The ask an MOT tester thread

[Athlon]

Xcore said:

Will a fixed bucket seat on the passenger side of a 3 door car fail? Drivers seat tilts and slides like oem.

No, that's fine, it's if they don't lock upright there is a problem

[Athlon]

No, Recalls have no affect on the MOT, we test as presented and the scheme has no method of checking for recalls. (you can check on the MOT history site though)

[Athlon]

If the lights work it is fine, lamp warnings on the dash are not testable (and are often false alerts)

[Athlon]

nipsips said:

I think I know the answer to this….

Fail or not. Company car so no issue with replacing other than time. MOT is booked in two weeks and I haven’t the time to get it done before typically!





Thanks in advance

Under current advice from them upstairs that is an advise.

It does not adversely effect your view of the road.

The other poster mentioned he hoped the tester was a midget! That makes no odds as we are specifically told not to judge the problem based on your height

[Athlon]

e-honda said:

Does this look like an ok beam pattern, it's actually on the ceiling because my lights are on the bonnet and it's parked in a car port so nothing in front to point it at, I might be able to shuffle things around and get a better shot when it's dark.

It failed for no beam pattern, I've used a head light restore kit, but I didn't see what they looked like before so this could be a great improvement or the same.

Mini? Hard to say without them on the beam tester but they look ok from the pic

[Athlon]

TheBurgerKing said:

Hi, Can anybody confirm whether the rear doors on a van need to open for an MOT? No rear seats just a regular vauxhall movano cargo van, have an issue with central locking, side loading door won't open at all, noth even from inside. Would appriciate any clarification, Thanks!

Yes, unless there is easy access to the rear as the floors etc need to be inspected.

[Athlon]

TREMAiNE said:

The pastic trim on the seat belt buckle has broken on my car.

The actual buckle and mechanism work absolutely fine, the pre-tensioner works fine, etc. Everything works as it should.
However, actual plastic trip (which physically does nothing) is taped together to keep it in place.
Is this a fail?

Also, the contact for the sensor on whether the belt is on or not has now broken, so whilst everything works I have a constant seatbelt warning light on.
Is this a fail?


I have no issues getting a replacement part, but equally don't want to replace the part unnecessarily given the buckle appears to be fine when you apply a lot of load/pressure to it.

No
And
No

[Athlon]

stevemcs said:

Anyone noticed outstanding recalls show on the bottom of the test certificate now.

Yeah, knew it was coming but I didn't realise they were going to automatically add it to the certificate!

[Athlon]

jondude said:

Tailgate on my commute car (Hyundai Getz) will not stay open, I have ordered some new struts. But am I right in the MOT tests the tailgate can open and shut properly, not that it stays open?

Correct

[Athlon]

Dracoro said:

What part of the MOT says to check for the oil level and water levels?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-par...

Nothing there, in fact the only reason to open the bonnet is to check it closes securely.,

We check oil before the emissions test usually during the pre-test checks we do. We can refuse to test for lack of oil or fuel.

There are many reasons to open the bonnet, including checking the bulkhead, brake fluid level, battery security, leaks, brake pipes, prescribed areas, suspension top mounts, engine mounts, power steering pipes, reservoir level, steering shaft U.J's etc etc.

[Athlon]

Dracoro said:

I see.

Must be tricky though, as many cars with electronic oil levels are often buried in obscure menus , each model different too I would suspect.

Many things to do with an MOT on modern cars are tricky, cars have evolved and we have had to adjust as time has gone on. The only thing not to have changed through all this is the cost of the test which is now way too low.

[Athlon]

McGee_22 said:

How does the open the bonnet for the test work with the Audi A2?

Same as any other, I get a helper to hold it while I snoop around rather than disconnect anything and putting it down on a hard surface

[Athlon]

brillomaster said:

Just wondering, i frequently see advisories 'brake pipe corroded, covered in grease or other material 1.1.11 c'

Is this the same advisory for two potentially different things? Ie if i had just replaced the brake lines with brand new ones, then coated them in grease to stop them corroding, would i still get this advisory, even though there is zero corrosion?

Just seem weird not to specify exactly what the problem is... is it corroded, or covered in grease, or both?

I add a note to specify which of the issues it is, we can do that as we add the location.

[Athlon]

Pretty much all cars have corrosion on the subframes!

I advise if they are looking really bad., otherwise I don't, some testers are fixated on them and advise if they are not clean paint.

Beware Vauxhalls as they do fail and 1 series BMW rears are becoming a problem. MK3 MX5'S get flak as they often look scabby but they are thick metal.

[Athlon]

We/he/they cannot minipulate the date however many letters you write.

The dates are automatically applied by the scheme.

We can change certain things, for instance if we make a mistake entering the mileage or if the colour of the vehicle does not match.

It was probably down to a hiccup on the scheme, it is far from perfect.

[Athlon]

Randy Winkman said:

Apols if this is a repeat question. Does it matter if my front screen washer bottle leaks a bit provided it's full up when the MOT is done? A complication is that a warning message on the dashboard points it out.

No. as long as they work it's fine.

[Athlon]

C70R said:

Sir Bagalot said:

Two problems on one of ours, and as far as I can see they're not MOT failure points unless someone can tell me different.

Tyre pressure waning light is on. If the tester says anything and I simply say yeah, the tyre pressure is low, then that's a pass.

The 3rd brake light doesn't work and if I tell them that's because it's disconnected, then again it's not a failure.

Is that correct?

On the latter point, the wording is:
"Additional stop lamps, over and above the mandatory requirements [of two stop lamps], must be tested. However, if you are not sure that they’re connected, you should give the benefit of the doubt."

I think you should be ok on that one if it's disconnected.

On the former, it's a bit more ambiguous.
"You must only reject vehicles if it’s clear that the lamp indicates a system malfunction and not simply indicating that one or more of the tyre pressures is low."

I think this one will be down to how kind the tester is feeling.

Well this one has been done to death on the tester forums! TPMS lamp on solid is low tyre pressure and a pass, flashing is a fault in the system and a fail.

Centre stop lamp must be tested if fitted, however, it is not an obligatory lamp and there is a specific advise for non working non obligatory stop lamps so it should benerate and advise at worst.

[Athlon]

The Gauge said:

I had an old LR Defender that I stripped down for a resorat, and when rebuilding I never got around to fitting the reverse light. It never came up at MOT time so I guess it’s not a mandatory light?

They are testable/mandatory if the car was registered 01 Sept 09 onwards,

[Athlon]

Super Josh said:

The current Mrs SJ's Volvo has a couple of red reflectors in the rear bumper and one has recently been damaged in a small parking shunt. Is this likely to be an MOT failure?

Cheers,

Josh

It depends on the amount of damage, over 50% missing or it missing altogether will fail, up to 50% damaged/missing will generate a 'minor' defect

[Athlon]

Cloudy147 said:

I’m thinking of adding some front fog lights to my car, just to enhance the appearance. I don’t intend to wire them up.

I’ve heard that, if fitted, they have to work or will fail an MOT.

Is this true?

Thanks

Pre March 2018 they are not a testable item, after that date if they are fitted they must work.