Failed its MOT :/

[cammerz]

After owning my MR2 for about a year now it's failed it's MOT and it sounds bad and/or expensive. Emissions are quite bad, something wrong with the steering and a corroded brake pipe. Depending how much it'll cost to fix it might be time to trade it in for something more practical. Will be a shame to see it go.

[Fin]

Ooooh, bad times  s:( s:(  My first MOT is in a couple of weeks, starting to sweat a bit about it!
Hope yours isn't too expensive!!

[Jiff Lemon]

Whats actually on the fail sheet?

[carolineasb]

Did you give the car a good "spirited" drive before it went in for the test? Numerous threads on here about doing that before the car goes in for the test.

Steering problem - is it the UJ?  Common problem on the 2 and there are numerous threads regarding it.

Brake pipes - I'm sure there are threads on here too about this.

[Joesson]

There are threads on here about most everything and many of them relate to the 2!
Sometimes we don' t look in search, sometimes when we look we can' t find the exact problem that we have and sometimes we just get another thread going so that we can induldge in some ( friendly) banter  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[cammerz]

Just got off the phone with garage after leaving the car with them for the day. They're still trying to find out what's causing blue smoke, it needs a new steering coupling and brake pipe replacement. All probably at least £400 so far :/

[Jiff Lemon]

Will say it again.....

Whats actually on the fail sheet?

To quote the manual, blue smoke:
"emits dense blue or clearly visible black smoke for a continuous period of 5 seconds at idle"

UJ and brake pipe replacement isn't £400 in my eyes!

[Joesson]

"UJ and brake pipe replacement isn't £400 in my eyes!
I agree but
You aren' t looking from a garage owners viewpoint!

I was quoted £273 for a supply and fit a sensor which cost me £200 less to do it myself
But I don' t charge myself at garage hourly rates!

[Jiff Lemon]

I agree but
You aren' t looking from a garage owners viewpoint!

I was quoted £273 for a supply and fit a sensor which cost me £200 less to do it myself
But I don' t charge myself at garage hourly rates!

Errr, I am. Matt used to charge £130 to supply and fit a UJ. so £270 for brake pipes?? I think not....

However, again, until we know EXACTLY what its failed on and exactly what work needs doing, we'll never know whether the price that's actually be quoted (and not estimated) is a fair price.

[cabbydave]

If you need a brake pipe making send me the length of pipe and whether its male or female ends on the end and ill make you one at cost  (about £1.50)

[cammerz]

Sorry Jiff I'll post the details of the failures when I get home. I took it to kwikfit near work because it was convenient for the free time I have before the MOT expires, but I've booked it into another garage because Kwikfit said "We're at a loss, we don't know why the emissions are so bad"

[Joesson]

I really do agree with you Jiff!

[lamcote]

I think Matt's UJ price of £130 was for a refurbished UJ. The garage was probably quoting for a new part from Toyota and they are very expensive, well over £200 from memory, which puts the quote in the right ball park.

[Jiff Lemon]

I took it to kwikfit near work because it was convenient for the free time I have before the MOT expires,

  s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  

And there's the alarms bells straight away! Get it pretty much ANYWHERE but kwik fit. My best mate just got stung for £900 of unnecessary "MOT work" by kwik fit. He told them to do the work required for his car to pass, they took that as a green light to do all the advisory items too (tyres at 4mm, Shocks "weakening", etc). County court is looming....

Find a reputable MOT station (preferably one that doesn't do repairs, they do exist!) and start again. I'm not saying you'll instantly pass, but we'll get a truer picture of the state of your car.

[cammerz]

I've got it booked in with a friend's MOT garage from work, hopefully he knows his stuff and will say pass it first time.

[puma2]

this will turn out a lot better for you then the  robbers at kwikfit.
lets us no how you get on and what the fail sheet does actually state please  s:) s:)

[cammerz]

Okay the fail sheet:

1. Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle excessive
2. Exhaust emits excessive dense blue smoke during acceleration (The mechanic later said it was on high acceleration and not a lot of blue smoke, but visible)
3. Steering column flexible coupling has excessive play
4. Centre (main) brake pipe excessively corroded

Emissions test results:

Fast idle test fail on CO, HC and Lambda
Second fast idle test fail on CO, HC and Lambda
Natural fast idle test fail on CO

Hope this helps you guys

[Richard41]

Find a reputable MOT station (preferably one that doesn't do repairs, they do exist!) and start again. I'm not saying you'll instantly pass, but we'll get a truer picture of the state of your car.

This, they tend to be slightly more expensive on MOT charges than garages but my local is very good & would never go back to a garage/chain repair place, last time they wanted to replace discs & pads that didn't need doing at all   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  

like garages they probably vary a lot but they're less likely to be looking for stuff that doesn't need doing.

[Jiff Lemon]

OK, lets deal with the emissions first:

Have you got access to a code reader? You could have the classic o2 sensor(s) failure.
Smoking under acceleration is the more worrying one - Have you been watching your oil consumption?

[cammerz]

I have got a code reader, last time I looked I think I remember one mentioning that the engine was running too cold on start up? Or something similar, and then a fault with an O2 sensor.

I have a slightly leaky oil sump so I always keep my eye on the oil level, Kwikfit mentioned the level was a little low and topped it up and ran an emissions test again but still didn't pass.

[Jiff Lemon]

Put code reader back in, pull the codes and list them here.

[vinp182]

Where about in the uk are you?

[cammerz]

P0125
P0135

I'm near Leeds

[cabbydave]

P0125 Insufficient coolant
P0135 o2 sensor heater circuit

[cammerz]

Coolant is full, and the temperature gauge never gets high.