MOT advisory explained
“Prop shaft bearing has slight play”
The shafts that carry drive from the gearbox to the wheels have a worn bearing, joint or coupling. This is a four-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive advisory first, a van advisory second, and on a Mitsubishi L200 it appears twenty-five times more often than on the average vehicle.
On a rear-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive vehicle, a prop shaft runs the length of the underside from the gearbox to the axle, supported in the middle by a rubber-mounted centre bearing and jointed at each end. The drive shafts then take power out to the wheels through CV joints. The tester found play in one of these bearings or joints, short of a failure.
6.0% fail on a transmission shaft at the next test, but the five wordings here differ a lot. A worn drive shaft joint fails 10.3% of the time. A prop shaft centre bearing 7.6%. A perished flexible coupling 1.8%. Which line you have matters.
A torn rubber boot on a CV joint is a separate advisory with its own page: CV boot deteriorated. A boot that has been split for a while is how a drive shaft joint gets to this page. If both are on your certificate for the same side, the joint has been running without grease.
A “prop shaft bearing has slight play” advisory means the rubber-mounted centre support bearing on a prop shaft has movement within limits, so the vehicle passes. Related wordings cover worn prop shaft and drive shaft joints and a perished flexible coupling. According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, 6.0% of 245,984 such advisories followed to the next test failed on a transmission shaft, ranging from 1.8% for a flexible coupling to 10.3% for a worn drive shaft joint.
The five things this page covers
The centre bearing. A long prop shaft is made in two pieces with a bearing in the middle, hung from the floor in a rubber doughnut. “centre bearing”, “centre” and “support bearing” lead the notes. The rubber sags and the bearing wears, and the shaft can be moved up and down by hand. On the road it is a vibration that comes in at a certain speed and a clonk when you take up drive.
Joints and couplings. Prop shafts have universal joints at each end, or on many cars a rubber flexible coupling at the gearbox end that perishes and cracks. “rear uj” in the notes is a universal joint. A worn UJ clicks when you take up drive and vibrates under load. A perished coupling is the mildest fault on this page and the one that fails least.
The drive shaft joint. The CV joints on the shafts to the wheels, on any car. The outer joint clicks on full lock when it is worn; the inner one shudders under acceleration. This is the wording with the highest failure rate on the page, because a CV joint that has started to wear usually does so because its boot let the grease out, and it does not have long left.
Will it fail next year?
Five wordings share this page, all under the transmission section of the test. Together they have been recorded 555,224 times, and 245,984 can be followed to the same vehicle’s next MOT.
| What happened at the next test | Share |
|---|---|
| Failed on the same component | 6.0% |
| Failed on anything under defect 6.1.7 | 8.4% |
| Same advisory recorded again | 17.0% |
According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair: 245,984 advisories followed to the same vehicle’s next test. Rows can overlap.
The average hides the spread. Take the three wordings that matter: a flexible coupling fails 1.8% of the time, a centre bearing 7.6%, a drive shaft joint 10.3%. The joint is five times the coupling. A rubber coupling cracks slowly and keeps working. A dry CV joint is metal on metal.
For comparison, a suspension arm ball joint with slight play fails 16.0% of the time. A worn drive shaft joint is in that league.
| Advisory wording | Fails on same part | Advised again | Followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension arm ball joint has slight play | 16.0% | 17.3% | 2,285,155 |
| Wheel bearing slightly noisy | 8.3% | 12.5% | 642,068 |
| Prop shaft bearing has slight play | 6.0% | 17.0% | 245,984 |
| Wheel bearing has slight play | 5.8% | 26.4% | 1,109,766 |
| Exhaust mounting defective | 5.5% | 23.3% | 1,459,563 |
| Engine mounting damaged | 2.2% | 13.6% | 101,134 |
| Oil leak, | 1.2% | 42.8% | 8,941,140 |
The advisory rises from 0.3 per 1,000 tests at 3–4 years to 4.3 at 20 years and over, and the failure rate rises with it from 2.5% to a peak of 7.3%. Shafts and joints wear with miles, and the vehicles on this page cover a lot of them.
| Age of car | Per 1,000 tests | Fails on same part | Followed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3–4 years | 0.3 | 2.5% | 8,067 |
| 5–6 years | 0.6 | 4.2% | 15,782 |
| 7–9 years | 1.0 | 5.1% | 37,281 |
| 10–12 years | 1.7 | 6.1% | 52,026 |
| 13–15 years | 2.5 | 6.7% | 56,156 |
| 16–19 years | 3.3 | 7.3% | 44,845 |
| 20 years and over | 4.3 | 5.8% | 23,423 |
A clicking noise on full lock, worse in reverse, is an outer CV joint. A shudder or vibration under hard acceleration that fades when you lift off is an inner CV joint. A vibration that comes in at a steady speed on the motorway, and a clonk from under the middle of the vehicle when you take up drive, is the prop shaft: a centre bearing or a universal joint.
Each of those is a different part at a different price, and a garage can confirm which in minutes with the vehicle on a ramp.
A prop shaft centre bearing that has collapsed completely lets the shaft hit the floor, and a universal joint that breaks up can drop the shaft on the road at speed. Neither is common, and both give plenty of warning first. A clonk that has become a bang is that warning.
