Guidance

Axles, wheels, tyres, suspension and chassis frame and attachments

Updated 26 February 2019

This guidance was withdrawn on

This guidance was published to help MOT testers prepare for changes made to the MOT test on 20 May 2018.

The guidance is no longer current. It is not being updated.

Check the MOT inspection manual for cars and passenger vehicles or MOT inspection manual for motorcycles for the current testing standards.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-changes-from-may-2018-guidance-for-mot-testers/axles-wheels-tyres-suspension-and-chassis-frame-and-attachments

Overview

This guide summarises some of the main changes to axles, wheels, tyres, suspension and chassis frame and attachments when the MOT changed on 20 May 2018.

This isn’t a full list of all the changes in the MOT inspection manual. Check the manual if you find a defect and aren’t sure if you need to test the item.

1. Axles, wheels, tyres and suspension

There are few changes in this section of the MOT inspection manual that you must know about.

New failures

There are new failures for:

  • under-inflated tyres (mark this as a ‘minor’ defect)
  • missing springs on vehicles that have been modified to run on the bump stops

Other information you must know

Checks for tyre structure between axles removed

You’re no longer required to check for tyre structure between axles. You should still check that they are the same across the axle.

Stretched tyres

You can’t fail a tyre because it’s stretched. You need to take care to check their condition, especially for sidewall damage.

Tyre tables

The tyre tables have moved to appendix B of the manual.

2. Chassis frames and attachments

Overview

There are quite a lot of changes in this section.

New failures

There are new failures for:

  • missing shields on:
    • fuel tank
    • exhaust
  • any part of a gas fuel system being defective
  • bumper security
  • spare wheel carrier condition
  • towbar safety devices and coupling indicators
  • cab security
  • floor condition
  • seat structure condition
  • cab steps
  • footrests and handgrips (where fitted)
  • significant reduced rigidity of the vehicle’s structure
  • exhaust fumes entering cabin (extended to all vehicles)

Other information you must know

New inspection checks

There are new inspection checks that you need to carry out on:

  • strengthening plates and fastenings
  • drive shafts (extended to all transmission shafts, including prop shafts)
  • drive belts and chains
  • body condition now includes:
    • unsafe modifications
    • component security

Fuel tanks

Information has been added to the manual about fuel tanks holed above the fuel line.

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