MOT "PASS" but repair as soon as possible (minor defects)

General_query

Hi, took my Vauxhall Meriva B 1.7 CDTi (2011) for it's MOT yesterday and it passed, but came back with this minor defect:

Repair as soon as possible (minor defects):

Offside Front Upper Suspension rod ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated anti roll bar link (5.3.4 (b) (i))

Had an annual service afterwards and the guy basically said nothing to worry about and something about he'd cleaned it.

Relieved, I paid then drove home, and was then worrying about it all night. Before I go back to garage and query this - they never charged me for any additional labour other than for oil change, oil filter, air filter and cabin filter plus the MOT.

Anyone know how serious this is please?

It also had these below advisories, but he just said keep an eye on them, but they're the garage / mechanics, NOT ME. I know nothing about cars.

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))

Rear Coil spring corroded both (5.3.1 (b) (i))

Rear Suspension component pin or bush slightly worn top shock absorber bush (both) (5.3.4 (a) (i))

Anyway, it passed so can't be dangerous to drive, but I can't get these issues off my mind now.

Don't think I'll be taking it back to them next year after 3 years with them. Just seem to have a "Well it's over 10 years old, time to replace it" kind of attitude.

Thank you.

facade

It just means that the rubber dust cover on the anti-roll bar link is perished.

I personally  wouldn't worry about it, the "cure" is a new anti-roll bar link, which is exactly the same as waiting until the joint wears out then changing it anyway.

If the rubber gets very bad water and dirt can get in and the joint will wear out faster.

When the joint wears out you will get a knocking noise from the front (and an MOT fail) long before anything dangerous happens.

If you change it for a £9.99 one it will probably wear out sooner than the one you have on now!

Mildly_Miffed

The MOT flags issues in four categories...

1. Dangerous.
Fail, so bad you shouldn't drive it any further.

2. Major.
Fail, but not currently dangerous. You need to get it sorted before it'll pass, though.

3. Minor.
Pass, basically a formalised advisory that's actually spelled out in the tester's handbook.

4. Advisory.
Pass, anything else the tester thinks you should be aware of.

All the first three are spelled out in the tester's manual as to what is bad enough to fail.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles
Look up each of the sections to see what's tester, how it's tested, what's bad enough to fail, and what category applies.

None of the things you list are the tester being picky. The car PASSED the test, remember? They're all things that might cross the line to bad enough to fail in a year or two's time.

Of your list...

Droplink gaiter.
The gaiter is there to keep road muck out of the joint and prevent it wearing. It's not worn yet, but if muck gets in it will soon. Replace the link - but cheap ones are *nasty*, total false economy.

Oil leak.
Fail standard is *big* - 75mm diameter pool in 5 minutes of idling. Keep an eye on the oil level (you do that anyway, right?). Depending on the cause, it may be cheap and simple to fix, it may be a huge job. A friend of mine had a small oil leak in a v12 Aston. The cause was a 50p seal. To replace it was 20+ hours of labour at nearly £200/hour at a specialist, 15 years ago...

Rear springs.
They're getting grotty. They'll be fine until they go ping, which is more likely from potholes etc.

Damper bushes.
They're getting grotty, but not bad enough to fail. If you have the back suspension apart, do springs and dampers at the same time.

It's a 13yo Zafira. None of these will kill it, and it'll probably die of some other cause before any of them need doing.

chrisw

General_query said:

Don't think I'll be taking it back to them next year after 3 years with them. Just seem to have a "Well it's over 10 years old, time to replace it" kind of attitude.

Thank you.

Based on what you've said, your garage appears to be entirely reasonable and trying to be helpful rather than ripping you off.

I personally would stick with them rather than try another unknown.

Goudy

As already written, the rubber cover on the anti roll bar drop link is perishing and it'll eventually wear out, rattle and knock, it's pretty common for them to perish and wear over time.

The knocking from worn drop links can sound pretty bad and as the anti roll bar connects one side to the other, it's often felt across the front of the car under your feet.
They are cheap enough to consider replacing at it's next service. The part is probably less than £20 and I'd do both sides.

It's not uncommon either for coil springs to rust and for MOT testers to flag them up.
I would only change them (again both sides) bases on current condition as they can tend to snap at the ends when corrosion has got a firm hold. 
Rears are cheap to replace as there's little dismantling to get at them.

By the sounds if it the bush in the rear shock absorber's top "eye" has started to wear.
Again not uncommon and will usually result in a double knock from the back end over bumps and speed humps when they are really bad, like you've a bag of studs loose in the boot.

Again change them in axle pairs, they can be bought for less than £20 a side and a simple fit.

I would get the oil leak checked though.
These 1.7 CDTi's have a couple of well known oil leaks, one of which can drip on the alternator that is siamised to the vacuum pump.
As it's a diesel it has no inlet vacuum to run the brake servo, so this vacuum pump supplies the vacuum for the servo assisted brakes.