MOT advisory explained
“Seat belt webbing slightly damaged or frayed”
A belt with a rough or fuzzy edge, a nick, or a few pulled threads. More than half of these are the driver’s belt, because it is the one that gets used, and the fix is a new belt rather than a repair. It is the one advisory on the certificate that is about you, not the car.
The tester pulled each belt right out and ran it through their hands. One has damage in the webbing: fraying along an edge, a cut, a nick, or threads pulled out of the weave. It is minor enough that the belt is judged still able to do its job.
3.1% fail on a seat belt at the next test and 23.6% are advised again. Webbing wears slowly, so the number is low. But a seat belt has one moment to justify itself, and a frayed edge is where it tears.
Seat belt webbing cannot be repaired, stitched or trimmed. If the belt is damaged, the belt is replaced, complete with its reel. Anything else is illegal to fit and would fail the next test on inspection.
A “seat belt webbing slightly damaged or frayed” advisory means a seat belt has minor damage to its webbing, such as a frayed edge or pulled threads, but is still judged able to restrain the occupant, so the car passes. Webbing cannot be repaired, so the fix is a replacement belt. According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, 3.1% of 1.0 million such advisories followed to the next test failed on a seat belt, and 23.6% were advised again.
How a belt gets damaged
The pillar and the buckle. The driver’s belt is pulled out and let go thousands of times a year. Every time, the edge of the webbing drags across the plastic guide on the door pillar and the tongue slides over the buckle. Both slowly saw at the edge of the weave. “drivers” is the most common tester note, ahead of “frayed” and “slightly frayed”.
Trapped in the door. The other common cause is a belt shut in the door. The edge gets crushed and cut against the latch, sometimes cleanly. A belt with a cut across the weave, even a short one, is the more serious kind of damage, because a tear starts from a cut.
Buckles and stalks. Two of the wordings on this page are about the buckle and the flexible stalk it sits on. A cracked buckle housing or a stalk with a split cover is recorded here as long as it still latches and releases. If it does not latch, or releases under load, that is an immediate failure.
Will it fail next year?
Five wordings are grouped here, covering the webbing, the belt in general, the buckle and the stalk. Together they have been recorded 2,461,637 times, and 1,047,800 can be followed to the same vehicle’s next MOT.
| What happened at the next test | Share |
|---|---|
| Failed on the same component | 3.1% |
| Same advisory recorded again | 23.6% |
According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair: 1,047,800 advisories followed to the same vehicle’s next test. Rows can overlap.
Among the seat belt advisories this is the mild one. Corrosion around a seat belt anchorage fails 12.6% of the time, four times as often, because rust in the floor spreads. Webbing damage stays where it is.
Nearly a quarter are advised again. A belt with a frayed edge looks the same for years, and replacing it is not something anyone plans for. The reason to do it is not the MOT.
| Advisory wording | Fails on same part | Advised again | Followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is corroded | 12.6% | 21.0% | 194,901 |
| Direction indicator slightly discoloured | 6.1% | 19.6% | 1,901,107 |
| Headlamp has a product on the lens | 5.0% | 22.9% | 1,248,099 |
| Supplementary restraint system warning lamp does not illuminate | 4.7% | 26.9% | 87,604 |
| Registration plate deteriorated | 3.7% | 40.1% | 4,283,862 |
| Seat belt webbing slightly damaged or frayed | 3.1% | 23.6% | 1,047,800 |
| Brake pedal wearing smooth | 1.4% | 26.2% | 320,684 |
The advisory rises steadily with age, from 2.3 per 1,000 tests at 3–4 years to 13.2 at 20 years and over, and the share that fail next time hardly moves, staying between three and four in a hundred throughout. It is wear from use, and old cars get used less.
| Age of car | Per 1,000 tests | Fails on same part | Followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3–4 years | 2.3 | 2.8% | 66,666 |
| 5–6 years | 3.5 | 2.8% | 102,875 |
| 7–9 years | 5.4 | 2.9% | 209,979 |
| 10–12 years | 7.7 | 3.0% | 235,324 |
| 13–15 years | 9.6 | 3.3% | 198,830 |
| 16–19 years | 10.8 | 3.6% | 136,056 |
| 20 years and over | 13.2 | 3.5% | 67,440 |
A seat belt is designed to stretch under load and spread the force of a stop across its full width. Its strength comes from the weave being intact edge to edge. A fray or a cut at the edge is a stress point, and under crash load a tear can run across from it.
Manufacturers replace belts as a matter of course after any collision in which they locked, even if the webbing looks fine. A belt that already has visible damage has less margin than that.
The tester’s advisory means the belt would probably hold. It does not mean it would hold as well as it should.
