Cynical motor industry commentators view the new MOT rules as possibly just another way to create work for garages. The new MOT includes a ‘Malfunction Indicator Lamp’ check and so certain warning lights if they are illuminated due to a fault, will now result in an automatic MOT failure. These include warning lights for:-
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Electronic stability control
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Safety restraint systems so seatbelts
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Anti-lock braking systems
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Tyre pressure monitoring sensors
The government says it is to improve road safety but there are plenty of people driving round in cars which have had a dashboard light on for months without ill effect seemingly.
As many motorists know to their cost, certain electronic faults can be a nightmare to solve and result in huge labour costs. Electronics can be unreliable and quirky so it seems harsh to elevate the rogue warning light from the status of ‘advisory’ to MOT fail in the light of this. If the performance of the car is not adversely affected, many motorists wouldn’t bother to try and solve an issue that could be almost impossible to detect without lengthy and costly diagnostics. Now that option may have been removed by new legislation to comply with a revised European testing directive.
Road safety is a hugely important issue and everyone should be focused on improving safety but nonetheless, it is rather a meal ticket for garages who have an MOT bay. They are not required to find the cause of the fault and rectify it but most people either service their cars at the same time as the MOT or ask the garage to put anything right so the car can pass so it does create a nice line of work.
Currently, the troublesome EML light is not an MOT fail. This is a vague alert which can mean almost anything to diagnose and detect and is the one light which can really result in a hefty garage bill. It’s hard for legislators to isolate this light to a road safety issue because it can cover such a wide variety of faults.
What are the most common MOT failures?
According to data from the DVSA between May 2018 and May 2019, in percentage terms, these are the most common MOT failures:-
Suspension – 18.3%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment – 14.9%
Brakes – 8.8%
Tyres – 6.8%
Issues affecting the driver’s view of the road – 6.1%, these are mostly windscreen cracks or chips but do include stickers
Some of the most common failures on this list are easily rectified and you don’t have to be particularly knowledgeable or handy to check the basics and rectify things like blown bulbs, dirty number plates or removing a badly placed sticker from your windscreen.
Quick checks any motorist can do their vehicle before they present for the MOT
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Clean your number plate particularly in the winter months – both front and rear plates must be readable
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Check all the lights, headlights, hazard lights and indicators are all in working order and don’t forget the number plate bulb
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Ask a friend or family member to check your brake lights, you can also do this in gloomy or dark weather yourself by reversing close to a wall or window which will show you the reflection when you touch the foot brake
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Get an independent tyre check and replace any that do not demonstrate the legal tread which is 1.6mm in a continuous band around the central ¾ of the tyre. To make it easy to assess, many tyres have tread wear indicators which are raised ridges in the bottom of the grooves. They are exactly 1.6mm high so if they are worn down to the same level surface as the tyre then they need replacing
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Some but not all stone chips and cracks on the windscreen can require a new screen, it depends where they are in the driver’s sight and how bad they are. The rule is no more than 10mm in the driver’s area and no more than 40mm in the rest as either of these will cause a fail. Wipers must clear front and back screens, they are easy to replace if they have perished
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Screenwash should be working so make sure it is topped up
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Check seatbelts to ensure they are all in working order and retract properly. They should clip and unclip smoothly and the fitting on the floor to which they attach should be secure and unmoving
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Hoot your horn, it needs to work
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Fuel and engine oil needs to be to a requisite level. The tester won’t need to drive the car other than into the testing bay but he will need to run the engine to check exhaust emissions
Remember your car can be tested up to one month early and you can still keep the same anniversary date so you have nothing to lose by testing early; if your car does need work done, it will give you time to shop around for the best price. If you take the car in early and it fails, the old certificate is still valid up to the expiration date so you can still use the vehicle in theory. When the new regulations were introduced in May 2018.
The DVSA had wanted to take off the road those cars who were found to have dangerous defects but they were forced to retreat from this position after motorists were rather held to ransom by unscrupulous garages who trapped drivers into expensive repairs because they were not legally allowed to drive the vehicle away after that category of MOT fail. But, take note, the police do have a catch- all that it is an offence to drive an unroadworthy vehicle so you could be fined up to £2,500 or even be prosecuted and lose your licence if the MOT revealed something seriously wrong with the vehicle and you continue to drive it
The change in MOT regulations in 2018 took three million vehicles off the UK’s roads. 31 million cars were tested and just over 10 million failed with 2.9 million of those deemed to have ‘dangerous defects’. These were removed from the road until they had been repaired and placed in a sufficiently roadworthy condition to pass the new test. Learn more about the MOT here.
