MOT fail on wheelbearing

Damn, didn't realise that and just looked up mine that failed today hoping it would tell me where the rust was that it failed on and it although it doesn't tell me (handy that eh?) does this message mean that now you can't test for things that are wrong early to give you chance to fix it?

Warning: All passes for this vehicle have expired. There are no later tests for this vehicle.

From what I gather, that means I can't use the car now until it's passed another MOT even though it was MOT'd till June

Which naturally the owner would repair diligently as soon as he got home.....or not.

-- S.C.

Is there anyone still doing that? With the availability of low-cost 12V (corded) impact wrenches and hub nut sized impact sockets, that particular nightmare should be a thing of the past. Around UKP 20 on ebay including P&P, and no need to have anyone standing on the brakes or whatever.

It may be the current MOT wasn't from a computerised station?

No. The old MOT is still valid. You are driving an unroadworthy (according to the law in case that thread starts again) vehicle but then again so are lots of people. It just happens in this case you're more aware of the fact.

John

I have one, and whilst they are useful for undoing wheel nuts, dismantling etc, IME they are incapable of reaching the high torque figures needed for most front driveshaft nuts. BTW your reply should have been directed at Dave Baker. I didn't make the comment you queried. Mike.

An update.

I took the car to AMC in Garret Lane who are the local BMW specialist. On leaving it with them they said these things are to a certain extent a matter of judgment, and it's easy to confuse wheel bearing wear with other things. (I'm not so sure on that one, IMHO. ;-))

Now I know the common thing to wear first is the bottom balljoints on these cars, and often at the sort of mileage that mine's done, but this shows up as wheel wobble at speed, and mine doesn't.

They've just phoned up. No wear or play anywhere - apart from a *tiny* amount on one inner track rod end swivel - the one on the rack. Not a fail and not likely to need relacment for another 50,000 miles (their words).

The other fails were rear brake pads worn to less than 1.5 mm thick. They're all better than 3mm.

Parking brake lever has no reserve. Rubbish, says the specialist.

Advisory. Both read discs worn. Within maker's tolerance says the specialist.

They're going to MOT it and change the brake fluid as the 'clock' symbol on the dash indicates. For 75 quid.

Sound I complain to VOSA? I've used the same MOT place many times before, but it's changed hands recently. And they did quickly offer to do the work needed after it failed...

A wheel bearing change costs about 300 quid on this car and it's not a common failure. Chances are they'd have claimed to 'adjust' it.

I'm first going to phone them and ask for my money back. I'll post the result.

I certainly would. The rear brake pad wear at least is a matter of measurement not opinion so that should be a cut and dried matter for VOSA. So should the brake disk thickness. Sounds like a very poor MOT station.

Dave Plowman (News) ( snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Why not get them to MOT it anyway?

Too late. They'd want to inspect the car, but if you've now had the work done...

Aha...

BMW driver = clueless but far from skint.

Please record the call and post the MP3/WAV...

John Greystrong (johnny snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I'd say that was the very likely cause.

Is he? I missed seeing the list of points it'd failed on in his post.

'Cause the other place does a free re-test within 5 days.

But they haven't done anything, as nothing was needed...

They've obviously never come across an Aberdonian one. ;-)

They're going to refunded the fee. But couldn't 'get to the bottom of the matter as the actual tester isn't in today'.

Sad in that I've used them for many years on both cars. But discovered the business changed hands a few months ago.

There are still planty of nuts that need the scafford pole treatment - I have a really big compressor and air impact guns, but I still find some that need the 4 foot scaffold pole to crack.

Well, that's one way of getting business.

Sounds like they now have an incompetent examiner. Maybe one previously employed by Kwik-Fit. :-) Mike.

They have 4 qualified testers.

Incompetence is one thing. Stinks to me of fraud.

Like the local garage that MOT'd my Sierra 18 or so years ago. I was still doing accountancy work back then with the engine design more as a hobby and dropped the car off in the morning wearing a suit which I guess they took as meaning rip-off fodder. Came to pick it up in the evening and the bastard said it passed but there's an extra £15 charge for adjusting the headlights and the idle mixture. Bear in mind the whole MOT was only £20 or so then. I went effing ballistic, told the guy what I actually did for a living, exactly how long each of those adjustments took which is basically 30 seconds per headlight and maybe a minute to tweak an idle screw and that there was nothing wrong with either anyway.

Then he got very shamefaced and said they were only trying to help rather than have to fail it and how about £7. I thought how about my boot up your effing arse and a complaint to the MOT standards people about unauthorised repair work which I bet they tried on with every private customer who came through the door and didn't look too mechanically minded. I paid it though rather than have a huge fight and he still had my car keys behind the counter. Never been back there though and as it's only a mile up the road they've done themselves out of 18 more MOT's in the years since.

-- Dave Baker

Bing! Suddenly all makes sense :) I can confirm that the old MOT was from the old school.

I think so, it actually failed on two patches of corrosion jacking point and floor in the back, it's getting done next Fri anyhow so nothing that going to cause problems, but I assume that now the computerised stuff has come in that although it would have voided the current MOT that now it is that much easier to check :(

Oh well, looks like I wont be bothering to MOT my other car so early.....

The message from "Dave Baker" contains these words:

This is the bit that amazes me. Do these wankers not understand that a happy customer will return again and again but one that feels ripped off will stay away and do his best to make sure others do as well?

I know I've posted it before, but this seems appropriate...

"Dave Baker" wrote in news:43ecea74$0$8573$ snipped-for-privacy@titian.nntpserver.com:

'Then'? Blimey - where do you live? I paid £20 for an MOT last month!

Certainly seems fishy. Makes one wonder if the original garage would have charged for replacing the bearing without doing anything apart from maybe cleaning the area to suggest the axle had been worked on.

The MOT inspectors in the garage I've been using for many year's seems to play fair. I've never had occasion to disagree with the failure points they've found.

My BM failed last November for a leaking rear shock. The previous year he'd given it an advisory, so this years failure was not unexpected. I'd even baught a pair of shocks, but hadn't got round to fitting them.

Might be an idea to look for an MOT only testing station. AIUI some VOSA council testing stations are open to the public. They certainly wouldn't be interested in failing vehicles to get work. :-) Mike