The Citroen Visa Forum

This article was in the CCC magazine and it outlines the MoT changes that are to be brought into the test on 1st January 2012:

# Steering locks not engaging when the ignition key is removed will fail.
# Engine warning lamps, brake fluid warning lamps, ESP lamps, EPB lamps illumination - if any of these are illuminated indicating a fault it will fail.
# Tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) warning lamps - if illuminated indicating a fault it will fail.
# Airbag/SRS lamp illumination - If this warning lamp is illuminated it will fail.
# HID Headlamps - they will be included in the new test, and will fail if they prove to be outside of the specified conditions... but the conditions and reasons for rejections haven't been written or maybe decided yet.
# Wiring - any wiring (loomed or otherwise) that is damaged, or fitted in such a way that could cause damage to said wiring, or other systems will fail.
# Engine mountings - they will now be part of the test with Incorrect mounting, and or corrosion in a prescribed area etc will fail.
# PAS (Power assisted steering) fluid level will now be tested.
# Rear doors must open in the new test, otherwise it will fail. Currently and prior to that if the tester feels he can access the testable items in the rear (seatbelts, prescribed areas etc) without needing the doors open, then there was no need to open them.
# 13 pin tow-bar sockets - tested for correct operation using a plug in testing tool.
# Inappropriate modifications or repairs - the wording on this is quite vague at the moment, but if a major component has been modified, and that modification/repair makes the vehicle dangerous or seriously weakens the original component, expect it to fail.
# Ball joint dust covers - the small rubber boots over ball joints must be intact and free of splits, tears or holes, otherwise it fails.
# CVJ gaiters - all will now be tested, currently only the front outer CVJ gaiters are tested. This new rule extends it to inner and outer, front and rear.
# Catalytic converter - a missing converter will be a reason for failure, regardless of whether or not the emissions limits are met.
# Fuel pipe chaffing or damage - currently they only fail when they are leaking, this rule means that any chaffing or rubbing causing damage will fail.
# The braking imbalance limit - is lowered to 30% across all axles. Vehicles built post July 2010 will have to have at least 58% braking efficiency to pass (currently it's 50% for a dual circuit braking system)
# Batteries - insecure batteries will become a failure
# Light switches - all light switches must operate the corresponding lights immediately. No tapping or wiggling to make it work! The main beam warning lamp must illuminate with the main beam lamps

I saw this in the Citroenian today too (once again an excellent column again Mike!) - worth bearing in mind for next year. Luckily the Special has just gone in beforehand...

I've just made this a "Sticky" topic so it stays at the top of the list...

Frugg wrote:(once again an excellent column again Mike!)

... thanks - strangely enough I'm busy penning the next issues copy at the moment, which is due in on the 25th.

If you go to the VOSA [Vehicle and Operator Services Agency] website, you can download "The MOT Inspection Manual". It is a big document covering all aspects of the new MOT test but is not easy bedside reading.

I think that cars that have modern technology [such as ABS and air bags] where the warning light comes at the wrong time are going to have difficulties with the new MOT regulations. Solutions might not be cost-effective. I recently spoke to a person who expects that the vast number of Rover cars made up to the closure of the company will be off the road within a year because of sensor problems and the cost of repair.

Perhaps in 20 years' time there will be "newish" cars on the road and virtually no classic cars made after 1985-1990.

Good shout with that list Mike,I read somewhere that they are making it tougher in preparation for changing the frequency of test to 4/2/2, will be madness if this happens, but would bring us more in line with Europe

In line with Europe yes, but the French certainly have a different idea on when lights work and corrosion is excessive. I've seen cars with new French CT's with serious rust in sills and lights that haven't worked in years.
Why do we always get the worst bit's of European legislation?, how about scrapping road tax like the rest of Europe, wouldn't that bring us more in line too?

I can remember the days before M.O.T.'s, and the requirements of the earliest ones. It all seemed quite a good move; tyres; lights; brakes and steering. Apart from windscreen wipers - what else was there?
But as complexity increased - so did the things to be tested, and as with all things, progress leads to new gadgets, and new gadget manufacturers sought ever expanding markets. Parallel to this, is the government drive to both restrict use, and aim at greater road safety. The real truth about increased road safety is that it is an attitude of mind. Gadgets may reduce or deflect the consequences of poor driving or decision making, but they do not make roads safer to be on. Only education and attitude toward others will achieve that.

The aim to become more 'aligned' with Europe is, for most born and bred Brits - anathema. Especially when one sees the examples of French legislation and the way the French treat it - with disdain and the usual Gallic shrug. We, on the other hand, get sharp sticks and our pockets emptied in fear of 'doing wrong'.

My car failed its last MOT on having a number plate on which one small section of one digit had water ingress between the plastic and the digit. Fail - as a camera would have difficulty in recognising the digit. I took an image of the plate, and showed the testing station. Clear as day. "Very sorry Sir, it's still a Fail". They replaced the plate £14.99. Four weeks later it fell off - gone. Stuck on, instead of bolted.

Forgive the rant, but I've just been hammered by, and hammering back, the insurance brokers who spout chapter and verse of terms and conditions asking what your deceased grandparents last meal was before getting anywhere near a quotation. Talk about insanity! And don't even mention the doubling of premiums in two years (clean records all round).

Along with the possibility of vehicles over a certain age no longer requiring MOT tests, there is a very real threat that any vehicle over a certain age, through 'emissions' or design, will become barred from using the roads - safety hazards you see - it's all down to health and safety (aka 'progress?). An industry that has destroyed and consumed ways of life hitherto lived (and sometimes died by) for hundreds of thousand over many decades.

Will there ever come a time when we say - enough?