MOT advisory explained
“Steering rack has slight free play detected at steering wheel”
The tester rocked the steering wheel and felt a little movement before the front wheels responded. The wording blames the rack. The notes, more often than not, blame the joint on its end, which is a fraction of the cost. Finding out which is the whole question.
With the front wheels on the ground and an assistant rocking the steering wheel, the tester watched and felt for lost motion: how far the wheel turns before the road wheels move. There was some, but within the limit, so the car passes. The lost motion is a worn joint somewhere between your hands and the tyres.
1.9% fail on steering free play at the next test and 19.5% are advised again. Wear in steering joints is slow and testers allow a fair amount before failing it, which is why it lingers.
“rack end”, “inner rack end”, “tie rod” and “inner tie rod” all say the same thing in the notes: the joint at the end of the rack, not the rack. A garage quoting for a rack on the strength of this line, without having levered the rack ends, has skipped the cheap answer.
A “steering rack has slight free play detected at steering wheel” advisory means the tester found lost motion when rocking the steering wheel, within the permitted limit, so the car passes. The cause is a worn joint somewhere in the steering, most often an inner rack end rather than the rack itself. According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, 1.9% of 336,333 such advisories followed to the next test failed on steering free play, and 19.5% were advised again.
Where free play comes from
The chain of joints. Between the steering wheel and the tyres there is a column with one or two universal joints, the rack, an inner ball joint at each end of the rack, a track rod, and an outer ball joint at each wheel. Wear in any of them shows as free play at the wheel. The tester’s job is to find which, and this wording is used when the play appears to be at the rack or its inner joints.
The inner rack end. Where the rack bar meets the track rod there is a ball joint inside the rubber gaiter. It cannot be seen without pulling the gaiter back, and it is levered with the wheel raised. It wears with mileage and with kerb strikes, and it is a modest part and a short job on most cars. The notes point here far more than anywhere else.
The rack itself. A rack can develop play between its pinion and the rack bar. On older cars some have an adjuster; on most modern cars the answer is a reconditioned rack. This is the expensive version, and the one to rule out last, not first. “rack” on its own appears only a few hundred times in the notes.
Will it fail next year?
Two wordings, one for a rack and one for a steering box, recorded 762,390 times between them, with 336,333 followed to the same vehicle’s next MOT.
| What happened at the next test | Share |
|---|---|
| Failed on the same component | 1.9% |
| Same advisory recorded again | 19.5% |
According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair: 336,333 advisories followed to the same vehicle’s next test. Rows can overlap.
Two in a hundred is low, in line with a worn steering column joint at 1.2%, and well below the outer ball joint on the same track rod, a track rod end with slight play, at 18.6%. Outer joints are exposed and wear fast. Inner ones live in a gaiter full of grease and wear slowly.
One in five is re-advised. Free play that is slight stays slight for a long time, and it does not make a noise the driver can hear.
| Advisory wording | Fails on same part | Advised again | Followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Track rod end ball joint has slight play | 18.6% | 16.9% | 1,700,156 |
| Suspension arm ball joint has slight play | 16.0% | 17.3% | 2,285,155 |
| Wheel bearing has slight play | 5.8% | 26.4% | 1,109,766 |
| Steering linkage ball joint has slight play | 3.2% | 11.0% | 247,497 |
| Steering rack has slight free play detected at steering wheel | 1.9% | 19.5% | 336,333 |
| Power steering component has slight seepage from a component | 1.8% | 24.0% | 714,775 |
| Steering column universal joint has slight wear or play | 1.2% | 19.4% | 113,120 |
The advisory rises from 0.2 per 1,000 tests at 3–4 years to 5.7 at 20 years and over. The failure rate peaks at 2.2% in the early teens and falls on the oldest cars, which cover fewer miles and hit fewer kerbs.
| Age of car | Per 1,000 tests | Fails on same part | Followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3–4 years | 0.2 | 1.1% | 5,647 |
| 5–6 years | 0.5 | 1.3% | 14,192 |
| 7–9 years | 1.2 | 1.6% | 48,446 |
| 10–12 years | 2.5 | 2.1% | 81,893 |
| 13–15 years | 4.0 | 2.2% | 86,108 |
| 16–19 years | 4.5 | 2.1% | 59,134 |
| 20 years and over | 5.7 | 1.6% | 30,317 |
With the engine running and the car on the ground, have someone rock the steering wheel gently side to side through the free play while you watch the front wheels and then, wheel by wheel, put a hand on each joint. The worn one moves before the parts beyond it. It takes five minutes and points straight at the part.
Then, with that wheel raised, grip the tyre at three and nine o’clock and rock it. Play there with no clunk from the bearing is a steering joint, usually a rack end or track rod end.
