Don’t see if this has been asked m o t

[Mercmancdi]

If a 60 yr old car is insured and reg as taxed and although it does not require a m o t if it’s run through m o t and fails ( providing the car is generally safe to drive ) in the meantime until the failure repair is fixed is it still legal to drive .
Thanks.

[ManyMinors]

My guess is that if a car has failed its MOT, it is not legal to drive. The MOT only really covers safety related items doesn't it?
What did your car fail on?

I would just get it repaired as quickly as possible anyway - otherwise, your insurance company could use the MOT failure as a reason not to settle a claim

[Myrtles Man]

I wonder if, after having any necessary repairs done, you would need to get it re-MoT'd as well, otherwise it would continue to show as an MoT failure. Anybody know?

[Mercmancdi]

I have not took mine yet was just wondering what way it would work as waiting lists are here are 4 mths or more.
I still have drum brakes don’t know if they would reach the correct reading here equally on the rollers Or do they allow for that.also as o p said does it remain a m o t failure, I suppose it would but then that might put some people off trying to m o t.

[Bill_qaz]

You could ask a garage to carry out a pre mot inspection report.
As it's is not logged on as an MoT it would not be recorded on the data base.
If they find anything unroadworthy then common sense says get it fixed.
If your car is mot exempt it still has to be roadworthy so unless you have the skill, knowledge and facility to inspect it then you should have it done by a garage in my opinion. .

[Mercmancdi]

I can certainly check steering track rods Bush’s etc , all common sense stuff is good / my concern is what they would expect the brake readings to be on there rollers.
Ie do they allow a tolerance for 60 yr old car with drum brakes no servo etc. on modern cars your car is almost thrown off the rollers when testing front , rear and handbrake.

[Bill_qaz]

You can pay to have a brake roller test without it being mot test.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... s/1-brakes

MOT test extract below


L5 vehicles with a single service brake control that operates the brakes on all wheels which were first used:
- on or after 1 January 1968 50%
- before 1 January 1968 40%
b) Brakes imbalance across an axle such that:

(i) the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle. Or in the case of testing on the road, the vehicle deviates excessively from a straight line = Major

(ii) the braking effort from any wheel is less than 50% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on a steered axle = Dangerous

[ManyMinors]

I haven't had any trouble getting my car to pass the MOT test with completely standard braking system.

[Guildbass]

I can certainly check steering track rods Bush’s etc , all common sense stuff is good / my concern is what they would expect the brake readings to be on there rollers.
Ie do they allow a tolerance for 60 yr old car with drum brakes no servo etc. on modern cars your car is almost thrown off the rollers when testing front , rear and handbrake.

As long as there are no significant imbalances across an Axle and brakes achieve 40 or 50 percent effectiveness it'll pass. We failed a Traveller on wipers as they wouldn't move on a dry screen but everything else was good. The owner tried to convince us 'they were all like that' bless her!

[Mercmancdi]

Thank you appreciate your reply.

[exlkrs]

No.

[Mercmancdi]

Thanks for all replies,

[rocco]

We failed a Traveller on wipers as they wouldn't move on a dry screen but everything else was good. The owner tried to convince us 'they were all like that' bless her!
[/quote]

That seems a bit harsh, it's hardly a safety issue that wipers don't move when it's not raining.

[geoberni]

We failed a Traveller on wipers as they wouldn't move on a dry screen but everything else was good. The owner tried to convince us 'they were all like that' bless her!

I'm curious to know on what basis you failed this for testing it on a DRY windscreen?

The older versions of the MOT Tester Manual used to specify operation of Washer and Wiper together; is it now just left to the Testing station to interpret the requirements how they see them??

How can you check the effectiveness of wipers if the screen isn't wet??

MOT Wipers.JPG (110.75 KiB) Viewed 3405 times

.
I tried to find a Modern up-to-date Tester Manual online, but can only find the bare bones website stuff

[Bill_qaz]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... l-vehicles

Extract

Screenshot_20240715-213346_Chrome.jpg (74.14 KiB) Viewed 3368 times

[Guildbass]

We failed a Traveller on wipers as they wouldn't move on a dry screen but everything else was good. The owner tried to convince us 'they were all like that' bless her!

I'm curious to know on what basis you failed this for testing it on a DRY windscreen?

The older versions of the MOT Tester Manual used to specify operation of Washer and Wiper together; is it now just left to the Testing station to interpret the requirements how they see them??

How can you check the effectiveness of wipers if the screen isn't wet??MOT Wipers.JPG
.
quote]
They wouldn't move at all on a dry screen therefore they were defective. They also didn't move when you squirted the washers, presumably because they washers didn't lubricate yhe blades enough.
She told us they worked when it was raining but we never saw that and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. As it stood they were defective. The car returned with working wipers for its free retest and got a pass.

[Guildbass]

We failed a Traveller on wipers as they wouldn't move on a dry screen but everything else was good. The owner tried to convince us 'they were all like that' bless her!

I'm curious to know on what basis you failed this for testing it on a DRY windscreen?

The older versions of the MOT Tester Manual used to specify operation of Washer and Wiper together; is it now just left to the Testing station to interpret the requirements how they see them??

How can you check the effectiveness of wipers if the screen isn't wet??MOT Wipers.JPG
.
I tried to find a Modern up-to-date Tester Manual online, but can only find the bare bones website stuff

Wiper not operating or missing....Major defect

You couldn't clear the screen with the screen washers as the mechanism wouldn't start.
She returned for her free retest with working wipers and got a pass

[geoberni]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... l-vehicles

Wiper not operating or missing....Major defect

You couldn't clear the screen with the screen washers as the mechanism wouldn't start.
She returned for her free retest with working wipers and got a pass

I get all that, I had also found and read the very simplistic definitions on the GOV website; my point being that in the older versions of the manual it actually said HOW to do the test by operating the Washers and Wipers, not simply give the 'Not Operating' reason for failure.

My enquiry was around whether it gave any further detail anywhere??

[Bill_qaz]

Fair enough.

[Guildbass]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspect ... l-vehicles

Wiper not operating or missing....Major defect

You couldn't clear the screen with the screen washers as the mechanism wouldn't start.
She returned for her free retest with working wipers and got a pass

I get all that, I had also found and read the very simplistic definitions on the GOV website; my point being that in the older versions of the manual it actually said HOW to do the test by operating the Washers and Wipers, not simply give the 'Not Operating' reason for failure.

My enquiry was around whether it gave any further detail anywhere??

The MOT Tester (who will have been watched and assessed by a VOSA officer) simply activates the washers & wipers. All the wipers have to do is clear the screen without smearing or otherwise impeding vision. All modern vehicles activate wipers when the washers are used and if the screen is cleared, that is all you need. There's no requirement to check speeds or other settings.
As in most MOT things like that, things are approached as if the operator has no knowledge of a particular vehicles foibles.
In that testers opinion the wipers failed because they could not clear the screen as they didn't move when switched on, and the tester has the final authority as an agent of the Ministry of Transport.
It would have created a danger if the screen has been obscured by something suddenly landing on it, a spattering of mud, or a big bird poo, so I had no issues with the decision.