MOT Questions

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NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
hello people,

Just took my car down to the nissan garage for it's MOT and it failed on loads of things... i'd just like to know what people think... are nissan taking the P***?

1. rear lights aren't bright enough. they are tinted and apparently the tint is legal as long as the bulbs are bright enough but it got through the MOT last time in the same state at the same garage??!?!

2. Sun strip in "zone A" apparently Zone A is the space that the wipers wipe... but again it got through the MOT last time. surely other people have sunstrips and don't get this problem? could i get shorter wiper blades just for the MOT??

3. Headlights wrong beam. the passenger side light is a left hand drive one according to them but these are the crystal black ones that came in a pair... and they seem to have the same shaped reflector in them and no one has flashed me for blinding them???? James have you had any problem with yours??

4. front brake imbalance. one brake is quicker than the other but the pad wear is even on both side. does this make sense becasue i thought that they automatically balanced? how can i fix this?

5. side lights are blue. Ok i accept that but again it got through fine last time whats going on!!

6. Exhaust too low. i dropped the exhaust on cable ties so that it wouldn't keep hitting the towbar... surly that doesn't matter...

7. Rear seatbelts don't work. do i even need rear seat belts? can i take them out all together???

8. not enough thread on wheel bolts. the bolts don't have enough thread on them to keep the wheels on properly. i bought them from hellfrauds and said they are going on a micra and they said it would be fine... anyone else have this problem??

9. horn doesn't work. this worked the day before they looked at it because i tested it. they did a full service before they MOTed the car so i recon the buggered it...

which reminds me in a service do they check the oil levels? because i tried to check them and the dip stick was fully stuck and it was still stuck after they'd looked at it so i don't think they even checked it...

so lots of work to do... are they normaly this strict?? sorry for the long post but i'm very p***ed off!!!

any comments would be a big help...

thanks ppl :)
 
Although its the same garage, it could be a different MOT guy doing the test. Maybe last year, the guy was being really relaxed and let alot through? I know the rules for MOT's have been clamped down to reduce fraudulent tests & allowing illegal cars back on the road.

With regards to things like seatbelts, if they're fitted, they will get tested. If the rear seats and rear seatbelts were removed, im sure they couldnt fail you for that.

With regards to the other things, im not sure - so i'l let someone else reply :)
 
hi mate,

im a time served mechanic,i also use to do mot's...


1,tints... are quite iffy, depend how thick u sprayed them.
2,sun strip...doesnt come in to it... ur screen isnt broke is it?
3,the beams.. you should park next to a wall and see how they look. gb lights kick to the left.
4,brakes...could be...sticking slides,lazy caliper,worn pads,worn discs.
5,side light are ment to be "white" box will state..not for road use. ive fail'd loadsa boy racers for that.
6,exhaust.. its ment to be fixed in rubber mounts."cable ties melt" with the heat,cousing ur exhaust to drop. insurecure probabley.
7.seat belts...how many dont work? if they are there,then they are ment to work! if one is broke out of the three it will pass!
8,horn, wire may have been knocked. check it. use a volt tester.

its not loads of work, just a few stupid lack of self mantainence work.

the ones ur gonna have trouble with. will be the headlights,unless u know what u doing, and getting the pads with-in 25% imbalance.dont just slap copper grease on the job. clean the tin plates,put ur back in to it.

where u from btw?

hope my usefull help helped..stu
 
NeX said:
8. not enough thread on wheel bolts. the bolts don't have enough thread on them to keep the wheels on properly. i bought them from hellfrauds and said they are going on a micra and they said it would be fine... anyone else have this problem??
Click to expand...

funny you should mention that as yes mine arnt really long enough. but the only way i can see to get round it is to get longer hub bolts, hence giving them more to grip onto. it seems a waste that i have spend so much money giving the car the abiliety to take corners fast when i have not much from the bolt to hold the wheel on. last thing i want is a wheel flying off especialy if im winging it around a corner at the time. :glance: doesnt bare thinking about really. but yeah this wil be an arkwid job to fix as it will mess up my wheel alightment and camber/castor settings.
 
thanks loads for your replies,

stu i'm from bath in wiltshire :)

both back seatbelts are broken... i just want to get it through the MOT and then do a propper fix up job when i have more time, i don't want to spend christmas worring about my car....

the exhaust has been on cable ties for about 6 months and i''ve had no problems i'm just waiting till i can cut it back and weld it together so that it's further back..

