Failed MOT Advice?

JSCB

HI there,

So I've just got back from the test centre with a failed MOT and not much advice from the guy who issued it other than to come back Saturday for them to sort it! Hopefully, I can get some better knowledge and advice on the issues and what I'm best to do now from here!

The refusal certificate shows 4 reasons:

1. Stop Lamp not working Nearside
2. Stop lamp not working offside
3. Tyre tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm offside front (inner edge)
4. Brakes imbalanced across front axle (Which I also have a test print out showing)

Plus advisory info of:

5. Tyre worn close to legal limit nearside front (inner edge)
6. Front (Exhaust bracket adrift)

However, he couldn't advise me on the brakes issue at all and didn't even mention the exhaust bracket. Didn't mention the brake lights either or whether they're an immediate issue, could I be pulled over for this? Should they of offered to fix them there and then?

But my biggest issue was that I've only done 13'000 miles on the tyres which were fitted and supposedly tracked less than a year ago at the centre I've been too today. They said that the tracking can run out at anytime.

I also had a full, complete service in December and had nothing come up there, for any of these issues, but most annoyingly for the tracking or tyres, which the guy tonight said should of been checked in a service. Is this true? Should a service in December have picked up on the tracking being out before the tyres had time to wear to below the limits, or could it have been knocked out and them worn down significant since then within the 3 months since?

Obviously, not happy they're suggesting I need new tyres within a year of having new and within 3 months of a service, so wondering if there's anything I should be suspicious of there or at least to know whether not to use the garage I used for the service again in future. I just don't see how these 5 separate things have supposedly all came about in the 3 months since my service and seemingly not one started in the 9 months before it.

Going forward, I'm also wondering whether to go back there Saturday or get a second opinion? Or even to seek somewhere else to do the repairs? I've read online you can take a vehicle away to be repaired and return it within 10 days for a partial rest. However, if what they're saying is true, then it will be the same wherever you go.

Not sure how any of this work as I've never had a failed MOT before, but obviously don't want to be robbed off!

Any advice on the things shown or what to do going forward would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks :beer:

Car_54

The most urgent thing is the brake lights. You should not be on the road until those are fixed (and the front tyres replaced).

The test centre need not have (not "of") offered to fix them. Their job is to test, not fix.

molerat

Yes you will likely get pulled with 2 brake lights out.

Tracking can be put out hitting pot holes etc but your weekly checks should have picked up something amiss with the tyres.

Hopefully the brake lights will be bulb changes but it should not be found on an MOT, again part of your weekly checks.

mollycat

A 2nd opinion?

For x2 bulbs, x1 tyre and (possibly just) a cleaning up of your brakes.

I wouldn't waste your time. Replace bulbs and tyres, get the garage to tell you what's needed re: the brakes and how much, (££)

Get your tracking done.

Regular checking of your tyres would have shown the issue months ago.

If that was my MOT fail, (consumables), I'd be jumping in the air.

JSCB

mollycat wrote: »

A 2nd opinion?

For x2 bulbs, x1 tyre and (possibly just) a cleaning up of your brakes.

I wouldn't waste your time. Replace bulbs and tyres, get the garage to tell you what's needed re: the brakes and how much, (££)

Get your tracking done.

Regular checking of your tyres would have shown the issue months ago.

If that was my MOT fail, (consumables), I'd be jumping in the air.

Hopefully it is that simple although his lack of explanation didn't make it so.

I've just checked my lights myself and they were intermittent, so it's not that the bulbs have just gone, must be something else. Seemed like whether they worked or not depended on where I stood on peddle and with how much pressure, but perhaps that was just me.

Also hoping the brakes are simple as a quick clean like you say, as I've read other threads of it costing people between £100 for new pads and discs, or up to £200+ for entire units I think.

In terms of tyres going forward, is it best to get a proper gauge and then you can look regularly and as soon as the inside is showing 2mm and the outside 2.2m for example, taking them to be re-aligned.

I just don't know anyone who takes checks like that so seriously, yet I also don't know anyone who's had to have new tyres within a year and 3 months of a service either! Perhaps just some bad luck

mollycat

Final couple thoughts before I go watch the football.

