What Does an MOT Advisory Actually Mean?
An MOT advisory means your car passed, but the tester noticed something that will need attention before long. It is not a failure, it does not need fixing immediately, and it does not affect the validity of your certificate.
What it is, is a warning with a timescale attached. Last year’s ignored advisory is very often this year’s failure — and by then it usually costs more, because the component has kept wearing.
The four categories, and where advisories sit
Every defect a tester records goes into one of four categories. Two are failures and two are not.
| Category | Result | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Dangerous | Fail | Direct and immediate risk to someone. The car must not be driven, even to another garage. |
| Major | Fail | Must be repaired before the car can pass. |
| Minor | Pass | A defect with no significant effect on safety. Recorded. Repair at your convenience. |
| Advisory | Pass | Not a defect yet, but heading that way. Monitor and repair before it becomes one. |
The practical difference between minor and advisory is subtle and most people do not need to worry about it. Minor means something is wrong but trivially so. Advisory means nothing is wrong yet, but it will be. Both let you drive away legally.
The advisories you see most often
“Brake pads wearing thin.” The most common of all. Pads start around 10–12mm and are replaced somewhere around 3mm. An advisory usually means roughly 3–4mm left — months of normal driving, or considerably less in city traffic. This one has a sting: if you leave pads until they grind, the backing plate scores the discs and you buy both instead of one, which roughly doubles the bill.
“Tyre worn close to the legal limit.” Above 1.6mm, so legal, but not by much. Worth acting on sooner than the law demands — wet braking distance deteriorates well before the legal minimum, and tread wears fastest in its final millimetre.
“Slight play in a steering or suspension joint.” A ball joint or track rod end starting to wear. Not dangerous yet. It will not improve, and it also knocks your alignment out, which quietly eats tyres.
“Corrosion, not excessive.” On brake lines, the exhaust or the underbody. This one is genuinely a time bomb on an older car, because corrosion accelerates. A brake line advisory in particular deserves attention — a corroded line that fails is a total loss of braking on that circuit.
“Oil leak, not excessive.” Something is weeping. Worth identifying the source, because a slow leak that reaches a rubber suspension bush or a drive belt causes a second problem.
“Windscreen damaged but not in the driver’s view.” A chip outside the critical zone. Chips spread, and a chip repaired is far cheaper than a screen replaced.
How urgent is an advisory really?
It depends entirely which one, and honest answers vary:
- Act soon (weeks): brake components, brake line corrosion, anything on steering or suspension joints, tyres near the limit.
- Plan for it (months): exhaust corrosion, a weeping shock absorber, general underbody corrosion.
- Monitor (next service): a minor oil weep, a windscreen chip outside the driver’s view, light surface corrosion.
An advisory left long enough becomes a failure, and then you are dealing with what happens after a failed MOT instead. If you are not sure which bucket yours falls into, ring a garage and read the wording out. It takes two minutes and the answer is usually clear.
Do advisories show up when you sell the car?
Yes, and this catches sellers out. Every MOT result including advisories goes onto the DVSA database and is publicly visible on GOV.UK against your registration, permanently. Any buyer can look it up in seconds.
That cuts both ways. A history showing advisories that were acted on straight away reads as a well-maintained car. The same advisory repeating for three years running tells a buyer the owner ignored things, and it is exactly the sort of detail people negotiate on.
How much does it cost to clear an advisory?
Almost always less than waiting. Typical Birmingham ranges:
| Advisory | Now | If left until it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Brake pads wearing | £120–£180 per axle | £200–£320 (pads plus scored discs) |
| Tyre near limit | £60–£120 per tyre | Same, plus a possible failure and retest |
| Slight joint play | £80–£200 | More, plus tyre wear from bad alignment |
| Windscreen chip | Chip repair | Full screen replacement |
When should you call a garage?
You do not need to do anything the day you get an advisory — that is the point of it being an advisory. What you should do is read it, understand it, and diary it, rather than filing the certificate and forgetting.
Ring a garage now if the advisory mentions brakes, brake lines, steering or suspension. Those are the ones where “it passed” and “it is fine” are not the same statement.
Bring the certificate to your next service and have the advisories checked then — that is the cheapest way to handle it, because the car is already on the ramp. If you are unsure, we are happy to look at an advisory list and tell you honestly what is urgent and what genuinely can wait. Ring us, or see how our MOT testing works — open seven days a week.
Frequently asked questions
Does an MOT advisory mean I failed?
No. An advisory means the car passed and the certificate is valid. The tester has noted something that is not a defect yet but will need attention before long. You can drive away legally and fix it when convenient — though some advisories deserve action sooner than others.
Do I have to fix an MOT advisory?
There is no legal requirement to. But last year's ignored advisory is very often this year's failure, and by then it usually costs more because the component has kept wearing. Brake pads advised at 3–4mm are a good example — left until they grind, the backing plate scores the discs and you buy both instead of one.
Can buyers see MOT advisories on my car?
Yes, permanently. Every MOT result including advisories goes onto the DVSA database and is publicly visible on GOV.UK against the registration. Any buyer can look it up in seconds. Advisories acted on promptly read well; the same one repeating for three years tells a buyer the car was neglected.
What is the difference between a minor defect and an advisory?
Both let you pass and drive away. A minor defect means something is genuinely wrong but has no significant effect on safety. An advisory means nothing is wrong yet, but a component is wearing and will become a problem. In practice most people can treat them the same way — note it and plan for it.
Which advisories should I act on quickly?
Anything mentioning brakes, brake line corrosion, steering or suspension joints, or tyres near the limit. Those are the ones where 'it passed' and 'it is fine' are not the same statement. Exhaust corrosion, a weeping damper or a windscreen chip outside the driver's view can generally wait for your next service.
Want us to take a look?
Ring us and describe what the car is doing. We’ll tell you what it’s likely to be and roughly what it will cost before you bring it in.