Will a tyre pressure warning light fail an MOT?

On vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2012, yes. A monitoring system that is obviously inoperative, or clearly indicating a malfunction, is a major defect, and the lamp being lit for a system fault is enough on its own whatever the pressures actually are. A lamp warning of genuinely low pressure is a different thing.

Does the MOT check tyre pressure monitoring on older cars?

No. The requirement applies only to vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2012, so on anything registered before that the system is not a test item and an older car retrofitted with one cannot fail on it. A vehicle that never had a system is not a defect either, because the test only assesses what is fitted.

How do I reset the tyre pressure warning light?

Set all four pressures accurately while the tyres are cold, using the figures on the door plate, then carry out the reset or relearn described in the handbook. That is often a button or a menu item, and sometimes a short drive above a set speed. Done yourself it is free, and it clears a good share of warnings.

Can TPMS sensor batteries be replaced?

No. The sensors are sealed units with the battery built in, they last roughly five to ten years, and replacing the whole sensor is the only option once one goes flat. This is also why a separate set of winter or aftermarket wheels needs its own sensors fitted and coded to the car rather than swapped over each time.

How much does it cost to replace a TPMS sensor?

A sensor is £30 to £90 for the part, plus getting the tyre off and back on and programming it to the car, which puts most single-wheel jobs at £60 to £150. A full set of four, the usual scenario at eight to ten years old, is £250 to £450. A workshop reset on its own is £20 to £40.

MOT defect file

Tyre pressure monitoring system inoperative

Last updated 27 July 2026

Quick answer

The tyre pressure monitoring system is not working, or is reporting a fault. On vehicles first used from 1 January 2012 that is a failure in its own right, whatever the actual pressures are.

Typical cost: £60–£150 per wheel
DIY viability: Possible with care

A testable malfunction indicator that stays illuminated with the engine running records a system fault. The exact symbol varies by vehicle, but ABS, SRS, electronic power steering, ESC, engine management, brake-system and tyre-pressure warnings must not be ignored.

What you might notice

The horseshoe-shaped warning symbol with an exclamation mark inside it staying lit after you set off
A pressure display showing dashes, blanks or an implausible figure for one wheel
Warnings that only started after a puncture repair, a set of winter wheels, or a new battery
A system that gives no reading at all and no warning either, which is a fault the tester will find and you will not

What causes it

A flat sensor battery — they are sealed units, last roughly five to ten years, and cannot be replaced separately
Aftermarket or winter wheels fitted with no sensors in them, or with sensors never coded to the car
A sensor damaged or its stem corroded during a tyre change, which is the commonest workshop cause
On an indirect system, a relearn procedure never carried out after tyres were replaced or pressures reset

Advisory or failure?

This applies only to vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2012. On those, a tyre pressure monitoring system that is obviously inoperative, or that is clearly indicating a malfunction, is a major defect and a failure — the warning lamp being lit for a system fault is enough on its own, regardless of what the pressures actually are. On a vehicle first used before that date the system is not a test item at all, so an older car retrofitted with one cannot fail on it. Two distinctions are worth holding onto. A lamp warning of genuinely low pressure is not the same as a lamp reporting a system fault, and correcting the pressures and letting the system reset clears the first but not the second. And a missing system on a vehicle that never had one is not a defect; the test only assesses what is fitted.

Can you fix it yourself?

Possible with care

Start with the free half of the job, because it resolves a good share of warnings: set all four pressures accurately when cold to the figures on the door plate, check the spare if it is a full-size one on a sensor-equipped car, then carry out the reset or relearn from the handbook — often a button or a menu item, sometimes a short drive above a set speed. What you cannot do at home is replace a sensor: the tyre has to come off the rim and the new sensor usually has to be programmed to the car with a TPMS tool. If you run a separate set of winter or summer wheels, have sensors fitted and coded to both sets rather than swapping them over each time.

