Your Thorough Guide To MOT Test Results

The United Kingdom, by law, requires vehicles on its roads to be roadworthy, i.e. the car must be safe to drive, and its contribution to pollution should be minimal. The only formal way for vehicle owners to meet this requirement is by taking an annual MOT test after a brand-new car exceeds three years old.

The test will either lead to a pass or a fail, which will be your MOT status. If you pass, you’re given a certificate as proof of your roadworthiness. MOT testing is under the auspices of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). Data from the DVSA reveals that over 40 percent of vehicles fail their MOT at the first attempt. Here is your thorough guide to MOT test results, If you’re looking to be successful with your first attempt or generally know more.

What Does An MOT Test Include?

The MOT test was first introduced in 1960, and only a few vehicle parts were considered. Today, an MOT test covers different parts or systems of your vehicle. An MOT test certificate ensures that your vehicle meets minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards at a given time. The test checks car lights, brakes, tyres and wheels, seats, fuel system, steering, horn, windscreen, mirrors, etc. The test does not consider your vehicle’s engine condition, clutch, or gearbox.

These are part of routine service inspections recommended by vehicle manufacturers. But a service inspection is not a legal requirement, unlike MOT tests. You can find a manual online or request a full list of considerations at a DVSA-licensed garage, and they’re mandated by law to provide them.

Why Do Some Cars Fail Their MOT Test?

Data from The Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency suggest that 40 percent of vehicles fail their MOT at the first attempt. That equates to nearly three million vehicles in the United Kingdom.

The Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency (DVSA) encourages drivers to avoid MOT failures by opting for regular maintenance after revealing various reasons cars fail their tests. For instance, data from MOT surveys reveal that one in five cars had problems with lighting and signalling when they presented their vehicles for an MOT test.

Checking and maintaining your lightbulbs is fairly easy and replacing them isn’t costly. Vehicle owners without technical auto mechanic backgrounds can change their light bulbs by following the car handbook. Most garages offer to change it for free.

Checking your lightbulbs is easy to do. You just need to give them a light tap to see if they are loose or damaged. You can also check the colours are right and match. Brake issues also account for most MOT fails in the UK. According to data from the DVSA, about one in ten MOT fails are due to brake issues.

Various ways exist for you to check and maintain your brakes to avoid an MOT failure. Test your brakes daily for strange noises and check the brake fluid levels, ensuring they’re topped up to meet standard marketing on the reservoir.

Your car tyre can also be another area to consider if you want to avoid an MOT failure. Between 2014 and 2015, tyre issues account for nearly 8 percent of our car MOT fails. During 2014/15, 7.4 percent of car MOT failures were due to tyre issues. So, before you opt for an MOT test, check if the car tyres are all the same size and have no cuts or bulges. Also, check that the pressures are correct and ensure the tyre tread exceeds 1.6 mm.

How To Tell If Your Car Will Fail Its MOT

Light, suspension, and brake issues are the most common reasons for MOT fails. There are various ways to tell if your car will fail its MOT. For instance, any car with tyres below the minimum legal tread depth will likely not pass an MOT test. The same applies to vehicles with more than ten mm damage in their windscreens’ A-zone. Chips or cracks bigger than 40 mm or more found on the ‘swept’ part of your windscreen will result in an MOT fail.

Note that your MOT test attempt will fail if headlights, number plate lights, brake lights, and indicators do not work properly. It’s crucial to be mindful of interior features like your seat belt. Your MOT test will fail if the seat belt doesn’t lock securely without difficulties.

What To Do If Your Car Fails Its MOT

So, what do you do if your car fails its MOT? Any vehicles in the UK beyond three years must have MOT certificates to show that they’re road-worthy. You can take an MOT test as many times as you can. Issues identified from the test can be classified as dangerous defects, which means driving your car without repairing the issues discovered is illegal. Vehicle owners will not be allowed to drive to or from an MOT test if they have dangerous defects.

Major defects are another category your vehicle’s test can fall under. This category doesn’t mean your vehicle is not roadworthy. Unlike dangerous defects, vehicle owners with major defects can drive somewhere to get fixed once they have a valid MOT certificate.

Major defects will cause your vehicle to fail its MOT and must be repaired immediately, but they don’t mean the vehicle is unroadworthy. So, if your current MOT certificate is still valid and no dangerous defects were found, you can drive it somewhere to get it fixed.

The third category is minor defects. These defects aren’t severe enough to cause your MOT to fail, and you can be let off with a warning to repair your issues as soon as possible. If your vehicle fails, you’ll have two options. You can leave your vehicle at the test centre for the necessary repairs. The perk associated with this option is that your vehicle will be partially retested for free if all the necessary issues are fixed within ten working days.

