Advisory Notes on my MOT

bikebarbie

Hi all,

took my car for its first MOT this morning and passed but returned with 3 advisory items.

The car is an 09 Ford Fiesta 1.4 Diesel with 41K on the clock.

A* Front Brake Pads wearing thin (3.5.1g)
B* Front (inner face) brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (3.5.li)
C* Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has slight play (2.2B.1f)


My questions are,
1* out of interest, do points B&C reflect the age / mileage of the car?
2* for points A and B will I get a warning light come up when is time to change? I will feel when the pads get too low but I am not sure I will be able to tell when I will need to change the discs. And dont want to overuse - causing further more costly damage.
3* they told me that points A&B is cheaper if done at the same time and that point C is not expensive at all.

Also if anyone can give me a guidance of what prices to expect I would be grateful so I can start planning on having this done. And my Service is due within a couple of months, so will this be covered in the service or can any of it be omitted?

Thanks:T
-

bikebarbie

Any replies? Dont give anything for granted, I know very little about mechanics so even some basic feedback might be useful to me

marlot

All three are items which wear on every car. 41k is probably abut right.

Not covered as part of the inclusive price on a normal service. But not hugely expensive. Get both front disks changed at the same time (keeps the braking balanced).

lesalanos

I might be on my own here but I wouldn't bother getting any of them done yet.

Hintza

Probably all be fime for another year. But might as well start making plans to get them done.

s_b

point a is an advisory that these pads probably wont last a year
get them changed

bikebarbie

s_b wrote: »

point a is an advisory that these pads probably wont last a year
get them changed

Get them changed as sooner rather than later?

I think the brake pads/disks might have a warning light come up on the dashbord when they must be changed. I will check my Handbook/

THANKS ALL FOR YOUR REPLIES :T

Nearly_Old

bikebarbie wrote: »

Get them changed as sooner rather than later?

I think the brake pads/disks might have a warning light come up on the dashbord when they must be changed. I will check my Handbook/

THANKS ALL FOR YOUR REPLIES :T

It would be better to get them changed before the warning light comes up as the sensor is usually a single use item and you would therefore have to pay for a new sensor.

Last year the 1st MoT on my wife's car reported that the front brake pads were 80% worn, the car had done 40,000 miles. The estimate from the independent garage was circa £93 for fitting new pads and sensor (just in case it needed a new sensor). I got new pads for £29.62 using a Eurocarparts discount code and a free postage offer. The main dealers estimate started with 1.25 hours of labour @ £120/hr :eek:

As for the discs being marked, pitted, scored they are made of cast iron and they do rust and get scored. I changed the discs on one of our cars when it was 10 years old (72,000) purely for cosmetic reasons as they still worked OK. My everyday car is a 2.2lt automatic diesel and that does around 60,000 to a set of pads and 100,000 to a set of discs.

Notmyrealname

bikebarbie wrote: »

I think the brake pads/disks might have a warning light come up on the dashbord when they must be changed.

They frequently don't work. Don't rely on the light coming on.

Notmyrealname

Nearly_Old wrote: »

It would be better to get them changed before the warning light comes up as the sensor is usually a single use item and you would therefore have to pay for a new sensor.

The sensor is built into the pad. It is two metallic strips and when the pad wears to the point they're exposed, the brake disc completes the circuit and the dash warning light illuminates.

arcon5

Notmyrealname wrote: »

The sensor is built into the pad. It is two metallic strips and when the pad wears to the point they're exposed, the brake disc completes the circuit and the dash warning light illuminates.

Is this on all cars or generally just new cars?