What it costs

A reset or relearn is free if you do it yourself and £20 to £40 as a workshop operation. A replacement sensor is £30 to £90 for the part, plus the tyre off and back on and programming, which lands most single-wheel jobs at £60 to £150. A full set of four on a car whose sensor batteries have all reached the end of their life together is £250 to £450, and that is the usual scenario at eight to ten years old. Universal programmable sensors are cheaper than manufacturer parts and work well on most cars, but insist on ones your garage can code and check they hold their coding before you leave.

What happens if you ignore it

The system exists because most drivers cannot feel a slowly deflating tyre until the handling has already gone, and under-inflation is what turns an ordinary tyre into a structural failure at speed. Ignoring the warning also means ignoring whatever it was going to tell you next — a nail picked up on a Tuesday goes unreported until the shoulder has worn away. It is a straight MOT failure on any car first used from 2012, so it is not a warning you can decide to live with, and the retest costs more than the reset would have.

Common questions

Will a tyre pressure warning light fail an MOT?: On vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2012, yes. A monitoring system that is obviously inoperative, or clearly indicating a malfunction, is a major defect, and the lamp being lit for a system fault is enough on its own whatever the pressures actually are. A lamp warning of genuinely low pressure is a different thing.
Does the MOT check tyre pressure monitoring on older cars?: No. The requirement applies only to vehicles first used on or after 1 January 2012, so on anything registered before that the system is not a test item and an older car retrofitted with one cannot fail on it. A vehicle that never had a system is not a defect either, because the test only assesses what is fitted.
How do I reset the tyre pressure warning light?: Set all four pressures accurately while the tyres are cold, using the figures on the door plate, then carry out the reset or relearn described in the handbook. That is often a button or a menu item, and sometimes a short drive above a set speed. Done yourself it is free, and it clears a good share of warnings.
Can TPMS sensor batteries be replaced?: No. The sensors are sealed units with the battery built in, they last roughly five to ten years, and replacing the whole sensor is the only option once one goes flat. This is also why a separate set of winter or aftermarket wheels needs its own sensors fitted and coded to the car rather than swapped over each time.
How much does it cost to replace a TPMS sensor?: A sensor is £30 to £90 for the part, plus getting the tyre off and back on and programming it to the car, which puts most single-wheel jobs at £60 to £150. A full set of four, the usual scenario at eight to ten years old, is £250 to £450. A workshop reset on its own is £20 to £40.

Cars this happens to most

Of every model with at least 2,000 tests in the DVSA data, these record tyre pressure monitoring system inoperative on the largest share of their MOTs. Across all of them the typical rate is 0.6% of tests.

Vauxhall Viva5.5%
2,104 times in 38,153 tests
Nissan E-NV2003.1%
190 times in 6,225 tests
Vauxhall Mokka2.3%
5,767 times in 254,046 tests
Ford Grand C-Max2.3%
778 times in 34,572 tests
MG GS2.2%
64 times in 2,849 tests
Hyundai Veloster2.1%
51 times in 2,457 tests
Jeep Renegade1.9%
555 times in 29,154 tests
Hyundai IX351.7%
857 times in 49,770 tests

A high rate here is a property of the fleet as much as the car: these models skew old, and almost everything fails more with age. It is a reason to check the item on a used example, not proof the model is badly built. Models with fewer than 2,000 tests are left out because a rate drawn from a few hundred cars moves too much to rank.

Pass rates for every make and model

Warning lights behind this

This defect is what a tester writes down. What you see from the driver’s seat is a symbol, and it is worth checking which one, because manufacturers reuse the same shape for more than one system.

Fault codes behind this failure

A failure certificate records that the lamp was lit, not what lit it. If this is what your certificate says, one of these codes is usually stored behind it, and reading it is the difference between a diagnosis and a guess.

This is general guidance, not a diagnosis. The severity DVSA records depends on the specific fault found, so the same item can appear as an advisory on one test and a failure on another. Ask a qualified tester or mechanic to inspect the vehicle.

Has this been recorded on your car?

Check the full MOT history for any UK registration.