If your vehicle is road-worthy and the inspection didn’t reveal any dangerous defects, you can take your car elsewhere for repairs. You can only enjoy the free retesting perk if you return the car for inspection by the end of the next working day.

Understanding MOT Advisories & What To Do About Them

Advisory notes contain issues identified during an MOT test. These issues may not be serious, but the examiner in charge of your inspection can decide to note them down because they may become significant threats to your vehicle’s roadworthiness.

Advisories may not appear on the tester’s guidelines like other defects. The tester must inform you via advisory notes if your examiner identifies faults that do not fall under the MOT tests or other abnormalities that may not be threatening during the inspection.

MOT advisories will not cause your MOT to fail but ignoring them may not be the best idea. For instance, an advisory will feature issues about fluid leaks, exhaust system holes, worn tyres, etc. These issues can quickly escalate and threaten your safety. Therefore, it’s crucial to give MOT advisory notes with attention and effect the necessary actions to pre-empt any issues that could eventually spike up repair costs and cause a great deal of inconvenience.

Do MOTs Check Tyre Pressure?

Auto manufacturers across Europe are legally mandated to add a TPMS to their new vehicles, and they’ve been doing this since 2012. So faults with your tyre pressure monitoring system will be checked as part of the MOT test. Following the introduction of a new legislation in 2015, every vehicle with a faulty TPMS will fail its MOT test.

A TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) is an alert system that turns a warning light on when your tyre pressure drops below six PSI. Vehicle owners can replace their original TPMS if the sensor strays to deplete the more they use the car. For this reason, a TPMS requires regular maintenance. After every tyre change, you can preserve your TPMS by replacing the valve cap and other core components.

Do MOT Checks Include Vehicle Emissions?

The United Kingdom continues to facilitate efforts to reduce harmful emissions from cars. As such, MOTs include a strict process to assess the amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxide levels in vehicles. The DVSA made emission tests compulsory for the MOT process in 2018. As a vehicle owner, your emission level is unlikely to cause an MOT failure if your car is new and well-maintained. Older models, especially diesel cars, are the most likely culprits.

What Do MOT Brake Test Results Mean?

Brake testing ensures your brakes are in optimal and safe condition. After the test, you’ll be given a report with discovered faults requiring maintenance. And vehicle owners must keep a copy of the brake test, preferably attached to the vehicle’s safety inspection record.

Your brake test report presents its results in three sections. The first section shows all the necessary details about your car. The second provides brake performance results for each axle, including the bind, time-lag, ovality, and imbalance. The bind readings show whether your brakes bind when you apply them. The bind readings will indicate a pass if the brake bind is less than four percent of the measured axle weight. The inspector will record a fail under the unsatisfactory wheel performance heading.

Time lag brake results ensure no delays between when your brake is applied and when it actually takes effect. Ovality brake test results check if the braking effort differs as each wheel turns. You will likely fail your brake test if this difference exceeds 70 percent between the highest and lowest brake reading. Your vehicle will fail if the brake imbalance reading exceeds 30 percent. Inspectors calculate imbalance with the maximum brake effort at each wheel.

After providing these details in section two of your brake test report, inspectors provide summarised information on your brake efficiencies in section three.

Can You Question MOT Results?

Yes. You can file a complaint with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency if you disagree with your MOT test results. Complainants will often receive feedback in five working days or less and will be responsible for the new test fee if there should be a test. It’s crucial to discuss all disagreements and seek explanations before taking them up since the process can be expensive and time-consuming.

Do MOT Results Go Straight Up Online?

Some users say it only took a day for their test results to be accessible online. Don’t be bothered if you don’t see yours after 24 hours. According to the DVSA, you can expect your MOT results online within five working days, thus if the page doesn’t update on the same day after getting it done. You can contact the DVSA for further assistance if the duration exceeds five percent.

How To Print & Look After Your MOT Certificate

It has become easier for any driver to view and print their MOT certificates now than ever. All it takes is to visit the DVSA website and enter your car’s registration number and the 11-digit reference number from your V5c logbook. You can keep your certificate in a pouch with all your relevant vehicle receipts and certificates.

Can People Fake MOT Results?

Attempting to defraud or defrauding the MOT is a crime punishable by law. Such acts can also put other road users and the general public at risk. However, anyone who is fairly competent with word processing skills can fake MOT certificates. That’s why it’s crucial to double-check your MOT certificate with the government’s MOT checker to determine if it’s real or fake.

You can also report any garage or MOT tester if you suspect them to be issuing fake or authentic certificates to undeserving vehicle owners.

To Conclude

Many people dread MOTs, and they end up failing their inspections on the first attempt. But having an MOT certificate is non-negotiable, and you can check an MOT history through platforms like us at MOT Reg Check.

Drivers using their vehicles without MOTs risk going to court and paying fines. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand how the MOT process works and the best practices involved in keeping yourself and other road users safe.