MOT CHANGES

[Dave Adams]

i don't know if any of you out there are aware but from 1/1/2012 there were some changes to the mot regs some will impact on a good few of us.....
vehicle wiring must be in good condition and properly secured. loose dangling wires (insecure) are a fail
battery condition and security is now checked.
spare wheel brackets are now part of the test, if the tester deems the bracket is not up to the job its a fail. spare wheel tyre condition is NOT PART OF MOT but if the spare is not fitted securely i.e. not by temp means like rope then it is a fail.
tow bar electrics must now fully work.
headlight washers and self leveling systems where fitted must work...if you have HID lights these items MUST BE fitted and in working order.

[Paul Sheridan]

How did he fit the tops out of alignment? I thought they could only be fitted one way! or have I missed something that could be detrimental to my redesigned, adjustable ones !!!

[Dave Adams]

He welded the new top shocker mount and the wish bone brackets in place square to the bottom chassis rail. once the bottom wishbone was fitted it leans back a few degrees for the castor, but trunnions must be fitted at 90° to the wish bone so to make the top align he drilled out the bottom bolt to allow the up right to swivel to meet.....so the wish bones are right but the castor is not....

[Paul Sheridan]

OH good, thought you were going to throw a spanner in me works!!! but at least you can look on the bright side now, and rectifiy the problem. You have always talked about modding the front suspension.......... now is the time mate.  :-)

[284wrv9k2wgzk]

Oil leaks are also now part of the test. Tyre cracking and lumps missing from sidewalls is NOT a fail unless the tyre cord is visible, just as well as I have a cracking tyre on the Celica. Battery security has been on the MOT for years but not many testers bother with it.

[Big Vern]

Oil leaks generally are not yet part of the test but leaks from the power steering system are now a fail. I believe tyres with cuts and lumps missing are not a fail unless the cords can be seen but cracking will be seen as evidence of a tyre perishing and may fail for that.

[Dave Adams]

There's a fair bit that's new including battery security ....it is a commonly held belief that it has been an MOT fail before this year, not so, it was only an advisory (i am an ex-MOT tester) i even was stopped by the a copper on the M62 who checked my car over and gave me a ticket for insecure battery i was able to prove it was not an MOT requirement and therefore there was no criterior by which to test it. The MOT station had to stamp my ticket as OK even though it was still insecure. i put a wrtten complaint to cheshire police about the coppers attitude and wasting my time in having my car checked. they basically said that a police man can ask for any aspect of your car to be checked by an MOT station if they feel it is not right.

[284wrv9k2wgzk]

When I was testing battery security was part of the MOT and it was failure if not secured in safe manner.

[Dave Adams]

It is possible that it became part of the test in the last few years and i did not know of the update to the manual because i as a person am not registered as an MOT station and i didn't get updates to my own manual. but the battery security issue was highlighted as an addition to the test from 1/1/12 on the vosa site i looked at earlier this year. So i assumed it was only a fail from that date. in my short duration as an MOT tester i only advised an insecure battery.
i am looking to see what criterior will be applied to oil leaks ;)
my sierra is a self undersealing car :)

[allan wheatley]

lo so u wont fail on rust then lol

what i can gather it all depends on who u get to mot it i no when i worked in a garaged if the car is clean on inside and out they dont look to hard if it is dirty they will look very hard for falts

[284wrv9k2wgzk]

Oil leaks are down to the discretion of the tester, I'm friendly with mine and he keeps me up to date. In a nut shell if everything is covered in oil and dripping then it should fail, it it's just general/natural then it should pass. Look at old Vauxhalls, they pour oil from the cam covers could be a good thing really if get's Vauxhalls of the road. (Ford fan)

[Big Vern]

Very little in the manual is down to the testers discretion, that's the point of having the manual and training the testers i.e. all the tests should be conducted the same at any test station.

Nothing in the current testers manual says oil leaks are a fail with the exception of power steering fluid and brake fluid, though the tester may feel a heavily leaking vehicle is unsafe for him to test, in which case the tester must issue a refusal to test.

At most the tester can only issue an advisory.