MOT Failing on Emissions

[frogger]

Since I feel like someone is about to call the police and report me for driving a dangerous vehicle

Numberplate bulb inoperative
Front anti-roll bar mounting loose (I think I'd have noticed this if it really was...)
Front numberplate letters too small
Fast idle emissions outside of limits

Hardly a killer on the road   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  though greenpeace may argue otherwise...

[aaronjb]

Well you could argue the ARB could pose a danger  s;) s;)  though I'm not entirely convinced they weren't just making that one up - especially as I know someone who took another car there a couple of days ago which also failed on a mysteriously 'loose rear subframe mounting' which wasn't loose.

[K T M Rider]

Frogger is quite correct with that, a fail supersedes any previous certificate.

So why does the online status check report a current valid MOT (with a note that there are subsequent either aborted or failed tests), and not a big fat fail?

[edit]


[edit edit] Also checking around found a thread on PistonHeads with this response from VOSA:

Dear K50 DEL,

Thank you for your email enquiry dated 1st November, 2010 concerning the
attached.

Unfortunately, what the tester has told you is completely incorrect.

An MOT is valid until midnight on the date of expiry even if the vehicle
fails a new test before the expiry date of the existing one.
This is one of the reasons that you are allowed to take the car for test
up to one month before the expiry- so that if any repairs are needed the
car can still be driven provided the car is roadworthy ( i.e you could
not drive with bald tyres etc as this would be illegal).

I hope this information has assisted you with your enquiry, but if you have
any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards
Ian Byrne
VOSA Contact Centre
Operations Directorate
Tel: 0300 123 9000

 m http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... e%3F&mid=0 m

Anyone ever read the back of their MOT fail certs ?

First two lines on the back of the VT30 'refusal of MOT test certificate' state:

 This document tells you that your vehicle has not been shown to meet the minimum legal requirements for the reason(s) detailed in section A.  If you intend to use your vehicle on the road you should have it repaired without delay and have it retested before the existing test validity expires.

[K T M Rider]

However, it's an interesting conundrum regarding the tyre example...
"so that if any repairs are needed the car can still be driven provided the car is roadworthy ( i.e you could not drive with bald tyres etc as this would be illegal)"

... I would have thought anything that caused an MOT fail would have been seen as not 'roadworthy' in the eyes of VOSA! Not just the extreme safety issues.

not sure how they determine roadworthiness.

Is a car with defective rear seat belts & windscreen wipers roadworthy when not carrying passengers on a sunny day?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

dunno, but I do know that a car with defective sidelights, tail - lights and headlights is roadworthy, provided they have been 'masked off' and you are using it during daylight hours, as you can get an MOT for a car or motorcycle on that basis   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[mrzwei]

The point is, the MOT certificate is legally valid until it expires.

[K T M Rider]

The point is, the MOT certificate is legally valid until it expires.

+1

which it does tell you on the back of the VT30 (once you have deciphered the usual governmentspeak)

[loadswine]

Sad that you have to add that sort of a post for any finger waggers Aaron

I wasn't 'finger wagging', I was actually grateful that a grey area for me had been clarified using some useable evidence as opposed to just 'hearsay'.

Edit: I mean the VOSA letter quoted by aaron just in case that isn't clear.

I wasn't actually referring to your post. I've seen on here many times, and other forums, that a thread can start to go a certain way, then there is a flood of posts that appear to chastise someone for something. Aaron obviously could see this was potentially going to go that way at some point and posted to pre empt that.

Thankfully we've all seen the actual legalities illustrated and it has clarified a grey area for many of us, me included.

[aaronjb]

The point is, the MOT certificate is legally valid until it expires.

+1

which it does tell you on the back of the VT30 (once you have deciphered the usual governmentspeak)

I didn't get as far as reading the back of mine..


I couldn't see through the tears once I got to the bottom of the list of failure points   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Anonymous]

how come your setup never had a cat in the first place mate?

[MattPerformance]

Whilst the MOT has not technically expired, the driver of the vehicle always has a legal responsibility of ensuring that it is not dangerous.  A failed MOT would indicate that some parts of it were potentially (or actually) "dangerous" and therefore as long as you deal with the ones that are potantially dangerous before using the car then you will be doing nothing wrong.  The moot point in all of this however, since it clearly isn't "dangerous" is whether it is actually an offence to drive on the road with a car that does not pass emmissions (ergo, is a decatted car technically illegal)?

[aaronjb]

how come your setup never had a cat in the first place mate?

The Japanese apparently care not for such things  s;) s;)  There's no provision for it in the TS exhaust, although the downpipe mates with the stock CAT so if it wasn't for the chargecooler being in the way I could just put the stock exhaust on. T'was my plan until .. well until the chargecooler got in the way!

[Anonymous]

how come your setup never had a cat in the first place mate?

The Japanese apparently care not for such things  s;) s;)  There's no provision for it in the TS exhaust, although the downpipe mates with the stock CAT so if it wasn't for the chargecooler being in the way I could just put the stock exhaust on. T'was my plan until .. well until the chargecooler got in the way!

lol one of my probs is space. i still need to get a charge cooler fitted in there plus the charger and the extra piping then a cat. might have to increase the length of the car   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[K T M Rider]

The point is, the MOT certificate is legally valid until it expires.

+1

which it does tell you on the back of the VT30 (once you have deciphered the usual governmentspeak)

I didn't get as far as reading the back of mine..


I couldn't see through the tears once I got to the bottom of the list of failure points   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

 I was actually going to suggest (more or less)that in my original post as the reason people had missed it   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  but then bottled out 'cos I didn't know if it would rub too much salt in the wound.

Personally I find it pretty annoying that some MOT testers have obviously succeeded in spreading this untruth - it doesn't take much imagination to see how they could benefit by failing your car and then telling you it is illegal to drive it home.

The moot point in all of this however, since it clearly isn't "dangerous" is whether it is actually an offence to drive on the road with a car that does not pass emmissions (ergo, is a decatted car technically illegal)?

think I can guess what these guys would say:

 m http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/R ... let%20.pdf m