Items tested in the MOT

You may notice the use of the words "excess" and "excessive" a lot. This is because a certain amount of wear and tear is allowable. It is in the opinion of the tester whether the wear is excessive or not. A tester has to have shown that they have the knowledge and experience to be able to make this decision. The way he/she would look at this would to be to ask themselves if they would feel happy driving around with a component worn as it is.

Firstly, a list of items that people believe are in the car and light van test (MOT Class 4), but in reality they are not! Some items however DO apply to HGV, PSV and other classes of tests.

• Tyre pressures and tyre valve caps
• Spare wheel and/or tyre, jack and wheel brace
• Wheel alignment/tracking
• Reversing lights
• Headlamp flashers (but the dip/main beams must work)
• Headlamp leveling system
• Headlamp washers and wipers
• Self canceling indicator switch
• Panel/interior lights (apart from ABS, rear fog light, indicator and hazard light interior warning lights)
• Airbag (SRS) warning light
• Heater, demister and heater fan
• Engine and gearbox mountings
• Oil leaks from engine or gearbox
• Engine oil level (in order to carry out a catalyst or diesel emission test, the oil level must be between the 'Min' and 'Max' Levels)
• Noisy engine or gearbox
• Gearbox, differential and power steering oil levels,
• Colour, condition and water content of brake fluid
• Engine coolant level and antifreeze level
• Loose, insecure or leaking battery
• Heated front and rear windows
• Passenger door mirror on cars (as long as the interior mirror is OK)
• Clutch pedal and accelerator pedal rubbers
• Condition of clutch (but vehicle must be at least be able to drive)
• Corroded/split fuel pipes/hoses (but they must not be leaking)
• Rear wheel drive prop shafts, drive shafts, couplings, rubber gaiters
• Front wheel drive inner (ie. gearbox end) CV boots/covers
• Front wheel drive outer CV joints 'knocking'
• Front spot/fog lights
• Rear wash/wipe
• Front wipers not auto parking (but they must be able to be switched off in the normal position)
• Speedometer and mileage recorder
• Windows not opening or closing
• Rear passenger doors, tailgate or boot lid not opening (in most cases access is required to fully carry out the test - check seat belt mountings, etc - the tester can refuse to test the vehicle)
• Door locks (but not handles) and/or central locking
• Accident damage on bodywork (as long as lights, steering, suspension, front door opening/closing, etc. are not affected)
• Rust/corrosion holes on bodywork (as long as the holes are not sharp or jagged, and are not less than 30cm from any mounting of any main testable item - where these holes would pass or fail does vary in different vehicles)

Now the list of the main car and light van Class 4 testable items (click on any item to jump there):

Lights
Steering
Suspension
Brakes
Wheels and Tyres
Seat Belts
Wipers and Washers
Exhaust System
Exhaust Emissions
Catalyst Emissions
Other Items

Lights

• All side lights (with the ignition off) including rear number plate light (or both if two are fitted)
• Headlights, both dip and main beams including beam alignment (they must not shine too high or too low). The dip and main beam switch must operate correctly
• Indicators and hazard lights must all work and flash at a rate of between 60 and 120 flashes a minute. Vehicles registered after April 1986 must also have the side repeaters (those little ones on the side) fitted and working. The interior (dashboard) indicator and hazard warning lights must also work
• Brake lights must all work properly (even the ones in the rear window if they were fitted and working from new)
• Rear reflectors must be fitted, coloured red and not broken - rear lamps must not be broken or show any white light
• There must be no interference between the lights (so your brake light must not flash or flicker with the indicator, for example) and no light can flicker if tapped by hand.

 

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Steering

• All steering elements must be securely mounted and not loose
• Rubber steering rack gaiters must not be split
• There must not be excessive free play in any of the steering joints
• Steering must freely rotate from side to side, without any roughness or noise
• The steering wheel must be secure and not have excessive free play
• If power steering is fitted, it must work and there must be no fluid leaks - rear wheel steering (where fitted) must either work or stay in the straight ahead position
• The road wheels must remain free from touching any body work or any other components (especially brake pipes and hoses) when turned from lock to lock.

 

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Suspension

• When each corner of the vehicle is pushed down, there should be no excessive stiffness or excessive bouncing
• All road springs (both coiled and leaf types), anti-roll bars and suspension links must not be broken, corroded to excess, must be complete (and not cut down to lower the suspension), and sit correctly in their mountings. Any rubber mounting points must not be excessively worn, perished or split/cracked
• Shock absorbers must be free from leaks and work
• The suspension must remain free from touching any body work or any other components
• Front wheel drive shafts must be secure, undamaged, and the outer CV joint rubber covers or all couplings secure and undamaged.

