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Do they check your car battery in a MOT?

Battery. The battery must be secure with no signs of leaking fluid. An MOT tester will also check the condition of your battery’s connectors, which should be tight and free from leaky electrolytes.

What is not tested on an MOT?

The vast majority of vehicles that are more than three years old are required to pass an MOT test every year to ensure that they are safe for use on the road. There can be some confusion as to exactly what parts of the vehicle are checked in an MOT and what areas are not covered.

If you want to ensure that your car passes its MOT first time, it can be a good idea to run through a checklist beforehand to confirm that everything works properly. However, you don’t want to be spending your time or hard-earned money on elements that won’t affect the outcome of an MOT. When your car is MOT tested, the testing station is required to run through a series of standard checks to ensure that it meets with the safety and environmental legislative standards applicable in the UK.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the car is in the best possible condition or that it’s running as efficiently as it could be. Some of the most significant areas of a vehicle that are not assessed in an MOT include the condition of the clutch, gearbox and engine (apart from the engine mountings).

• This is because they are not regarded as safety-critical.
• The condition of the tyres fitted to your vehicle, together with the size, type and tread depth, are checked in an MOT, but any spare tyres are not.
• The MOT will also exclude any examination of the condition of aftermarket accessories unless they fall within the main test components.

For example, an aftermarket exhaust will be checked for condition and will affect the emissions components of the test. If your car fails on any element of the MOT, spare parts and repairs are not covered by the test and remedial work will need to be carried out before the vehicle can be re-tested.

1. If you want to ensure that your car is running correctly and in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations then you will need to book a service,
2. In contrast with the MOT which focuses on safety and emissions, a vehicle service ensures that the car is maintained in good working order in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

There is some overlap. A service will look at some aspects covered by the MOT, such as brakes, seat belts and tyres, but it will go far deeper and will include consumables such as engine oil, transmission fluid and brake fluid. A full car service may also include a replacement fuel filter, air filter (if applicable) and spark or glow plugs to maintain the performance of the vehicle.

A service differs from an MOT in that it is designed to maximise the working life of the vehicle; without regular servicing, you may experience breakdowns or poor reliability and, in some circumstances, a failure to maintain the vehicle could cause long-term damage or invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

An MOT test does not provide you with a guarantee as to the mechanical condition of a car and, whilst carrying out regular servicing is not required by law, it could end up saving you a great deal of money in the long-run. Why not contact us today to find out more.

Can you drive with failed MOT?

Can you drive with a failed MOT? – If your car has failed an MOT, it means there are things which need to be fixed and therefore you cannot drive. However, you will get ten days in which you can drive to have repairs done and get a retest to ensure your vehicle is safe.

Do you get a free MOT if it fails?

To qualify for a free MOT retest, the following rules applies: – You need to leave your car to get repaired at the same test centre, and the testing takes has to take place within ten working days. In this case, the retesting will automatically be free. Here is a list of the most common repairs that can usually be done within ten days qualifying you for free MOT retesting:

Bonnet Boot lid Brake pedal/ Anti-slip device Direction indicators Doors Drop-sides Fuel Filler Cap Hazard Warning Horn Lamps Loading door Mirrors Rear reflectors Registration plates Seat belts (but not anchorages) Seats Sharp edges or projections Steering wheel Tailboard Tailgate Tyres Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Windscreen and glass Windscreen washer and wipers Wheels

Obviously for certain repairs, like those that fall outside of the above list, you may need the services of a specialist mechanic. In cases like this, you are allowed to take the car away temporarily for repairs. Service your car from £79

Do they check wipers on MOT?

Can A Car Fail The MOT Test On Wiper Blades? – As mentioned, the MOT test involves a thorough look at a vehicle to ensure it’s safe to be driven on the roads. In addition to the more obvious parts of the car, such as brakes and tyres, the testers will also inspect the front wiper blades (the rear wiper is not included in the MOT). On inspection, your car may fail its MOT if:

There’s not enough screenwash to clear the windscreen using the wipers.The windscreen wipers are missing, insecure, or in poor condition. The windscreen is chipped or cracked (includes chips larger than 1 cm in the driver’s field of vision and 4 cm elsewhere).

Is bodywork checked on MOT?

Bodywork – Your vehicle’s bodywork will be checked over for any significant corrosion, damage, or sharp edges that could cause an injury. In addition to the general structure, your MOT tester will look over your engine mountings, speedometer, and your tow bar.

