The flexible rubber hose that carries fluid from the hard pipe on the body to the moving caliper has been marked down. The tester bends and inspects each hose with the wheels on full lock, so faults that only show at an angle get found. Surface cracking is usually Minor; exposed reinforcement, a bulge under pressure or a badly corroded end fitting is Major or Dangerous.
Wording as it commonly appears on an MOT certificate: “Brake hose damaged, chafed or corroded”.
What does it mean?
The flexible rubber hose that carries fluid from the hard pipe on the body to the moving caliper has been marked down. The tester bends and inspects each hose with the wheels on full lock, so faults that only show at an angle get found. Surface cracking is usually Minor; exposed reinforcement, a bulge under pressure or a badly corroded end fitting is Major or Dangerous.
How serious is it?
Usually recorded as: Minor, Major, Dangerous. The tester assesses the actual vehicle on the day, so your certificate is what counts.
What normally causes it?
- Age — the rubber perishes from the outside in, and hoses over ten years old often fail on cracking alone
- Chafing where a hose has been routed against a spring, tyre or bracket after previous work
- Corroded crimped ferrules at either end, common on salted Scottish roads
- Internal collapse, where the liner breaks down and acts like a one-way valve, leaving one brake dragging
What a mechanic would check
I turn the wheels to full lock both ways and run a finger along the full length of each hose, because the damage is nearly always on the hidden side. Then I have someone press the pedal hard while I watch for a hose ballooning. If one wheel is hot after a run and the others are cold, I suspect a collapsed hose long before I blame the caliper.
What might need replacing
- A pair of flexible brake hoses on that axle
- Brake fluid and a full bleed
- Copper washers or banjo bolts
- Occasionally a caliper if the hose has collapsed and cooked it
Can you still drive it?
Cracked but sound is a monitor-it job. A bulging or cord-exposed hose can burst without warning and take half your braking with it — don't drive that one.
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This is general guidance from a UK mechanic, not a substitute for a physical inspection. Only the tester who inspected your vehicle can confirm what was recorded and why.