Advisory notes are issues identified with your car during an MOT test that aren’t serious enough to warrant a failure, but do need to be looked at. Each MOT tester uses their discretion to decide what’s a failure and what isn’t, so it’s worth understanding what MOT advisory notes are and what they mean for you and your car.
What are MOT advisory notes?
An MOT tester can issue an advisory note about any element of your car they think needs attention, so it’s impossible to provide an exhaustive list. It could be anything from a loose mirror, stiff boot or signs of corrosion, so don’t be too concerned if you see lots of notes on your MOT certificate.
While you don’t need to fix advisory issues immediately, these are issues that you can’t ignore. An MOT test ensures that your car meets the minimum road safety standards. Advisory notes identify problems with your car that could affect its safety, smooth running and long-term life.
If you get the chance, chat with an MOT tester or mechanic to agree a suitable timeline for repairs. A worn tyre near its minimum limit should be changed as soon as possible, whereas a sticky boot strut is safe to leave a little longer.
Our advice is to identify the important issues and fix them first.
Low tread on your tyres is a common advisory note. The legal minimum tread of your tyres is 1.6mm, so if your tyres are close to this, you’ll get a warning note. Driving with low-tread is dangerous and against the law. Get caught you could face a fine and 3 points for each tyre under the limit.
Advisory notes are helpful reminders something is wrong. Ignore them for too long and small issues can develop into big problems, which could cause an MOT failure.
Continually ignoring advisory notes could also affect your car’s sale price. Failing to fix problems could put off potential buyers, so it’s safer and better to get them sorted as soon as possible.