The ask an MOT tester thread

[Athlon]

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for all your questions over the years, hopefully we have helped a bit ! Thanks to Pete for doing a great job with the questions we get asked.

Happy motoring

[Athlon]

There are default limits we test to if a specific vehicle is not on the database, we still check all emissions kit is present..

[Athlon]

It should if the cats are there, see if you can find a test station that will stick the probe up and see what happens, or just stick it in for test..

[Athlon]

cooperd5 said:

2020 Skoda, MOT in a couple of weeks. The Park Distance Control sometimes says its not working (mainly when it's cold) - ignition off and on again always fixes it. Is this likely to fail MOT if PDC errors during test?
Thanks

It is not a testable item

[Athlon]

MG CHRIS said:

markirl said:

Looking for some advice please - I have a crack across the bottom of my windscreen in the black area. I've spoken to a friend of mine who claims its not an MOT failure, but general research I've been doing says it is. I'm aiming to get the windscreen replaced but the earliest date I can get is 10 days after MOT expiry and I would rather not be without a car for that long. There are also 2 chips on the windscreen but outside of drivers field of vision.

So my options seem to be:
- MOT it as it is
- put duct tape over the crack
- wait until windscreen is replaced

Unless it's obscures the view of the road it be a pass rules changed on it a few years back.

Yep, unless it looks like it has been attacked by a crazy with a baseball bat it should pass with an advise.

[Athlon]

Fastpedeller said:

My understanding that (historically) if a light is there (even if not required) it needs to be working...... am I incorrect? or have things changed?

Incorrect.

[Athlon]

paulmakin said:

driver' s seat on a 2 door won't tilt. the backrest is secure and the seat powers forwards and backwards without issue.

looked at the manual and also searced for this problem and thought i had an answer (it would pass) but them somebody raised a doubt in my mind by suggesting that "if it's fitted it must work".

what should happen when i present it for testing, couldn't see anything in print to confirm the "if fitted..." bit ?

Edited by paulmakin on Thursday 1st February 20:47

The tilt bit is fine however the tester must be able to access the rear seatbelts..

[Athlon]

colin79666 said:

TPMS light on. Menu shows the rear offside wheel as the culprit but at the same (correct) pressure as the rear nearside. Fail?

What year car? we only test that after 1 Jan 2012. after that we have to be sure it is showing a fault rather than a low pressure tyre, so mainly it will be an advise unless we are certain it is a fault

[Athlon]

jimmytheone said:

STO said:

O/s mirror is required n/s not if an interior one is present, as for the obleak rear window, could you present it for test with the roof down, I don't think there is anything testable on the roof of a soft top.

Although not relevant in this case it should be noted that cars used after 26th Jan 2010 must have three mirrors, O/S view; N/S view and and interior mirror (unless the interior mirror does not give a view to the rear)

[Athlon]

cliffords said:

I had a bit of a look but it's a lot of pages . This must have been asked before.

How will they test my electronic handbrake on my car next week?
Do they use the rollers and then press the button. Seems like that may be a really harsh test .

Exactly that. The rollers shut down the moment the wheels lock.

[Athlon]

sausage76 said:

Quick windscreen question...

Got hit by a rock on the way to work today, result is on the passengers side a nice crack from the a pillar to mid screen about halfway up and 30cm in length.

I've got an MOT in two weeks and at the moment struggling to get it changed before then.

Is it a fail????

It's hard to assess from that and it will be tester discretion. Saying that, current advise is it has to be bad, like baseball bat impact bad to fail really.

[Athlon]

shtu said:

That's the best question this thread has ever had.

Remarkably I would say yes, you can't have a bell, gong or siren but nothing about a squeeze horn!!

[Athlon]

ED209 said:

A van with xenon lights and headlamp washers, would one or both of them not working be a fail?

I suspect it might be something a tester forgets to even check if it’s required

After Sept 2009 if fitted they must work.

[Athlon]

SimonTheSailor said:

If the electric drivers window is not working is that a fail ?

No, it's just a bit of a nuisance!

[Athlon]

BunkMoreland said:

Little Pete said:

This is a good example of how the manual and guide we use can be vague and not very helpful.
Firstly, that is not a MIL, malfunction indicator lamp. It is a warning message on the dashboard, all be it a very specific one.
If you open the section of the manual quoted and read 7.1.6 about SRS systems, it says warning messages are not a failure in their own right.
Do we apply the same logic to the ESC system? The reason for failure in the manual, 7.12(e), relates to the lamp, not a warning message.
There will be testers that would fail it and testers that would pass and advise it.

manual said:

You must check all vehicles fitted with electronic stability control other than Class 3 vehicles.

Electronic stability control is also referred to as ESC, ESP, VDC, and DSC, among many other names. Some systems may be able to be switched off by a switch, whilst others might only be able to be switched off using an electronic menu system.

The dashboard warning lamp for these systems might take various forms and you should only fail a vehicle if you’re certain that the warning lamp is indicating an ESC malfunction. You might need to check the owner’s handbook.

My opinion.

I AM certain that warning is indicating an ESC malfunction.

This car is Class 4 obviously, so has to be checked. If it was switched off by a switch or via the menu you'd need to turn it back on to ensure it worked as you are obliged to check it on Class4.

When you pressed the button or found the menu, you would find it couldn't be switched on. Therefore its not working

Plus if you read the owners handbook as directed, it will tell you its a malfunction.

There's "if in doubt pass and advise" and then there's the stuff that should be straightforward. I suspect that as soon as you drive the car forward you'd get other warnings on the dash such as ABS in any case

Forgetting the MOT. I'm more irritated the poster couldn't find a repairer that could diagnose it without throwing non relevant parts at it! Especially when its common knowledge Mercedes love a speed sensor!

It is NOT a fail, the fail is specifically for a LAMP. If a lamp is illuminated indicating a fault it is a fail, a warning message can only be advised, this was covered in one of the Matters Of Testing blogs.

Almost nothing on the MOT scheme is straightforward and you have to dig deep to check if you are correct, even the inspectors can get it wrong. For instance, on a test check they did on me they asked why I took time to check to check the belts on a child seat, stated I was wasting time on non needed checks. After I showed them the teeny bit in the book about child seat belts are seen to be part of the car of the seat is attached by isofix......well one nil me

You can only fail items that are specifically listed in the guide, script is not, bulbs are.

[Athlon]

BunkMoreland said:

Problem there is that if a car has a digital display screen, and not an actual bulb/lamp then that rules out everything!


(not my pic)

Cause if we're excluding everything thats not a lamp. Then we cant fail an "icon" because its essentially a warning message. Then nothing is a fail on 95% of cars post about 2020!

Counts as a lamp as it is not text...