1. Youre overthinking the "MOT fail" thing....bulbs(?), brakes and a tyre; I would have just sucked it up.

2. Dont know what you mean about not knowing anyone who takes checks "like that so seriously", but my experience is that if you need an MOT flag to up tyres and bulbs youre not doing it right.

Even if you had your car serviced 3 months ago, you still should have looked at your tyres, (several times) since then.

takman

JSCB wrote: »

In terms of tyres going forward, is it best to get a proper gauge and then you can look regularly and as soon as the inside is showing 2mm and the outside 2.2m for example, taking them to be re-aligned.

I just don't know anyone who takes checks like that so seriously, yet I also don't know anyone who's had to have new tyres within a year and 3 months of a service either! Perhaps just some bad luck

I really hope your joking!

So you honestly think that you need to measure your tyre depth and when it gets to around 2mm you get the alignment done?. The only alignment that should be done on tyres at 2mm is aligning them in the container after they have been taken off your car and replaced with new ones.

Just check your tyres once a week and if they are getting low put new ones on, it's really that simple!. (Inside the tread you will see "bumps" that are at the legal limit for a quick comparison check)

forgotmyname

takman wrote: »

I really hope your joking!

So you honestly think that you need to measure your tyre depth and when it gets to around 2mm you get the alignment done?. The only alignment that should be done on tyres at 2mm is aligning them in the container after they have been taken off your car and replaced with new ones.

Just check your tyres once a week and if they are getting low put new ones on, it's really that simple!. (Inside the tread you will see "bumps" that are at the legal limit for a quick comparison check)

Nah dont be silly, the sort of driver that doesnt check their lights wont care one jot about the tyres being legal.

System

JSCB wrote: »

Didn't mention the brake lights either or whether they're an immediate issue, could I be pulled over for this?

You're kidding right? Do you have a driving license because that's the kind of nonsense I'd expect from someone who hasn't. When you're driving behind someone do you think that them having brake lights is kind of important to give you an indication they're slowing down?

And my workplace is sharing the road with people like this.

JSCB

Tarambor wrote: »

You're kidding right? Do you have a driving license because that's the kind of nonsense I'd expect from someone who hasn't. When you're driving behind someone do you think that them having brake lights is kind of important to give you an indication they're slowing down?

And my workplace is sharing the road with people like this.

Hang on a minute, perhaps the thread post come across wrong, to me yes, I guess it is obvious, but when I say to the guy at the garage, "is everything ok, obviously I need it for work" expecting him to say "no, but they're an easy fix and we can at least get them sorted now for you if you'd like" but instead he says "Yeah you'll be fine until you come back Saturday," then why would I question that guy who's job is ensuring cars are safe for the road??

takman wrote: »

I really hope your joking!

So you honestly think that you need to measure your tyre depth and when it gets to around 2mm you get the alignment done?. The only alignment that should be done on tyres at 2mm is aligning them in the container after they have been taken off your car and replaced with new ones.

Just check your tyres once a week and if they are getting low put new ones on, it's really that simple!. (Inside the tread you will see "bumps" that are at the legal limit for a quick comparison check)

I'm not talking about the issue of the tyres being low of tread!! Have you read the rest of the thread at all? I have no issue with them needing to be replaced, I just wasn't expecting them to need to be so soon (due to them becoming unaligned) and wanted to know how I can check the alignment at home so I can do so in future before the next set of tyres get ruined within 12 months of being new.

Perhaps saying 2.2mm was the wrong figure, but it was just for example. I assumed you'd regularly check for difference in tread across the wheel, for example, if it was even across the wheel, you know they were still aligned fine, but if it'd become slightly uneven, FOR EXAMPLE, 2.2mm on the outside and 2mm on the inside, or 4.4mm on the outside and 4mm on the inside then you'd know you need to keep an eye on that difference and perhaps take them in to be realigned before they got ruined again (like this set have been). Regardless of the figures, the 2 or the 4, the question is the same.

Usually this forum's pretty helpful, especially the finance parts, but the motoring sections disappointed me with some of the unhelpful answers (if you can even call them that!) that I've had.

Joe_Horner

For the brake light issue, spray paint over the side lights (all 4 corners) with a good opaque paint and the brake lights (plus headlights & indicators) become optional & no longer tested.