entry means the tester could see those cords through a cut, a worn patch or a damaged area.

Under the current rules that is a dangerous defect, and the car cannot pass until the tyre has been replaced. A pass recorded shortly after the failed test shows the retest was done.

How it shows up in the records

Fail, marked dangerous 82%Fail 17%Fail, put right during the test 0.9%
0.7% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 0.7% of cases.
45,982 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 5 years old. From the 582 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

0.0%1971–734.9%1980–823.1%1983–853.5%1986–884.1%1989–914.1%1992–945.5%1995–975.1%1998–005.4%2001–039.8%2004–0612%2007–0912%2010–128.6%2013–155.9%2016–184.0%2019–211.6%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Volkswagen Passat15 of 5627%8.7%
Maserati GranTurismo26 of 9428%9.7%
Volkswagen Touran7 of 3023%8.7%
Mercedes-Benz E-class20 of 9721%7.0%
Ford C-MAX10 of 4721%9.0%
Jaguar XF6 of 3020%8.4%
BMW X58 of 4418%6.8%
Maserati Coupe6 of 3119%8.2%

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

  • Look at the whole tread and both sidewalls of every tyre, including the inner sidewalls, for any exposed fabric or wire.
  • Ask for the invoice for the replacement tyre and check its date against the test.
  • Compare the wear across each tyre. Cords showing on one edge while there is tread elsewhere is worth raising with the seller.
  • Read the later MOT tests for tyre entries on the same corner.

Cars checked here with this entry

Other tyres entries explained

Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edgeTyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishingTyre tread depth below requirements of 1.6mmTyre has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cordsTyre has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cordsTyre has a bulge caused by separation or partial failure of its structure

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.