 

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Brakes

• The brake pedal anti-slip item must be fitted (generally a rubber pad)
• The brake servo (if fitted) must be free of air leaks and working efficiently
• The hand brake lever ratchet must work, and not release if knocked and the handbrake cable must be free from knots and not excessively frayed
• There must not be excessive travel on the foot brake pedal or the hand brake lever
• The braking system must be free from any fluid leaks with the brake fluid level between the minimum and maximum marks and the fluid reservoir cap must be fitted
• Brake pads and/or shoes must not be worn excessively (normally means worn right out!)
• Metal brake pipes, disks and drums must not be excessively corroded or scored, and have no cracks
• Rubber brake hoses must not be excessively cracked or split, must not have any bulges, kinks and must not be stretched
• All braking components must be securely mounted and not loose
• The TOTAL braking efficiency of the must be at least 50% of the unladen weight of the vehicle
• The front brakes must have a braking efficiency within 25% of each other and must have fairly steady readings
• The rear brakes have to work with enough braking efficiency as to show that they are correctly adjusted and operating
• The parking brake must have an efficiency of 16% of the unladen vehicle weight (25% if a single circuit hydraulic braking system is fitted) with all parking wheels working efficiently

 

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Wheels and Tyres

• Road wheels must be free from excessive dents, excessive corrosion, distortion and cracks
• All wheel nuts must be fitted and tight (where visible - wheel trims are not taken off in the test)
• Wheel and tyre sizes must be the same for the front and rear axles (i.e.. both front the same, both rear the same but front may be different from rear) and be of the same construction type (i.e. radial or cross-ply)
• The tyre valve must not be fouled by any wheel trim
• Tyres must be free of any deep cuts in the sidewall and tread which allow the inner casing of the tyre to show
• The central three-quarters of the tread must have a depth of at least 1.6mm (approx. 0.1 inch) around the full circumference, and not be distorted
• The tyres must remain clear of any body work.

 

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Seat Belts

• Seat belt webbing must be free from any cuts
• Seat belt anchorage points must be securely attached (including all seat mountings where the belt clip is mounted on the seat frame)
• The belt must retract into the mechanism
• The latches must operate correctly
• Rear belts must be fitted to vehicles first used after April 1987 but are checked on any age vehicle if fitted.

 

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Wipers, Washers and Windscreen

• The windscreen must be free from excessive cracks, chips and scratches - basically, you're allowed damage up to 10mm (approx. ½ inch) in front of the driver and 40mm (approx 2 inches) in front of the passenger
• The windscreen washer fluid must hit the windscreen, and supply a sufficient amount of fluid to do the job
• The wiper blades must not be damaged, and must not leave streaks on the windscreen and move at a sufficient speed to clear the windscreen from rain
• The wipers must park in the down position (unless manufactured not to do so)

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Exhaust System

• The exhaust system must be free from any excessive gas leaks
• All exhaust mounting rubbers and brackets must be fitted
• The tail pipe must be fitted and not excessively corroded and holed

 

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Exhaust Emissions

• All vehicles must not emit any smoke excessively
• For petrol-engined vehicles, the limits of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrocarbons (H.C's - unburnt fuel maybe due to a misfire) vary. The CO is measured as a percentage of the total gas emitted, H.C's as Parts Per Million (ppm). These are as follows:

Age of Vehicle	H.C's	Volume CO
First used before August 1976 (Up to M Reg)	Visual Check
First used between August 1976 and July 1986 (P - C Reg)	1200 ppm	4.5%
First used between August 1986 and July 1992 (D - J Reg)	1200 ppm	3.5%

For diesel-engined vehicles, the amount of black soot emitted is tested, with turbo-charged vehicles allowed to be slightly sootier than non-turbo charged.

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Catalyst Emissions

Each vehicle must meet the pass criteria for the particular engine fitted at varying engine speed ranges - these include:

Fast idle CO (Carbon Monoxide) less than 0.3% between 2,500 - 3,000 rpm.

Fast idle hydrocarbons (unburnt fuel) less that 200ppm (parts per million).

Fast idle Lambda figure (a complicated ratio calculated from the CO, Hydrocarbon, Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen emissions) to be within certain limits (between 0.97 and 1.03).

Idle (tickover) CO less than 0.5%.

Certain vehicles are allowed higher figures at different rpm ranges depending on make, model and engine type if they initially don't meet these requirements.

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Other Items

Horn - must work and be loud enough to be heard and not be of the siren or two tone type.

Number plates - must be complete and not broken, readable from a distance, have digits which are the same width along their length, have the correct spacing and not be able to be "misread".

Mirrors - must be fitted, unbroken and secure.

Doors and bootlid/tailgate - All doors and boot opening must securely latch closed and both front doors must be able to open from both the inside and outside handles.

Bonnet - must be secured in the closed position and the safety latch must be working and effective.

Seats - Front seats must be secure and their seat backs must be able to be secured in the upright position.

Fuel system - No fuel leaks, the fuel filler cap must secure onto the filler neck with a sealing washer in place (temporary fuel caps are just that - temporary, they will fail) and all fuel system components (tank, pipework, etc.) must be secure.

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and/or chassis plate - a chassis or VIN number must be clearly shown on the vehicle if it was registered after 1980.

General Vehicle Structure - no jagged or sharp edges are allowable - all body components must be secure. Any external spare wheel carrier must be secure.

Excessive corrosion and rust holes are not allowed within 30cm (approx. 12 inches) of any major component (most of the things listed above) mounting point.

 

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