New MoT regs

John_C · Post by **John_C** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:40 pm

They're finally coming into force, airbag light will now be a fail along with a number of other relatively common issues.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/C ... 202013.pdf

Just in case anyone is due one soon and wasn't aware......

Cheers,
John

Chas · Post by **Chas** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 9:27 pm

All the more reason to put the E32 back on the road

dellboy 1959 · Post by **dellboy 1959** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:05 am

I had this discussion on another forum and i still don't see how tpms should be a fail,especially as they hardly ever work properly anyway.What's wrong with good old fashioned CHECK YOUR TYRE PRESSURES for crying out loud

bmw virgin · Post by **bmw virgin** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:23 pm

Took the B3s to a local Council MOT Workshop (Â£40 with no bias) last week and the guy mentioned that the tests will be getting tougher!

Mine passed with flying colours....the co2 reading when idling was 0%!

The headlights were high but he was happy to adjust them during the test!

Think I'll have to go through the new measures before I take the 328i in December!

Colin

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:14 pm

dellboy 1959 wrote:I had this discussion on another forum and i still don't see how tpms should be a fail,especially as they hardly ever work properly anyway.What's wrong with good old fashioned CHECK YOUR TYRE PRESSURES for crying out loud

I don't see how they can (consistently) check some of the early TPMS anyway as they reinitialised every time the car was started. On my E39, if the system threw a fault or got confused* it stuck a message up saying "Tyre pressure monitoring system deactivated", but it always reset itself next time the ignition was switched on and only displayed the message again after you'd driven for a while (assuming that it was a fault) - this means that, even if it threw a fault on the way to the test, the MOT station would never know that it had faulted.

Or are they all going to have OBD readers and be able to pull fault codes? If so a cheap-MOT offer may be a quick way to get the codes pulled without paying dealer prices

* the system on my E39 relied on receivers in the wheel arches picking up signals from senders at the base of the valve stems and, on my car at least, the system would get confused during heavy rain when there was lots of spray hitting the wheel arches

v8 ego · Post by **v8 ego** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:29 pm

The MoT has always been a curious thing to me. Your spare tyre has to be legal but if it isn't and you remove it from the car, it can't be failed.

The X5 went in a couple of weeks ago and came back with 2 advisories:

Rear seat belts checked due to presence of child seats

Cannot check for fluid leaks due to engine tray and coverings.

Bizarre!!

JASV8S · Post by **JASV8S** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 5:13 pm

I have had the exact same one for checking for oil leaks. I am sure it must be something they can select from a list, to make them look as if they are doing a thorough job.

AidanB10 · Post by **AidanB10** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 5:29 pm

On an old Citroen SM or XM (IIRC), they've one large "bellypan" that covers the whole of the underside.......which means you can't check the brake lines, fuel lines, or for rot without removing it, which is something they cant do at an MOT

*pointless piece of research of the day brought to you by Tesco's Shetland Pony Pie's*

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:15 pm

v8 ego wrote:The MoT has always been a curious thing to me. Your spare tyre has to be legal but if it isn't and you remove it from the car, it can't be failed.

Isn't there also an oddity whereby if headlights are fitted they have to work but you can remove them completely and pass the MOT? You're just not allowed to drive during 'the hours of darkness' without lights

v8 ego · Post by **v8 ego** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:11 pm

Quite possibly.

I own an ex-Police car that had the back seats removed to put gun cabinets in. I took it in for an MoT in 2005 and the guy goes 'Ooh, I doubt that will pass as it has no rear seat belts fitted', to whcih I replied 'You may not have noticed but it also doesn't have any rear seat fitted either!!'

John_C · Post by **John_C** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:48 pm

Can hopefully put your mind at rest about the spare - it isn't checked as part of the MoT at all. The tester can apparently draw your attention to issues with it via an advisory if they wish but that's it - http://www.ukmot.com/mot_check.asp

Re the TPMS I think that's going to be a complete nightmare for a lot of people. Mate of mine has a Laguna which is going to be scrapped before the next MoT as the cost of the three new sensors it needs is more than the value of the car so he'd be better off weighing it in and getting something else. Madness.

Although to be fair, it is a Laguna, so whatever happens he'd still probably be better off weighing it in and getting something else

Personally I foresee a growth in shonky sellers using timer based widgets which make the dash warning lights look like they're working properly when they're not.

ollieebmw · Post by **ollieebmw** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:45 pm

Greetings.

Luckily mine was M.O.T in February. Only problem I have now is the air bag light has come on again. When Munich legends had a look at it they informed me it was a common fault and easy fix. he just unplugged the connector under the drivers seat, sprayed some WD40 and hey ho problem solved. No charge. Will do it again when I get the time. This was done last July. He did say if it continues to happen on a regular basis it could be the tensioner.

CharlesM · Post by **CharlesM** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:54 pm

AidanB10 wrote:On an old Citroen SM or XM (IIRC), they've one large "bellypan" that covers the whole of the underside.......which means you can't check the brake lines, fuel lines, or for rot without removing it, which is something they cant do at an MOT

*pointless piece of research of the day brought to you by Tesco's Shetland Pony Pie's*

I can vouch for the Citroen SM (my LHM fluid cap is sitting in said tray as a result of butterfingers dropping it - with no chance of recovering it!).

I'm glad I had my Merc done last month as the airbag warning light was on. Something minor I can leave for a year is always a good thing!

John_C · Post by **John_C** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 2:12 pm

I'm not sure I'd treat the airbag light being on as minor, I'd quite like my airbags to work in a crash

Alpina Jim · Post by **Alpina Jim** » Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:08 am

For years now my mot tester has advised me that the spare wheel is not part of the test, the main reason he looks in the boot is to check for rust on the boot floor. No chance on my baby but he does a thorough job which is a good thing.

If I move the passenger seat it can occasionally bring up the air bag light and with my code reader it points to the seat belt pretensioner wiring which I believe is a common problem on the E39 model. I really should pull it apart one day but just to cover myself I put the code reader in the car for mot day.