Can I drive with a missing wheel nut?

You should not. Each remaining fixing takes more load, they fatigue faster as a result, and the failure mode is the wheel parting company with the car. Driving in that state is using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, which carries a fine and penalty points quite separately from any MOT result.

Is a missing wheel nut an MOT failure?

Yes. A wheel nut, bolt or stud that is missing, loose or damaged is a major defect, and so are fixings that are not to the manufacturer's specification, including the wrong seat shape, the wrong length, or a mix of types on one wheel. Where wheel security is affected such that it could come off, it is graded dangerous.

How tight should wheel nuts be?

To the manufacturer's torque figure, set with a torque wrench, because that clamping force is what stops the joint moving. Tighten in a diagonal sequence rather than working round the rim, and recheck after about fifty miles. Over-tightening with an impact gun is a common cause of stretched studs that later snap.

Will locking wheel nuts fail an MOT if I have lost the key?

Locking nuts are perfectly acceptable in themselves, but a nut nobody can remove is a practical problem, because the tester may be unable to check what is underneath it. Having a set drilled out is charged as time and is rarely quick, so it is worth finding the key before the test rather than at it.

How much does it cost to replace a broken wheel stud?

A single nut or bolt is £3 to £10, and a full set including a locking set is £25 to £60. A sheared stud is only £5 to £15 for the part but takes one to two hours, so £80 to £180 fitted, depending on whether the hub or the brake assembly has to come apart to reach it.

MOT defect file

Wheel nut, bolt or stud missing, loose or damaged

Last updated 27 July 2026

Quick answer

One of the fixings holding a wheel to the hub is missing, slack or damaged, so the rest are carrying a load they were never meant to take alone. Do not drive on it.

Typical cost: £15–£180
DIY viability: Possible with care

Every wheel fixing must be present and secure. The nut taper must match and seat against the wheel; damaged threads or a stretched stud can prevent correct clamping. A dangerously distorted or cracked wheel also fails.

What you might notice

A rhythmic clicking or knocking that rises and falls with road speed, not engine speed
An empty hole in the wheel face, or a stud with no nut on it visible behind the wheel
Rust streaks or a dark, smeared halo radiating outwards from a fixing hole
A wheel that has begun to wobble visibly, which means it is already close to leaving the car

What causes it

A nut left slack after a roadside wheel change or a tyre fitting, then working loose over the next few miles
Over-tightening with an impact gun, which stretches a stud until it snaps or strips the thread
The wrong fixings fitted — a taper seat nut against a flat-seat wheel, or bolts too short after a wheel change
Corrosion between an alloy wheel and a steel hub, so the joint relaxes and the fixings lose their clamping load

Advisory or failure?

A wheel nut, bolt or stud that is missing, loose or damaged is a major defect and a failure, and so are fixings that are not to the manufacturer's specification — wrong seat shape, wrong length, or a mix of types on one wheel. Where the security of the wheel is affected such that it could come off, the grading is dangerous and the vehicle should not be driven away from the test centre. Testers also check for cracks radiating from the fixing holes in the wheel itself, which is graded as wheel damage rather than as a fixing fault. Locking wheel nuts are perfectly acceptable, but a locking nut you have no key for is a practical problem at the test, because the tester may be unable to check what is underneath it.

Can you fix it yourself?

Possible with care

Replacing a missing nut or bolt is within reach of anyone with the right part and a torque wrench, and the torque figure is not optional here — it is what generates the clamping force that stops the joint moving. Match the seat shape exactly, cone to cone or ball to ball, and match the length, since a bolt a few threads short holds far less than it appears to. Tighten in a diagonal sequence, not round the rim, and recheck after fifty miles. A sheared stud is a different job: on many cars the hub has to come off and the new stud pressing in, and if a thread in an alloy hub has stripped, that is a garage repair rather than a bigger spanner.

What it costs

A single nut or bolt is £3 to £10, and a full set with a locking set is £25 to £60. Fitting one yourself costs nothing but the torque wrench you should own anyway. A sheared stud is £5 to £15 for the part with one to two hours of labour, so £80 to £180 fitted depending on whether the hub or the brake assembly has to come apart to reach it. The top of the band is a stripped thread in an alloy hub, or a set of locking nuts to be drilled out because the key is long gone, which is charged as time and is rarely quick.

What happens if you ignore it

This is one of the few defects with a genuinely catastrophic failure mode: as each remaining fixing takes more load, they fatigue faster, and the wheel eventually parts company with the car. That endangers whoever is behind you as much as you. Long before that, the movement in the joint wears the mating faces and the fixing holes oval, so a £5 nut becomes a new wheel and possibly a new hub. Driving with a wheel insecure is using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, which carries a fine and penalty points quite separately from the test result.

Common questions

Can I drive with a missing wheel nut?: You should not. Each remaining fixing takes more load, they fatigue faster as a result, and the failure mode is the wheel parting company with the car. Driving in that state is using a vehicle in a dangerous condition, which carries a fine and penalty points quite separately from any MOT result.
Is a missing wheel nut an MOT failure?: Yes. A wheel nut, bolt or stud that is missing, loose or damaged is a major defect, and so are fixings that are not to the manufacturer's specification, including the wrong seat shape, the wrong length, or a mix of types on one wheel. Where wheel security is affected such that it could come off, it is graded dangerous.
How tight should wheel nuts be?: To the manufacturer's torque figure, set with a torque wrench, because that clamping force is what stops the joint moving. Tighten in a diagonal sequence rather than working round the rim, and recheck after about fifty miles. Over-tightening with an impact gun is a common cause of stretched studs that later snap.
Will locking wheel nuts fail an MOT if I have lost the key?: Locking nuts are perfectly acceptable in themselves, but a nut nobody can remove is a practical problem, because the tester may be unable to check what is underneath it. Having a set drilled out is charged as time and is rarely quick, so it is worth finding the key before the test rather than at it.
How much does it cost to replace a broken wheel stud?: A single nut or bolt is £3 to £10, and a full set including a locking set is £25 to £60. A sheared stud is only £5 to £15 for the part but takes one to two hours, so £80 to £180 fitted, depending on whether the hub or the brake assembly has to come apart to reach it.

Cars this happens to most

Of every model with at least 2,000 tests in the DVSA data, these record wheel nut, bolt or stud missing, loose or damaged on the largest share of their MOTs. Across all of them the typical rate is 0.4% of tests.

Mercedes-Benz Clc1.5%
121 times in 7,925 tests
Ssangyong Rodius1.5%
39 times in 2,620 tests
Mercedes-Benz CLK1.2%
308 times in 25,027 tests
Nissan Pathfinder1.2%
56 times in 4,726 tests
Lexus IS2501.1%
101 times in 9,055 tests
Honda Fr-V1.1%
64 times in 5,962 tests
Chrysler Grand Voyager1.0%
39 times in 3,787 tests
Peugeot 4071.0%
64 times in 6,648 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

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.