Free play that has increased noticeably since the test, or a car that wanders on a straight road and needs constant correction, is a joint on its way to failing. That is worth a garage visit now, not at the next MOT.
Exact wording on your certificate
Two advisories, one for a rack and one for a steering box. The failure is free play that exceeds the limit for the type of steering.
| Line on the certificate | Result | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Steering rack has slight free play detected at steering wheel | Advisory — pass | 2.3 (a) (i) |
| Steering box has slight free play detected at steering wheel | Advisory — pass | 2.3 (a) (i) |
| Steering rack has excessive free play detected at steering wheel | Major — fail | 2.3 (a) (ii) |
Two thirds of entries have no position, because free play is felt at the steering wheel and belongs to the whole system. Where a side is given, testers had traced it to one rack end, and the offside slightly leads.
| Position written by the tester | Share of all instances |
|---|---|
| No position recorded | 64% |
| Offside front | 8% |
| Nearside front | 7% |
| Front | 7% |
| Nearside | 4% |
| Offside | 4% |
From 762,390 recorded instances. Testers can add their own note after the standard wording. The most common on this advisory: “rack end” (10,985), “tie rod” (3,943), “inner rack end” (3,228), “steering arm” (3,127), “both sides” (2,736), “inner tie rod” (2,549), “rack arm” (2,325), “rack ends” (1,539).
What it costs
An inner rack end is a modest part and a short job on most cars, plus an alignment afterwards, which is always needed after any track rod joint is changed. A reconditioned steering rack is one of the more expensive repairs on an older car, with labour to match. The two are far enough apart that we do not publish one range; ask which the garage has actually found. Related prices are on the repair costs index.
Can I still drive with this advisory?
You may notice the car wandering slightly on a straight road, or the steering feeling vague around the centre. Have the joint identified within a few months. If the wandering gets worse or a clunk appears when turning, bring it forward.
Enter your reg to see every steering advisory your car has had. A rack end one year and a track rod end the next is the same track rod wearing from both ends.
Which cars get this advisory most?
The all-vehicle rate is 1.8 per 1,000 tests. On the models below it is three to seven times that.
| Model | Per 1,000 tests | Vs all cars | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | 12 | 6.6× | 2,101,182 |
| Vauxhall Combo | 12 | 6.4× | 1,167,848 |
| Volkswagen Crafter | 9 | 4.8× | 585,956 |
| Kia Ceed | 8 | 4.3× | 1,221,714 |
| Saab 9-3 | 7 | 4.0× | 589,429 |
| Mazda 2 | 7 | 4.0× | 1,269,505 |
| Renault Scenic | 7 | 3.8× | 600,691 |
| Hyundai i30 | 6 | 3.5× | 1,092,566 |
| Renault Megane | 5 | 3.0× | 1,634,315 |
| Volvo XC90 | 5 | 2.9× | 670,937 |
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.
Vans lead: the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter at 6.6 times the average, the Vauxhall Combo and Volkswagen Crafter. Heavy front axles, high mileages and kerbs mounted daily are hard on inner rack ends. The Kia Ceed and Hyundai i30 share a platform, and the Renault Scenic and Renault Megane another.
The Saab 9-3, on the list for most steering advisories, kept hydraulic steering and heavy front ends to the end of its production.
What to do next
- Get the joint named. Rack end, track rod end, or rack. Do not accept a quote that does not say which.
- Do the rocking test with a helper. Five minutes and you will probably know before the garage does.
- Replace the joint, then align. Any track rod joint changed means the toe setting has moved. Skip the alignment and the tyres pay.
- Rule out the rack last. Only when the rack ends are proven sound is a rack the answer.
Steering rack free play advisory FAQ
What does steering rack has slight free play detected at steering wheel mean?
The tester found some lost motion when rocking the steering wheel before the front wheels responded, within the permitted limit. It is an advisory and the car passes. A worn steering joint is the cause.
Is it the steering rack or a rack end?
Usually a rack end. Testers’ notes on this advisory mention rack ends, inner tie rods and steering arms far more often than the rack itself. The inner joint at each end of the rack wears first and costs a fraction of a rack.
Will steering free play fail the next MOT?
Rarely. According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, 1.9% of 336,333 such advisories failed on steering free play at the next test, and 19.5% were advised again.
Is it safe to drive with slight steering play?
Yes, within the limit. The car may wander a little on straight roads. Have the joint identified within a few months, and sooner if the wandering gets worse.
How much does it cost to fix?
An inner rack end is a modest part and a short job, plus an alignment. A reconditioned rack is one of the more expensive repairs on an older car. We do not publish a range across that gap. Any prices on this site are estimates and final quotes come from garages.
Which vehicles get this advisory most?
Vans. The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Vauxhall Combo and Volkswagen Crafter get it five to seven times as often as the average vehicle.
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 762,390 times; 336,333 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.