MOT fail · manual section 1.2.1

Service brake imbalance across an axle

What this MOT fail means, how often testers record it and what the usual repair costs. From 130,233,413 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

As a fail, per 100 MOTs (n=130,233,413)0.47

Most often at25 years

Times recorded608,863

Times recorded adds every DVSA code with this wording, so a test can record it more than once, for example on two wheels under separate codes.

What it means

This is a major defect: the car fails its MOT. A major defect may affect the car’s safety, put other road users at risk or harm the environment. The car fails its MOT and the defect must be repaired.

Before it reaches this point, testers often record it as an advisory: Service brake imbalance requirements only just met. It would appear that the braking system requires adjustment or repair.

The tester checks the pads, discs, drums, pipes, hoses and warning lamps, and measures the braking effort at each wheel. Wear and corrosion build up gradually, so brake items often appear as advisories before they become fails.

The MOT inspection manual describes the defect (section 1.2.1) as:

Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.

Read this section of the MOT inspection manual on GOV.UK

The DVSA codes counted on this page: the manual item and the defect text as DVSA records them. The heading above joins the two, as a certificate does; the tester also adds the position, such as nearside front.
Result	Manual item	DVSA defect text	Records
Fail Major	Service brake imbalance	across an axle (1.2.1)	608,863

Got an MOT advisory or defect on a certificate? Paste it into the MOT advisory checker to see what it means.

How common it is by age

Testers record it most at 25 years: 2.02 per 100 MOTs (n=313,355 tests at that age).

Per 100 MOT tests of cars at each age, all makes. We show no figure below 20 tests.
Age	Fail per 100	Tests (n)
3 years	0.045	8,016,463
4 years	0.061	8,699,937
5 years	0.084	9,425,360
6 years	0.11	10,382,720
7 years	0.16	10,537,318
8 years	0.22	10,440,457
9 years	0.31	9,949,012
10 years	0.39	9,049,507
11 years	0.48	8,087,514
12 years	0.57	7,303,151
13 years	0.70	6,612,160
14 years	0.81	6,054,526
15 years	0.89	5,591,675
16 years	0.97	4,858,625
17 years	1.03	4,040,458
18 years	1.12	3,261,622
19 years	1.28	2,479,858
20 years	1.45	1,845,952
21 years	1.63	1,321,417
22 years	1.79	913,980
23 years	1.92	619,531
24 years	1.94	428,815
25 years	2.02	313,355

Models that get it most

Each model generation is compared with cars of the same ages and fuel, so older and diesel models are not penalised for their age or fuel. Generations are never pooled.

Model generations with the highest rate as a fail, against cars of the same ages and fuel. A model’s figure counts this defect only at ages where it is among that model’s 25 most recorded items, and as zero elsewhere, so it is a floor. Tests (n) are all the generation’s MOT tests at ages with at least 1,000 tests each; at least 5,000 in total.
Model	Per 100 MOTs, at least	Same ages and fuel	Times as often	Tests (n)	Ages
Chevrolet SparkChevrolet Spark brake imbalance repair Chevrolet Spark brake problems	3.32	0.66	5.0	59,796	9 to 15
LDV MaxusLDV Maxus brake problems	4.65	0.95	4.8	7,916	15 to 18
Chevrolet MatizChevrolet Matiz brake problems	4.48	0.98	4.5	44,172	12 to 19
Peugeot 106Peugeot 106 brake problems	6.07	1.73	3.5	16,165	20 to 25
Citroen SaxoCitroen Saxo brake problems	5.46	1.61	3.3	14,904	19 to 24
Nissan NV200Nissan NV200 brake imbalance repair Nissan NV200 brake problems	0.91	0.28	3.2	122,396	3 to 15
Nissan NavaraNissan Navara brake imbalance repair Nissan Navara brake problems	1.00	0.34	2.9	286,820	3 to 21
Suzuki JimnySuzuki Jimny brake imbalance repair Suzuki Jimny brake problems	2.52	0.91	2.7	98,308	3 to 25
Hyundai CoupeHyundai Coupe brake problems	2.17	1.04	2.0	24,661	13 to 20
Toyota Starlet	3.84	1.88	2.0	5,075	24 to 25
Toyota HiluxToyota Hilux brake imbalance repair Toyota Hilux brake problems	0.91	0.46	1.9	278,401	3 to 25
Chevrolet AveoChevrolet Aveo brake problems	1.50	0.76	1.9	36,812	9 to 16
Suzuki Ignisfirst used before 2016	2.31	1.24	1.8	25,857	15 to 22
Rover MiniRover Mini brake problems	3.26	1.84	1.7	10,824	22 to 25
Ford EscortFord Escort brake problems	3.52	2.00	1.7	6,428	22 to 25
SEAT ArosaSEAT Arosa brake problems	2.55	1.48	1.7	6,188	19 to 22
Suzuki Wagon R+	2.31	1.38	1.6	32,729	16 to 24
Audi A2Audi A2 brake problems	2.65	1.60	1.6	27,619	17 to 24
Peugeot 406Peugeot 406 brake problems	2.84	1.85	1.5	13,073	19 to 25
Chevrolet KalosChevrolet Kalos brake problems	1.58	1.03	1.5	9,354	15 to 18

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

Repair and cost

The usual repair is brake imbalance repair.

No public source records the price of this whole job, and the time it takes varies from car to car, so we do not publish a single figure. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts. The rates below are what UK garages charge per hour.

Local garage labour, per hour (65 shops)£78

Local garage, middle half£70 to £96

Main dealer labour, per hour (62 shops)£156

Main dealer, middle half£144 to £174

Median hourly rate charged for car repairs, from 1,058 local garage and 953 main dealer price quotes collected by the ONS, September 2025 to August 2026. The same shops are priced each month, so the number of shops is the real sample.

Brake imbalance repair: cost and the models that need it more often

Related MOT defects

Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened8.74 per 100
Brake pad(s) wearing thin7.61 per 100
Brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material3.80 per 100
Brake disc worn, but not excessively2.30 per 100
Brake pad(s) less than 1.5 mm thick1.85 per 100
Service brake binding but not excessively1.59 per 100
Parking brake efficiency below requirements1.14 per 100
Service brake excessively binding0.82 per 100
Flexible brake hose has slight corrosion to ferrule0.78 per 100
Service brake fluctuating, but not excessively0.69 per 100

All brakes defects All MOT defects Car repair costs

Buying a used car?

These figures describe all cars, not any one car. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report would tell you.

See an example report MOT fail rates by model All free tools

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025, and the MOT inspection manual published on GOV.UK. Prices: ONS consumer price inflation price quotes, September 2025 to August 2026, UK.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026. Prices updated 22 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA or the Office for National Statistics. How we calculate these figures · Data sources