How long does a MOT test take?

It doesn’t cover the condition of the engine, clutch and gearbox. To find your nearest authorised MOT test centre, visit these websites:

• England, Wales and Scotland – UK MOT
• Northern Ireland – NIDirect and book a test online

An average MOT test takes between 45 and 60 minutes, but there are a couple of other things to take into consideration. First, if your vehicle fails the test and repairs are needed this will take longer. A test centre isn’t allowed to let you drive away a car that has failed an MOT until the problems are fixed, unless your existing MOT certificate is still valid, or you’re taking the car to have the faults fixed.

Second, the test might take an hour or less, but, even if there aren’t any repairs, this doesn’t mean your vehicle will only have to be at the garage for 60 minutes. Test centres can require you to drop your vehicle off first thing in the morning and collect it when ready. This means you should be prepared to be without your vehicle for the day.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency sets the maximum fee official test centres can charge for an MOT. It’s currently £54.85 for cars and motor caravans and £29.65 for motorbikes, but many garages charge less than this – sometimes up to 50% less. Search online for “cheap MOT” or “MOT discount” to find out how you can save money on your car’s next MOT.

An MOT might also be included in the cost of a full service for your car. While servicing your car regularly is a good idea, a service, even if it includes an MOT, is likely to be more expensive than an MOT on it’s own. Nearly two in five MOT tests fail first time. Yet often this is because of minor faults the owner could easily have fixed themselves before they paid for a test.

Here are some of the ways your car could fail an MOT.

1. Screen wash not topped up. This basic task takes minutes, so don’t be caught out by it.
2. The car was dirty or full of clutter. Clear the mess from the boot and cabin and give the windows and mirrors a quick wipe.
3. A registration plate problem. For example, the plate used the incorrect type face/spacing, or was dirty or missing altogether. If you have a personalised plate, make sure it follows DVLA rules.
4. Stickers on the windscreen blocking the driver’s view. Make sure anything stuck to the windscreen like parking permits is outside the wipers’ sweep area.
5. Lit-up warning light on the dashboard. The MOT has included lit-up warning lights since 2012. So make sure you know what lit-up car warning lights mean and, if you have, any sort out the underlying problem before the MOT.

This can easily be done with a 20p coin – see the diagram at Tyre Safe Check for any damage such as splits in the tread, bulges or cuts in the sidewalls. Also check the tyre pressure is correct – the car’s manual will list the right pressure and they might also be on the sidewall of the tyre itself – and increase it at a petrol station if necessary.

• The handbrake: check the tension in your handbrake.
• If it slides up and down without resistance and can’t be ratcheted to a set level, there’s likely to be a problem needing fixing by a professional mechanic.
• Seats and seatbelts: check the driver’s seat adjusts forwards and backwards and inspect the full length of the seatbelt for any damage.

Check all the seatbelts latch and fasten securely, and lock when you give them a sharp tug. Windscreen: any damage wider than 10mm in the driver’s central view will cause an MOT fail, as will any damage larger than 40mm in the whole of the swept area.

Windscreen wipers: make sure your wipers clean your windscreen effectively along with the washers. Remember, any tears or holes in the wiper rubber can mean an MOT fail. Suspension check: check the shock absorbers by applying your weight to each corner of the car then quickly releasing it. The corner of the car should quickly return to its original position.

If it bounces more than twice, this could mean the shock absorbers are faulty and need to be checked. Horn: give a short blast of the horn – if it doesn’t work or isn’t loud enough to attract the attention of pedestrians or other motorists, get it repaired.

• Exhaust: check for exhaust leaks by starting the engine in a well-ventilated space at normal temperature, then listen from the rear of the car for any unusual noises or abnormal smoke.
• Fuel and engine oil: make sure your car is filled with enough fuel and engine oil – you can be turned away from the MOT if there isn’t enough to test your car’s emissions levels properly.

If your car fails its MOT, the test centre will give you a VT3O Certificate showing the reasons for the fail. On 20 May 2018, the MOT categories for fails and passes changed. If your car has a dangerous fault, you won’t be able to drive it away. Get a quote from the garage you got the MOT from if they do repairs, and then call around for some quotes from other local garages.

1. You might be able to find the repairs cheaper even if they need to tow your vehicle to their garage.
2. If your car has a major fault you may be able to drive it away if it’s still roadworthy Opens in a new window and your previous MOT has not expired yet.
3. If your MOT has run out and the car is roadworthy you can drive it to have the faults fixed and to a pre-booked MOT.

