To investigate the nature of the metal-insulator transition which takes place in BaVS 3 at T MIT =70 K, we study pure samples of BaVS 3 irradiated by fast electrons, which introduce point defects. Our results show that the metal-insulator transition is gradually weakened and shifted to lower temperatures by introducing the defects, in close analogy to systems where metal-insulator transition is due to a Peierls mechanism. Additionally, we study the influence of point defects on the temperature-pressure phase diagram of BaVS 3 .