i can take the sun strip off but it's so hard to take the bubbles out and it's soo useful it's saved me lots of times when i've come round sunny corners... lol its about the only mod i've done that has increased the practicality of the car :)

i've tried getting longer bolts from a primera but i damaged the thread when i was tapping them out. does anyone know where i can get new longer bolts from?

i haven't parked next to a wall yet but from what i can see my lights light up the pavement and not the oncoming traffic :)

the rear tints are dark but you can see the light fine... how bright do they have to be? do they check it with a machine?

the sidelights i accept but on the package when i bought them didn't have and "for show use only" on it and i was talking to a policewoman about my car and she said it's ok as long as they are not too blue?! but the headlights come on at the same time as the sidelights when the engine is on so it kinda cancels it out... i'm just making excuses now lol.

the horn wire is in and the fuses are ok and the horn relay clicks?! might hard wire it for now and then take a proper look after christmas..

thanks again for all your help people it's a real help :D
 
sunstrips do matter, if they are to big, they will fail you, i think its 8inchs anymore and ul fail

as for seatbelts, just remove them

front blue sidelights will fail you too, blue, red and green lights at the front of your car are a big no no, emergency services use lights those colours, as why they will fail you. and your exhaust held on cables ties. thats very insecure, id get in put back on properly before you take it back
 
i beleive if you have a rear bench (seats) then you MUST have rear seat belts. i'm 90% sure of this.....

As for the sunstrip mine use to just catch it but to be honest the place i take it to are relaxed about stuff like this.

as huge said about the zorst - that is very insecure!
 
the sunstrip is only about 5" deep it's a sunstrip not a bill board lol so i suppose it has to go :(

i got new seat belts from the scrap yard but it's gonna take about 3 hours to fit them because the install has to come out and it will probably be in the dark :((

the zorst really is fine its hanging from 2 of the 3 origanal hangers and the last one is cable tied with two thick heat proof ties and the other side is cable tied as well as the rubber hanger... it's such a picky thing really.

but not a real problem the car itself is fine it's all the crap i've stuck to it lol so only myself to blame really...

i had a go at the horn and i think the horn itself is broken because all the wires and connections are fine so off to hellfrauds but then i did find the horn in the scrap yard lol...

over all it doesn't like it will cost too much it's just pain at this time of year...

thanks again people... maybe i can find a dodgy barry MOT guy who will pass it :)
 
i dont talk to people after dodgy mot tickets!if the car is do not swear evade scrap it!

with regards to the headlights, they check the beam patern on a beam tester.
with the nuts, aslong as theres 4 on each wheel and tight i dont see a problem.

PEOPLE!!! please stop shopping at HALFORDS! go to your local motor factors. theres miles cheeper! halfords...pads.£30 ish i think, i donno, motor factors £12 inc vat. horns dont normaly go wrong, check the 2 wires behind the wheel or the fuse.

good look. stu
 
stu0500 said:
i dont talk to people after dodgy mot tickets!if the car is ******* scrap it!
Click to expand...
Agree with you completely mat also a mechanic. a little tip on the seatbelts the driver must have a belt and as many as it says on the log book. go to your small garage thats someone recomends your get a lot better service than at a main dealer!
 
I had the same trouble with my sunstrip on my old car and i had to take it off but i got another and put it back on the next day after my mot!Gud luck with getting your car through its mot nex
 
hahaha yea buy your car from nissan and never go back there again lol :)

yep halfords is crap but it's just down the road, i know people who work there so most of the stuff is free anyway but any important parts i get through a proper garage its for ripspeed tack that hellfrauds is best for :)

i totally agree with having safe cars on the road with proper MOT etc but i just want them to not be so strict on things that really don't matter... mainly the sun strip...

i've twidled with the headlights but without a flat road and plain wall i can't really check if it's made any difference.

this is the mad thing about the horn. i metered it at the plugs and there is a strong 12v so either the horn is knackered or it's the connection... i might see if i can dig out the origanals and see if they work... it's really wierd....

anyway i'll let you know how i get on :) just going to install an LED compensation relay in for the indicators.

thanks Stu you've been a big help and thaks ben for the support :) and thanks again everyone else for your comments... i might just scrape it through hahaha
 
the sunstrips are allowed as long as they dont restrict ur view.

