turning off the brake and anti-lock warning lights

That these lights are on is a sign of a problem.... this is brakes... thiose things that stop us when we need to (and we never seem to get that second chance to stop). With the inspections I do in Alberta, I cannot pass a vehicle if a safety warning light is lit or does not prove out at key on.

Your mechanic needs to realize that he has told you something that can have him in serious legal difficulties if you were to have an accident that involved your braking system. If someone were to be killed or seriously injured, he could/would become a party on the defendants side.

FWIW, the ABS light is probably (and I mean *probably*) on in sympathy to the red brake warning light. The most common reasons for this to be on is the fluid level sensor, the park brake switch or the brake pressure differential switch.

Look at it this way... these warning lights are on and someone feels they are on for a minor concern..... if they are already on, don't expect them to get brighter if something more serious happens.

In MA, there is nothing stating a vehicle's ABS system must work for it to pass inspection.

Not sure about the Brake light.

Every inspection station has a copy of what they must check. Ask to see it.

Just a followup on my own post. Go back to the inspection station and give them this:

Of course, I've never had a station perform test the way they describe, so make sure you can pass what this says.

ABS broken? No problem. Brake light on? No problem. As long as the systems can be mechanically tested as indicated above, you will pass.

Hello Mark,

Thank you very much for the link. In fact, the inspector didn't physically try to stop the car on the wheel-running ramp/bay. He just noticed the red brake light and told me, the vechile had failed. So please, where does it say (explicitly) if the brake light is on, then it is not a problem?

For your information, the inspection station is located at Mobile 9 gas station on Rt-9 in Amherst, MA area. I had many work-colleagues who seem to be having a hard luck with that inspector who had failed them all for ultimately no-sense reasons. They went to some other inspection station and their vechile passed. I could do the same thing, but I want my money back from that inspector.

It doesn't. It also doesn't say that if it IS on, it fails. There are no requirements in there for them to check the light at all. In other words, he's doing something he's not supposed to be doing. Most likely because he just doesn't know better. Ask him to show you where it says he's is to check that. Show him the regulations.

If he's giving you a hard time and still being ignorant as to what he's supposed to be doing, let him know you'll be contacting the registry because you know he's failing you on a non-inspectable item. After you speak with a representative there and give them your side of the story, they can do a number of things ranging from just calling the station and informing them they aren't supposed to be doing this - all the way to shutting them down until they are in compliance. I speak from experience on this. I had a Mobil station shut down for 1/2 a day because they refused to use a ball-joint gauge when testing my vehicle. They said it failed but wouldn't tell me by how much it failed nor show me the criteria. After I made my calls and they were shut down, I went back, they put the gauge on and even had a manual out with the allowable specs (boy, did I get some nasty looks from these grease monkeys) and what do you know....I passed. This was some 8-9 years ago, but the RMV still has authority of all inpsection stations. Start there.

As others have mentioned, inspection requirements are spelled out in the inspection manual quite clearly. If an inspector "fudges", he/she can be disbarred, fined or even be unable to find work afterwards.

Nothing will beat having the problem diagnosed by a competent mechanic... he/she will not come cheap but your cheapy guys appear to be leading you astray at the very least. Your Explorer is NOT a car.... it is a MACHINE. Machines need maintenance.... machines need repair. To leave a safety warning system "disabled" in this manner is (sorry to say) reprehensible and you are indeed putting lives at risk.

I've said it before and I will say it again.... if you caqnnot afford to properly maintain your vehicle, you cannot afford to have a vehicle.... It may sound abrupt but it is, none-the-less, the truth. Imagine someone giving you a ride in a private plane and having them say "Oh, yeah.... I can't afford to have that fixed..." , or falling through a neighbours porch because they couldn't afford to have it fixed or eating a hamburger and having someone say they couldn't afford to have their fridge fixed..... The list goes on....

I'm sorry if I'm not telling you what you want to hear.... but I do believe that it is what you *have* to hear....

Let's shed some light on this..... You mean to tell me that, if I climb into a car (especially a car I don't know) with brake warning lights on, you are expecting me to drive this thing???? I've taken way too many road tests that, after inspection, I feel lucky to return from..... Apparently, someone, somewhere, feels that techs are expendable.

While some may be daring enough to take risks on our highways and byways, I will feel much safer on my "donorcycle" than I will in a car with warning lights ablaze...

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Yea, we all know that every single time an idiot light comes on (it's called that for a reason) there must be a safety problem.

*sigh*