So what have you done with your Aston today? (Vol. 2)
Discussion
Jon39 said:
PMKeates said:
bullet7 said:
It seems the tester allowed the car to idle for more than 20 minutes stationary, which is what caused the light to come on. The garage will not change the result, in fact they can't. Whilst I am still infuriated (mildly), I am composing a complaint to the DVSA. It's worth a try.....
What on Earth is there to be infuriated about?I would make a fuss about these circumstances. It is the principal.
A complaint would obviously be to DVSA. I normally would not bother tackling a government agency, but the negligence in this case was not DVSA, but the MoT tester. The handbook entry which you found is interesting confirmation. The MoT stations should have sufficient knowledge about the cars which they are testing. Your description now indicates that the MoT tester caused the advisory fault.
My MoT tester does not idle the engine for 20 minutes. Why did they do that?
Edited by Jon39 on Wednesday 30th September 19:48
Why leave it idling? They have to for the first ten minutes while they do lights / washers other trivial stuff. Then they put it in the air and need it running while they check for leaks, check steering movement etc....
I am not a tester but have watched many tests and a 15 minute idle is not uncommon. If the car is roadworthy I don’t have an issue. I don’t see 20 minutes as being excessive. A few years ago I took a car to a test which I knew had an over heating issue and I asked they kept engine running time to an absolute minimum and the tester was very happy to do so.
bullet7 said:
I did say mildly. The fact that it stays on the MOT history, there is actually no fault and of course there will be no evidence of it being 'rectified'.
Sure. But it means absolutely nothing. It seems a considerable waste of your time to start a furious complaint against the DVSA about it. When the people in the office receive your letter they will laugh at you.BIG DUNC said:
The MOT station cannot be expected to know the ins and outs of every specialist car in the land. Astons have their quirks, as do TVRs, Lotuses, even my Mazda MPS and old Land Rover (Tester was very keen I didn’t “help or intervene “, but until I did he was using a piece of 2x4 to hold the bonnet up as he hadn’t worked it out.)
Why leave it idling? They have to for the first ten minutes while they do lights / washers other trivial stuff. Then they put it in the air and need it running while they check for leaks, check steering movement etc....
I am not a tester but have watched many tests and a 15 minute idle is not uncommon. If the car is roadworthy I don’t have an issue. I don’t see 20 minutes as being excessive. A few years ago I took a car to a test which I knew had an over heating issue and I asked they kept engine running time to an absolute minimum and the tester was very happy to do so.
Not on modern MOT set ups is there a need for '10 minutes' to check the lights and stuff. Testers don't need to get out the car to physically check and walk around, they simply look in their mirrors so 2-3 mins is enough. The underneath check is another short idling test. In total 10 minutes would be a long time. And if you visit an old fashioned test station with a pit, the idling time is often much shorter, especially with pre cat equipped cars belching out carbon monoxide. Why leave it idling? They have to for the first ten minutes while they do lights / washers other trivial stuff. Then they put it in the air and need it running while they check for leaks, check steering movement etc....
I am not a tester but have watched many tests and a 15 minute idle is not uncommon. If the car is roadworthy I don’t have an issue. I don’t see 20 minutes as being excessive. A few years ago I took a car to a test which I knew had an over heating issue and I asked they kept engine running time to an absolute minimum and the tester was very happy to do so.
I cannot see any reason for 20 minutes idling and an engine is at its most inefficient when idling and the 'cats will not be hot enough to work efficiently so polluting the test station.
PMKeates said:
bullet7 said:
I did say mildly. The fact that it stays on the MOT history, there is actually no fault and of course there will be no evidence of it being 'rectified'.
Sure. But it means absolutely nothing. It seems a considerable waste of your time to start a furious complaint against the DVSA about it. When the people in the office receive your letter they will laugh at you.N7GTX said:
BIG DUNC said:
The MOT station cannot be expected to know the ins and outs of every specialist car in the land. Astons have their quirks, as do TVRs, Lotuses, even my Mazda MPS and old Land Rover (Tester was very keen I didn’t “help or intervene “, but until I did he was using a piece of 2x4 to hold the bonnet up as he hadn’t worked it out.)
Why leave it idling? They have to for the first ten minutes while they do lights / washers other trivial stuff. Then they put it in the air and need it running while they check for leaks, check steering movement etc....
I am not a tester but have watched many tests and a 15 minute idle is not uncommon. If the car is roadworthy I don’t have an issue. I don’t see 20 minutes as being excessive. A few years ago I took a car to a test which I knew had an over heating issue and I asked they kept engine running time to an absolute minimum and the tester was very happy to do so.
Not on modern MOT set ups is there a need for '10 minutes' to check the lights and stuff. Testers don't need to get out the car to physically check and walk around, they simply look in their mirrors so 2-3 mins is enough. The underneath check is another short idling test. In total 10 minutes would be a long time. And if you visit an old fashioned test station with a pit, the idling time is often much shorter, especially with pre cat equipped cars belching out carbon monoxide. Why leave it idling? They have to for the first ten minutes while they do lights / washers other trivial stuff. Then they put it in the air and need it running while they check for leaks, check steering movement etc....
I am not a tester but have watched many tests and a 15 minute idle is not uncommon. If the car is roadworthy I don’t have an issue. I don’t see 20 minutes as being excessive. A few years ago I took a car to a test which I knew had an over heating issue and I asked they kept engine running time to an absolute minimum and the tester was very happy to do so.
I cannot see any reason for 20 minutes idling and an engine is at its most inefficient when idling and the 'cats will not be hot enough to work efficiently so polluting the test station.
You raise a good point about the cat. The engine has to be up to temp to test it, so when they drive a stone cold car off the forecourt they let it idle until it is warm on the gauge. On a diesel they often want to see the oil temp above a certain point (measurement probe on their dip stick). I appreciate that doesn’t apply to any Astons.
Kermit recieved a new pair of shoes today!
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
AdamV12V said:
Kermit recieved a new pair of shoes today!
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
Looks superb Adam.Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
AdamV12V said:
Kermit recieved a new pair of shoes today!
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
Good to bump into you Adam on the day. The Rapide AMR and Kermit convoy were stunning.Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
Not a fan of all black wheels normally, however in your case with the carbon parts it works well on your car.
AdamV12V said:
Kermit recieved a new pair of shoes today!
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
Look nice. Are those wheels 19" or 20"?Michelin Pilot Sport 4S all round plus I refurbed the Zagato's to pure gloss black as the diamond turned faces had began to show lacquer damage again for the 2nd time in 4 years. So all gloss black was the only other OEM Zagato option, so as I wanted to try to retain within OEM boundaries, gloss black it is this time! Nice change too if nothing else.
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