MOT advisory · manual section 5.2.3

Tyre valve stem slightly damaged

What this MOT advisory means, how often testers record it and what garages charge per hour. From 130,233,413 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

As an advisory, per 100 MOTs (n=130,233,413)0.052

Most often at24 years

Times recorded68,113

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 an advisory: the car passes its MOT, and the tester is warning about the part. An advisory is something the tester noticed that could become a defect later. The car passes its MOT. The advice is to monitor the part and repair it if it gets worse.

When it gets worse, the tester records it as a fail: Tyre valve stem seriously damaged.

Tyres are checked for tread depth, cuts, bulges, exposed cords and other damage. For a car, the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, around the whole tyre.

The tester fails the car when the part reaches the point the MOT inspection manual describes (section 5.2.3):

A tyre valve seriously damaged or misaligned likely to cause sudden deflation of the tyre

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
Advisory	Valve stem	slightly damaged (5.2.3)	68,113

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 24 years: 0.15 per 100 MOTs (n=428,815 tests at that age).

Per 100 MOT tests of cars at each age, all makes. We show no figure below 20 tests.
Age	Advisory per 100	Tests (n)
3 years	0.007	8,016,463
4 years	0.010	8,699,937
5 years	0.014	9,425,360
6 years	0.018	10,382,720
7 years	0.023	10,537,318
8 years	0.034	10,440,457
9 years	0.045	9,949,012
10 years	0.057	9,049,507
11 years	0.067	8,087,514
12 years	0.076	7,303,151
13 years	0.081	6,612,160
14 years	0.083	6,054,526
15 years	0.089	5,591,675
16 years	0.093	4,858,625
17 years	0.098	4,040,458
18 years	0.11	3,261,622
19 years	0.11	2,479,858
20 years	0.12	1,845,952
21 years	0.13	1,321,417
22 years	0.12	913,980
23 years	0.14	619,531
24 years	0.15	428,815
25 years	0.14	313,355

Repair and cost

We do not map this defect to one repair job, because the fix depends on the cause. Garages charge by the hour, so ask for a quote that lists labour time and parts.

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.

Related MOT defects

Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge18.0 per 100
Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing8.49 per 100
Tyre tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm2.40 per 100
Tyre has a cut but not deep enough to reach the ply or cords1.35 per 100
Tyre has ply or cords exposed1.34 per 100
Tyre has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords1.31 per 100
Tyre slightly damaged0.65 per 100
Tyre has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure0.56 per 100
Tyre has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure0.44 per 100
Tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative0.38 per 100

All axles, wheels, tyres and suspension defects All MOT defects Car repair costs

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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