Exact wording on your certificate
The advisory is recorded under two codes depending on the version of the testing system in use. The failure is any damage that could affect the belt’s strength.
| Line on the certificate | Result | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Seat belt webbing slightly damaged or frayed | Advisory — pass | 7.1.2 (b) (ii) |
| Seat belt webbing slightly damaged or frayed | Advisory — pass | 7.1.2 (b) |
| Seat belt slightly damaged | Advisory — pass | 7.1.2 (b) (i) |
| Seat belt buckle slightly damaged | Advisory — pass | 7.1.2 (d) |
| Seat belt flexible stalk damaged | Advisory — pass | 7.1.2 (b) (i) |
| Seat belt webbing cut or damaged so as to affect its strength | Major — fail | 7.1.2 (b) (ii) |
The offside front alone is 54% of all instances. That is the driver’s seat, a concentration on one position that few advisories match. The rear belts are used least and appear least, except in the vans and people carriers below.
| Position written by the tester | Share of all instances |
|---|---|
| Offside front | 54% |
| Nearside front | 12% |
| Nearside rear | 10% |
| Offside rear | 9% |
| Central rear | 4% |
| Offside | 3% |
From 2,461,637 recorded instances. Testers can add their own note after the standard wording. The most common on this advisory: “drivers” (10,469), “frayed” (3,636), “slightly frayed” (2,609), “both” (1,690), “drivers belt” (1,158), “centre row” (1,147), “drivers seat belt” (1,142), “3rd row” (1,003).
What it costs
A replacement seat belt comes complete with its inertia reel, and on many cars the pretensioner too. Prices vary a great deal by model and by whether the belt is an original part, so we do not publish a range. A used belt from a breaker is a false economy: its history is unknown. Other prices are on the repair costs index.
Can I still drive with this advisory?
Replace it in the next few weeks, and before any long motorway journey. If the damage is a cut across the weave rather than a frayed edge, treat it as urgent. Do not tuck, fold or tape a damaged section.
Enter your reg to see every advisory in your car’s history, including whether the same belt has been flagged before.
Which cars get this advisory most?
The all-vehicle rate is 2.8 per 1,000 tests. The models below get it three to fifteen times as often.
| Model | Per 1,000 tests | Vs all cars | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land Rover Defender | 40 | 14.6× | 1,232,451 |
| Ford B-Max | 17 | 6.2× | 544,180 |
| Kia Picanto | 10 | 3.7× | 1,754,072 |
| Ford Transit | 10 | 3.6× | 9,907,752 |
| Ford Tourneo | 9 | 3.4× | 292,004 |
| Renault Trafic | 8 | 2.8× | 1,353,402 |
| Peugeot Expert | 8 | 2.8× | 628,355 |
| Citroen Dispatch | 7 | 2.6× | 556,497 |
| Volkswagen Transporter | 7 | 2.5× | 3,128,645 |
| Citroen Relay | 7 | 2.5× | 662,399 |
Model families are grouped by the first word of the DVSA model name, so “Transit” covers every Transit variant. Only models with at least 60,000 tests are ranked.
One vehicle is in a class of its own. The Land Rover Defender gets this advisory 14.6 times as often as the average vehicle, more than twice the next model. Its belts are exposed to mud, water and sun in a way no car’s are, and many Defenders have had rear seats and belts fitted or removed over their lives.
The rest is working vehicles: the Ford Transit, Ford Tourneo, Renault Trafic, Peugeot Expert, Citroen Dispatch, Volkswagen Transporter and Citroen Relay. Van belts are used all day by several drivers, get caught in doors, and are rarely looked at. The Ford B-Max is the odd one out, a small family car with sliding doors.
What to do next
- Pull the belt all the way out and look at both edges. Fraying at the edge is wear. A cut across the width, however short, is worse.
- Find what is doing the damage. A cracked pillar guide or a rough buckle tongue will fray the new belt the same way. Replace the guide at the same time.
- Order a new belt for that seat. Complete with reel. Give the registration, because belts differ by trim and year.
- Do not repair it. No stitching, no trimming, no tape. The belt is replaced or it is left alone.
Seat belt webbing advisory FAQ
What does seat belt webbing slightly damaged or frayed mean?
A seat belt has minor damage to its webbing, such as a frayed edge, a nick or pulled threads, but the tester judged it still able to restrain the occupant. It is an advisory and the car passes.
Will a frayed seat belt fail the MOT?
It fails when the damage could affect the belt’s strength, which is a tester’s judgement. According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, 3.1% of 1.0 million such advisories failed on a seat belt at the next test.
Can a frayed seat belt be repaired?
No. Seat belt webbing cannot be stitched, trimmed or patched. A damaged belt is replaced as a complete unit with its reel.
Is it safe to drive with a slightly frayed seat belt?
The belt would probably hold, which is why it passed. It has less margin than an undamaged belt, so replace it soon and treat any cut across the weave as urgent.
Why is it usually the driver’s belt?
Because it is used most. Every pull drags the edge of the webbing across the pillar guide and the buckle. In DVSA records the offside front position accounts for more than half of all instances of this advisory.
Which vehicles get this advisory most?
The Land Rover Defender, at 14.6 times the average rate, followed by vans such as the Ford Transit, Renault Trafic and Volkswagen Transporter, where belts are used all day by several drivers.
How these figures were calculated. According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, from the DVSA anonymised MOT test results (Open Government Licence v3.0): 350,943,111 tests. This advisory was recorded 2,461,637 times; 1,047,800 of those were followed to the same vehicle’s next test between 180 and 730 days later. “Fails on the same part” means a failure at that next test under the same defect code and naming the same component, on either side of the vehicle. Testers do not always name a component the same way twice, so the figure is a floor. Method and how to cite.