It's that time of year again...(MOT)

I've decided that I should just take the 110 straight to the garden centre each year as it always needs new bushes :)

This year it didn't! They did give me an advise that just about every bush, brake pipe and fuel line will fail next year...

They failed it on silly stuff this year...

Bonnet hinge not there (the little round rubber thing was tight and had moved - squirt of WD40 cured that).

Wheelnut loose (and they didn't tighten it...)

washer not aiming correctly (actually it ran out as they were testing them)

Seatbelt with hole (drivers side doesn't always retract and catches in door lock) - are seatbelt assemblies easily obtained?

Foglight not working - didn't know that it ever did - the dash light and the lamp itself are inoperative???

Front o/s brakes contaminated with oil - from the swivel I suppose...

Corrosion to front o/s chassis rail - actually an outrigger where it joins at the bottom to the chassis - this was new a couple of years ago.

Corrosion to rear o/s chassis rail - can't find the yellow chalk yet, but examiner tells me that it's high on the chassis in front of the rear axle, with a metal plate hiding a hole...

Inside door handle n/s inoperative. Forgot that it had broken, need to fix that...

I suppose that it's not bad, and I get a year to do all the bushes etc. Are brake and fuel lines a pain to do?

Not so bad...

Reply to
danny
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They did!

I didnt know that bonnet hinges were a testable item?

I'm guessing that theyre gonna be standard inertia reel seatbelts anyway, but even if not then they are easy to get.

If you dont want the fog light, then take the light off, and cover up/remove the switch. It wont be testable then. its only got to work if its there.

thats going to be more fun :)

The pipe itself is fairly inexpensive, and its only really as hard as getting the old ones off, and managiung to bend/feed new bits into the right places.

Reply to
Tom Woods

Bonnet security and operation was added recently... more and more seems to be getting added every 6 months or so...

That will depend entirely on what year the vehicle is... post 1980 (iirc) is required to have a rear fog lamp fitted to the o/s.

Reply to
murphwiz

News to me but, having had a bonnet fly up, I can see why.

A spare wheel on the bonnet seems a good way of holding it down.

Reply to
David G. Bell

It is getting more complicated isnt it!. I'm gonna stick to older cars!

Reply to
Tom Woods

Only for Construction and Use regs. If it ain't there for the MOT, it isn't testable. An MOT test only tests that things work for the road, it is not a certificate of conformity.

Besides, sounds like you have a picky MOT tester, I don't patronise places like that, I like sensible testers who will tighten a wheelnut or adjust a washer, rather than fail it on stupid items like that.

Alex

Reply to
Alex

Section 1.1 tester manual reason for rejection

6a A mandatory rear fog lamp is missing, does not emit a steady red light or emits a light other than red

So forget the "if it's not there they can't fail it" thing we've covered this before and about what is a safety item and as far as I'm concerned a loose wheel nut is an important safety item Andy

Reply to
Andy.Smalley

I agree - and I'll tighten it at inspection time.

For anyone who wants to see how nasty the NZ equivalent of a MOT is I've posted a link below. The scary bit is it's 6 monthly for vehicles more than 6 years old, and the section on rust is harsh.

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Reply to
EMB

Yes, it is important. I don't recall ever seeing it tested (they're covered by those plastic discs on most cars, which I've known break because the plastic has aged when they've had to be removed). Is this something fairly new?

In any event, we also have the all those tyre fitters over-torquing the nuts with a windy gun. That's a safety issue too. Is the MOT tester expected to go round with a torque wrench?

Until I see a cite from the tester manual, I'm afraid I shall be inclined to suspect a high bogosity level on that item.

Reply to
David G. Bell

MOT tester manual section 4.2 roadwheels page 9 Reason for rejection 1c "loose or missing wheel nut(s), Stud(s) or Bolt(s)"

but the tester cannot remove the wheel trim so makes a bit of a joke of the thing dunt it

Andy

Reply to
Andy.Smalley

For the Irish NCT (National Car Test), wheel trims must be removed before the test.

See point 4-

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It'll fail if the inspector can't get at the wheel nuts/studs. The tests are done in official Test Centres which do nothing else but test cars, and the testers can't/won't adjust/fix anything. They test the vehicle as presented.

Our commercial vehicle test (DOE - Department of the Environment) is much more like your MOT- done in commercial garages by sensible people (mostly!) :-)

Ivor.

Reply to
Ivor Clegg

Go the whole hog - spare wheel, normal primary and secondary catches, rubber lashdowns at the outer edges, through-bonnet pins and leather buckle type lashdowns as well.

Now watch the tester curse you until you glow when they go to do a diesel smoke test and try to open the bonnet.

P.

Reply to
Paul S. Brown

According to the man from the ministry who inspected us this week.. things will be changing in a fairly radical way, but will be introduced over time to avoid mass re-certification for testers.

Reply to
murphwiz

No he won't curse he'll just send you away "refusal to test" on the other hand you could be nice to him and see if that gets you any brownie points

Andy

Reply to
Andy.Smalley

On the grounds of the bonnet being correctly secured?

It may be awkward, but it's still openable and if any of those lashings were undone I bet he'd fail for insecure fixings.

P.

Reply to
Paul S. Brown

Point taken but I'd make you do it then fasten it up afterwards to make sure it's secure and then look extra hard for something to fail it on.

I try to be as fair a tester as I can, I've passed vehicle that should technically fail but I try to apply a bit of common sense, I've adjusted headlights,changed bulbs and spent 20 mins trying to get a vehicle through the emission test ( about 8 attempts instead of one) not something that's approved of by the ministry

But if you come in and piss me off by making my job difficult I think you've got something to hide so I look even harder

There are many areas that are open to interpretation and the ministry people will always back up a tester on these areas

I normally test my own vehicles probably to a higher standard than Joe Public this is because my kids travel in them Most of the thing the OP listed were safety items I'd want them put right

Andy

Reply to
Andy.Smalley

No argument. If it had just been a wheel nut, would you let the OP just dig out his brace, nip it up and then pass it, assuming he hadn't annoyed you?

P.

Reply to
Paul S. Brown

Probably done it myself I've used to dread taking my car for the MOT so I tend to look from the other angle as well If it can be put right before I have to make out a fail sheet I'll pass it I have been known to supply and fit bulbs free of charge as well (normally requires a short skirt) I find it' easier to write out a pass certificate than a fail sheet

Andy

Reply to
Andy.Smalley

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