The Sunstrip to pass a mot MUST NOT have the wiper blades TOUCHING the sunstrip when they "wipe" so if nessecary Get smaller wiper blades for the mot test then put original size on.
 
thats what i was wondering... if i could just get some really short wiper blades then they might accept it :)

but i was thinking that there might be some laws on the minimum length of the wiper blade and what areas it needs to wipe...

good idea though :)
 
NeX said:
thats what i was wondering... if i could just get some really short wiper blades then they might accept it :)

but i was thinking that there might be some laws on the minimum length of the wiper blade and what areas it needs to wipe...

good idea though :)
Click to expand...


well minis use 10" wipers dont they?? Micras are something like 18"???

as long as it cleans your windscreen where you view the road they should be legal as you can Clearly see the road.
 
if you can find smaller wiper blades that fit, i really wouldnt see a problem as long as it didnt touch the sunstrip

does your local nissan garage do the mot tests on there premises?
i took mine to nissan, and they actually took it to another garage they have a contract with, i know the citreon garage in rochdale also does it!
 
yea they do the tests on site. you can watch them through a window if you like :) but it's so nasty watching them mistreat the car... i can't watch lol

so shorter wiper blades then :) can anyone recommend a car with smaller wiper blades that will fit the micra?? i'll have to check if any of the cars in the scrap yard are the same fitment :)
 
cool thank's Hughes_16v

i'll have a look in the scrappys and see what matches... i'll post what i find just incase anyone else has this problem :)

just sorted the exhaust :) one down...

and fitted the LED compensation Relay which works but it doen't make a clicking noise??!?! I might have to use the old relay and some Load Equalisers instead...
 
where i served my time, i still take my cars there for mots. i always get told if the brakes are out and so on. the only time he'll fail it is if i ask him to (none family) for all us m/bro ppl. Beaumont road garage..m/bro.01642 243772

tell ron/martin stu passed the number on. MOT's £20 6days aweek
 
NeX said:
can anyone recommend a car with smaller wiper blades that will fit the micra?? i'll have to check if any of the cars in the scrap yard are the same fitment :)
Click to expand...
have you tried using the micra rear wiper blade, iirc they are a lot smaller ( can't be bothered to go out and check!!! lol).
 
hello people thanks all for your useful posts :D

i just thought i'd let you all know, my car passed today!!! yay!

i put on 10" wiper blades lol, and they were fine with that. got them from halfords.

the brakes i left and just told them i'd fixed them and when they checked them they were fine hmm

i put brighter bulbs in the rear lights and now they are fine.

put the old side repeates and found as i took the old LED ones off that they were full of water!!

i had to change the headlights back to the old ones from the crystal ones because the crystal ones are left hand drive. but i'm going to see if i can swap the reflectors over.

changed the side lights over to blue tinted side lights

put the exhaust back on the hangers and cable tied it back so it didn't hit the bumper.

so over all, not too bad. i'm going to keep the MOT in mind with any future mods i do :)

thanks again guys for all your help ;)
 
no problem mate. for future reference i know a decent place for MOT's in melksham who have done all the tests on my car in case you have more problems
 
i got my MOT tomorrow. Ive checked the car over today as still off work till monday :D and everythings working and seems fine :) should sale through.... I hope lol. Touch wood. Ill let you all know how i get on. Wonder if they can get it on the ramps without bloody ripping my front splitter off pmsl :D
 
Thanks stuart i'll keep that in mind :)

good luck Andy_S i hope it's not as much bother as mine lol
 
I went through the MOT yesterday and they failed me on "excessively corroded rear NS brake pipe" and quoted £70 plus VAT in order to pass. Not convinced so went home, got under the car to have a look and most of it was only surface rust which came off using a wire brush, now they are as good as new. The rear OS pipes were in a similar condition so why did'nt he fail that one?

Anyway I was not happy with the decision so went straight back and complained and asked for a second opinion from another mechanic, after around 10mins he came back to tell me everything looked OK and passed it :)

This is the second time in 3 years that I have overturned a decision from a MOT failure due to incorrectly diagnosed problems, and I have learned never to accept the outcome first time.
 
why not report them to the mot minstry that why the mot station will get a bad mark put against them and posibly have to be checked
 
hmm that must be so anoying epecially if they double charge you.

nissan will do free retests ;)
 
Surely you can just put the sunstrip on the inside of the window...a slight a*se on with cuttting space for the rear view mirror but solves the problem.

seen it done plenty...
 
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