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MOT failure item explained

“Tyre tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”

Recorded on 2,971 of the 25,257 cars checked on this site. It is a failure item. In 68% of cases here it was marked dangerous.

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Cars with it
2,971
of 25,257 checked
Share of cars
12%
at least once
Recorded as
Dangerous
68% of 3,581 visits
Back next time
1.7%
of 2,939 follow-up visits

What it means

The tester measured a tyre with less than the legal 1.6 mm of tread. Under the current rules that is a dangerous defect, and records from before May 2018 show it as a fail. 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 68%Fail 30%Fail, put right during the test 2.5%
1.7% came back
The same entry, on the same part of the car, was recorded again at the next test in 1.7% of cases.
49,900 miles
Median recorded mileage when it first appeared, on cars a median of 5 years old. From the 931 cars whose whole MOT history is recent enough to compare.

Share of cars with this entry, by year of manufacture

6.9%1971–7311%1980–825.5%1983–859.2%1986–8811%1989–915.4%1992–9414%1995–9715%1998–0018%2001–0317%2004–0621%2007–0920%2010–1215%2013–1510%2016–185.1%2019–212.3%2022–24

Models where it is recorded most

ModelCars with itShareSame-age cars
Peugeot 10717 of 3549%20%
Ford Mondeo17 of 4043%15%
Fiat Punto10 of 2245%19%
Mercedes-Benz S-class7 of 2035%12%
Mercedes-Benz SLK8 of 2040%18%
Suzuki Alto9 of 2339%19%
SEAT Ibiza18 of 5931%12%
Lexus IS8 of 2335%16%

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

  • Find the failed test in the car's history and the pass that followed it, and note how many days apart they were.
  • Ask for the tyre invoice and check that the tyres on the car now match it.
  • Look through the other years of the history for the same failure on other corners.
  • Measure the tread on all four tyres yourself.

Cars checked here with this entry

Other tyres entries explained

Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edgeTyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishingTyre has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cordsTyre has ply or cords exposedTyre 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 19 Sept 2026 · figures as of 4 Oct 2026. All MOT entries explained.