If you drive a car without an MOT under any other circumstances, or drive a car with dangerous faults, you can be fined £2,500, be banned from driving and get three points on your licence. You need to fix all major and dangerous faults to make your car roadworthy and then arrange a partial MOT retest in which your car must pass before you can drive it on the roads again.

If you leave your car with the test centre for repair, you’ll be able to get a partial retest for free, as long as this is done within 10 working days of failing the MOT. If you take your vehicle away for repairs, and return it before the end of the next working day, the test is normally free. Whether it’s free or not depends on which parts are retested If you return within 10 working days to the same test centre for a partial retest, you’ll get charged a lower fee, but it won’t be free.

If your MOT has expired, it’s illegal to drive your car on the road and you could be prosecuted for doing so. Driving without a current MOT also invalidates your car insurance. So you might not be covered if you were to have an accident. The only exception would be if you already had an MOT booked and were driving your car to the test.

1. There are two ways to get a replacement MOT test certificate.
2. The first is free.
3. Just go to GOV.UK where you can view, print and save any MOT certificate issued after 20 May 2018.
4. All you need is the vehicle’s registration number and the 11-digit reference number, with no spaces, from the vehicle’s V5C, also known as a logbook.

The second way costs £10. You can go to any MOT test centre and give them your vehicle’s registration number and the V5C reference number. You don’t need a MOT certificate to sell a vehicle, but many buyers will want to see it. You also need an MOT certificate to tax your vehicle and to change the vehicle’s tax class, such as getting free tax for a disabled driver.

How long do you get after a failed MOT?

After 21 days a full test fee will be needed. Re-tests must be completed within 60 days of the original test. If your vehicle fails an MOT test it is treated as not being roadworthy and it should not be on the road, regardless of whether you have time remaining on an existing MOT certificate.

Can a car fail its first MOT?

You might expect every car to sail through its first MOT test, which takes place once the vehicle hits three years old. However, a review of recent data suggests that there are some models that have almost a one in four chance of flunking the annual assessment at the first time of asking.

Among the worst first-year performers is the best-selling new model of the last decade and the cheapest car you can buy in showrooms today, according to analysis, accurate to the end of 2019. Failure rate: Here’s a countdown of the 20 models found to most likely flunk their first MOT test, according to records from last year Motoring website and app KnowYourCar has crunched the numbers to reveal which models are most likely to fail a first MOT test.

With the initial roadworthiness assessment taking place 36 months after the car was first registered, it means all the models in the list are those that were bought new in 2016. In May 2018 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency introduced new assessments, rules and defect categories for the MOT test.

This includes tougher emission requirements and checks for diesel particulate filters, increased scrutiny of lights and a three-tier defect categorisation – minor, major and dangerous, the latter two resulting in an automatic fail. Here’s a count down of which 20 cars are most likely to flunk an MOT – and the reasons why the were deemed not fit for the road.

The data is split between petrol and diesel variants, and only models where 500 or more cars have been tested in the last year were included in the analysis. We’ve also included a table of the models that were found to sail through the assessment most often.

Can I drive my car on the day the MOT expires?

Is an MOT valid on the expiry date? – Yes, an MOT certificate is valid up to midnight on the expiry date. But if you drive your car exactly on the day your MOT expires, it’d be wise to be driving to the testing centre.

Am I insured with a failed MOT?

Can I still drive my car if I fail my MOT? – No. It’s illegal to drive your car without a valid MOT. If your car has failed, and the date on your certificate has passed, you can only drive your car in the following circumstances:

When driving to the garage for repairs When driving to an MOT centre for a retest If the previous MOT certificate is still valid and no ‘dangerous’ problems were found, the car can be driven normally until the certificate expires. However, you’ll still need to repair the issues and get a retest

Should you want to move your vehicle to another garage, then you must pay to get it towed. If you drive your car after its failed its MOT, and you’re unable to prove that you had a pre-arranged appointment, then you may:

Receive a fine of up to £2,500 Receive a driving ban Receive penalty points on your driving licence Run the risk of being prosecuted

Remember that your insurance may no longer cover you if you receive an MOT fail result, even if your certificate is still valid. Additionally, once your MOT certificate expires, then both your insurance and tax will also be invalid. Under no circumstances should you drive your vehicle.