Borderline MOT fail on Disk thickness

dont_use_vistaprint
dont_use_vistaprint Posts: 601 Forumite
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in Motoring
Hi I have a 5 year old car and took to a place I dont fully trust but its close and they have availability and I needed oil service plus MOT quickly and time is money! Bad idea I know but I had little choice..

Anyway, fail on front disk, 1.5 mm below legal limit, of course pads will have to be done as well even though they are fine

Do you think for the sake or £25 its worth taking somewhere else for a test or is MOT disk thickness measurement controlled and regulated well enough to prevent fraud ?

Also I have another very old car that slips out of 2nd consistently, needs new box so not worth it, but apart that is fine as I like driving it. Do you think this is definite MOT fail ?

Thanks
"It is not the critic who counts..." - Theodore Roosevelt
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Comments

  • twhitehousescat
    twhitehousescat Posts: 5,368 Forumite
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    they removed the wheels and check disk thickness on an MOT ?
  • dont_use_vistaprint
    dont_use_vistaprint Posts: 601 Forumite
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    twhitehousescat wrote: »
    they removed the wheels and check disk thickness on an MOT ?

    No idea I'm not an MOT tester. But if Disk Thickness is part of the MOT requirement then they measure it somehow , you cant make up reasons for fail - just been reliably informed my other car wont fail for having gears missing as gears is not part of MOT test
    "It is not the critic who counts..." - Theodore Roosevelt
  • twhitehousescat
    twhitehousescat Posts: 5,368 Forumite
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    unless they can take a measurement without dismantling the car dismantling is not allowed on an mot

    the fact that they have stated 1.5 mm below legal limit infers that they were able to get measuring gear on , with the wheel still on , and the brake backplate and caliper in place
  • Noree
    Noree Posts: 166 Forumite
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    They can’t fail a disc on measurement.

    From the MOT Manual:

    1.1.14 Brake discs and drums
    A brake disc or drum must be significantly worn before you should reject it. Being worn below the manufacturer’s recommended limits isn't a reason in itself.

    Defect- Brake disc or drum:
    significantly and obviously worn

    Category of defect: Major

    Bit odd to tell you that.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,090 Community Admin
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    If there's a large enough wear lip which they would be able to see then this is what they're likely to have used to decide if it was too worn or not.

    Personally I'd not bother wasting £25 taking it elsewhere and put that £25 towards a new set of discs if there's a decent lip on them. Even if they pass a MOT they're going to need replacing and thin brake discs mean reduced braking efficiency and if they're thin enough they can crack or break completely under heavy braking.
  • arcon5
    arcon5 Posts: 14,099 Forumite
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    There isn't a legal minimum on discs. Different cars have different thickness discs.


    What is the actual text on the failure sheet?
  • sevenhills
    sevenhills Posts: 5,871 Forumite
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    edited 21 March 2019 at 9:22PM
    dont_use_vistaprint wrote: »
    Hi I have a 5 year old car and took to a place I dont fully trust but its close and they have availability and I needed oil service plus MOT quickly and time is money! Bad idea I know but I had little choice..


    My first Google search brought this up -

    Due to the amount of use that the brake disks/rotors get, they will have to be replaced over time. The brake disks/rotors on a car usually last anywhere between 50,000 and 70,000 miles.
    I personally think that is an under estimation.
  • chrisw
    chrisw Posts: 3,409 Forumite
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    dont_use_vistaprint wrote: »
    Also I have another very old car that slips out of 2nd consistently, needs new box so not worth it, but apart that is fine as I like driving it. Do you think this is definite MOT fail ?

    The car isn't driven through the gears for the MOT test so won't fail just because it jumps out of gear.

    However, you might get into trouble with the police if it's considered dangerous to drive because of it.
  • EdGasketTheSecond
    EdGasketTheSecond Posts: 2,558 Forumite
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    If you are only paying £25 for your MoT's, then thats why you are getting silly failures; they hope to make the money up on repairs. Take it somewhere decent and pay the full MoT price; then you will most likely pass. I gave up cheap MoT's as bad value years ago.
  • Noree
    Noree Posts: 166 Forumite
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    To be fair, it’s is difficult to justify an MOT a failure on a worn brake disc if it passes a brake test, providing the disc isn’t obviously near completely worn. I wouldn’t expect a tester to be able to determine this so they should really be looking to give benefit of the doubt where possible and pass the vehicle.

    However at the same time it is hard to judge as we’ve not seen the condition on the discs. But as mentioned, it is very weird for them to give measurements. This part is deffo bull!

    Do you have the failure sheet with the defect? Post exactly what it says under the major/dangerous category.
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