Exact wording on your certificate
Five advisories cover the bearing, the joints, the coupling and shaft damage. The failures are excessive play or a shaft likely to fail.
| Line on the certificate | Result | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Prop shaft bearing has slight play | Advisory — pass | 6.1.7 (b) (i) |
| Prop shaft flexible coupling slightly deteriorated | Advisory — pass | 6.1.7 (d) (i) |
| Drive shaft joint worn, but not excessively | Advisory — pass | 6.1.7 (c) (i) |
| Prop shaft joint worn, but not excessively | Advisory — pass | 6.1.7 (c) (i) |
| Prop shaft damaged but serviceable | Advisory — pass | 6.1.7 (e) |
| Prop shaft bearing has excessive play | Major — fail | 6.1.7 (b) (ii) |
| Drive shaft joint excessively worn | Major — fail | 6.1.7 (c) (ii) |
“central” and “central rear” together with unpositioned entries make up most of the list, because a prop shaft runs down the middle of the vehicle and its centre bearing has no side. Entries marked front are drive shaft joints on front-wheel-drive cars.
| Position written by the tester | Share of all instances |
|---|---|
| No position recorded | 38% |
| Central | 33% |
| Rear | 13% |
| Central rear | 7% |
| Front | 6% |
| Central front | 2% |
From 555,224 recorded instances. Testers can add their own note after the standard wording. The most common on this advisory: “centre bearing” (1,408), “both” (1,236), “centre” (928), “x2” (201), “support bearing” (95), “bush” (84), “center” (69), “middle” (66).
What it costs
A centre bearing, a universal joint or a flexible coupling is a modest part on most vehicles, with the prop shaft removed to fit it. A CV joint is sold separately on some cars and as a complete drive shaft on others, which costs more. On some vehicles a prop shaft is only supplied complete, and that is the expensive outcome. We do not publish a range across that spread. Ask which part, and whether it is available on its own. Related prices are on the repair costs index.
Can I still drive with this advisory?
Pay attention to what it does under acceleration and at steady speed. A clonk that gets louder, a vibration that gets worse, or a click on lock that becomes constant means the part is near its end. Have a worn drive shaft joint done within weeks; a centre bearing or coupling can wait for the next service.
Enter your reg to see the full MOT record. A CV boot advisory one year and a drive shaft joint the next is the same joint, first losing its grease and then its life.
Which cars get this advisory most?
The all-vehicle rate is 0.4 per 1,000 tests. On the models below it is six to twenty-five times that.
| Model | Per 1,000 tests | Vs all cars | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi L200 | 11 | 25.0× | 935,407 |
| Land Rover Discovery | 9 | 21.0× | 1,610,504 |
| Toyota Hilux | 7 | 15.0× | 734,628 |
| Ford Transit | 5 | 11.4× | 9,907,752 |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | 5 | 10.9× | 2,101,182 |
| Land Rover Freelander | 4 | 10.0× | 1,480,990 |
| Volkswagen Crafter | 3 | 7.5× | 585,956 |
| Dacia Duster | 3 | 7.2× | 552,599 |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 3 | 7.1× | 381,124 |
| Nissan X-Trail | 3 | 6.3× | 928,646 |
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.
The Mitsubishi L200 leads at 25.0 times the average, one of the larger multiples for a common advisory in our data, with the Land Rover Discovery at 21.0 and the Toyota Hilux behind it. Every vehicle in the top ten has a prop shaft: four-wheel-drive pickups and 4x4s, and the rear-wheel-drive Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter.
A front-wheel-drive hatchback has no prop shaft and no centre bearing. Most of this page does not apply to it, except the drive shaft joint.
What to do next
- Get the exact wording and the part. Bearing, UJ, coupling or CV joint. The failure rates differ by five times between them.
- Check the CV boots. A split boot beside a worn joint is the cause. Fix the boot with the joint.
- Ask whether the part comes separately. A centre bearing kit against a complete prop shaft is a large difference.
- Do a drive shaft joint promptly. It is the one on this page that fails next year one time in ten.
Prop shaft and drive shaft advisory FAQ
What does prop shaft bearing has slight play mean?
The rubber-mounted centre support bearing on a prop shaft, found on rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles, has movement within limits. It is an advisory and the vehicle passes.
What does drive shaft joint worn but not excessively mean?
A CV joint on one of the shafts driving the wheels has wear within limits. It is the wording on this page with the highest failure rate: According to DVSA MOT data analysed by PriceMyRepair, 10.3% failed on a transmission shaft at the next test.
Will a prop shaft advisory fail the next MOT?
It depends on the wording. A perished flexible coupling failed 1.8% of the time, a centre bearing 7.6%, and a worn drive shaft joint 10.3%, according to DVSA data analysed by PriceMyRepair.
What are the symptoms of a worn prop shaft centre bearing?
A vibration that comes in at a steady speed, often on the motorway, and a clonk from under the middle of the vehicle when you take up drive or change gear.
How much does it cost to fix?
A centre bearing, universal joint or coupling is a modest part with the prop shaft removed to fit it. A CV joint or complete drive shaft costs more, and a complete prop shaft more again. We do not publish a range. Any prices on this site are estimates and final quotes come from garages.
Which vehicles get this advisory most?
Four-wheel-drive pickups and 4x4s. The Mitsubishi L200 gets it 25.0 times as often as the average vehicle, followed by the Land Rover Discovery and Toyota Hilux. Front-wheel-drive cars have no prop shaft.
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 555,224 times; 245,984 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.