7 Common MOT Test Failures and How to Avoid Them

All vehicles that are more than 3 years old from their registration need to pass the annual MOT test to drive legally in the United Kingdom. If you are planning to do your vehicle MOT in Basingstoke then you can give us a chance.

We are one of the best MOT centres in Basingstoke having a team of experienced technicians who will diagnose your vehicle in less time.

More than 23,500 local car repair garages throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, employing more than 65,800 testers, are authorized to perform testing and issue certificates, including our car repair garage in Basingstoke.

MOT checks if your vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards. Using a vehicle of MOT test age that doesn’t have the current test certificate on a public road is an offence.

There are two situations when you must get an MOT inspection for your vehicle:

• After three years of vehicle registration.
• After one year of your vehicle’s last MOT check.

If you drive your vehicle properly then it doesn’t mean that your also vehicle is in good shape. The official statistics for 2020 show over 6,967,900 cars and vans failed their MOT at first-time testing. Many of the defects causing the failures are easy to fix and could easily be resolved before the MOT test.

What are the Most Common MOT Test Failures?

Here are the top seven most common failures during MOT tests and how you can prevent them-

Lights and Signaling

If your car has blown bulbs then it can affect the MOT results because it is the single biggest cause of failures and is one of the easiest and cheapest to fix.

Before the test, get help from any friend or family member to check your vehicles all of the lights are working properly including the front, rear, all indicators, brake lights, and fog lights. Your vehicle can fail if its headlights have deflectors fitted for driving in Europe.

Suspension

We all know that Britain’s patchworked and potholed road surfaces constantly damage our vehicle suspension and now suspension failures are common nowadays featuring 1 failure out of 10 tests. You can do a pre-test by looking beneath your vehicle and finding short of clambering to avoid failure in MOT.

Brakes

Check if your vehicle feels a spongey pedal feel and if the car pulling left or right when you apply the brakes. If you feel any of these symptoms then it is time to replace the pads. In general, brakes should need to be changed every 50,000 miles but it also depending on your driving style and the road you are driving on.

Tyres

Your Vehicle tyres are the only part that has physical contact with the road, so they should be checked regularly to ensure they are in good condition. To check the the tyre tread depth use a 20p piece and check across the full width of the tyre and all the way around. If the tyre outer band of the coin is visible, your tyres could be under the legal limit.

Driver’s View of the Road

Check for any visible cracks on your vehicle windscreen because it is important to see all around from the inside of the vehicle. You need to make sure that the windscreen washers work and have an adequate amount of reservoir so that the pump will work as normal during the test.

If you see minor cracks in the widescreen use a resin to hide it before testing and remove all types of cradles or stickers before the test. One rear view is intact at least and you can find stick-on mirror surfaces that can be found at little cost.

Fuel and Exhaust

One of the major causes of MOT failure is emissions, especially in diesel vehicles. Commonly, nowadays Pre-MOT fuel treat packs are not available on the market, helping to clean out the fuel system before going to MOT test. Before the test take a pre-test of your vehicle by running at high revs to warm the engine up and blow out any cobwebs to clean the engine.

Steering

In general, fluids are not checked during an MOT test, but they check the power steering fluid and the amount in the reservoir so you need to fill it if it is less than the minimum level.

Seat Belts and Airbags

Before going to the MOT test take the time and retract the seat belts, and check for any twisted or knotted belts. Secure all the positions without detaching the seat belts.

Check for any warning lights in your vehicle dashboard like missing airbags or other types of errors. These small errors and mirror things can also lead to failure in tests.

Body and Structure

As a vehicle owner, you can do much about rust other than washing your vehicle regularly during winter. But you can fix any accident damage on your vehicle such as loose bumpers before going for an MOT test.

Registration Plates

One of the major culprits of MOT failure is your vehicle registration plate, check carefully any damages in the plate and make sure the light above the plate is working properly. tyres in Basingstoke, 14% of failures happen due to damaged number plate issues. If the number plate needs replacement then replace it before going for the test.

Conclusion

If you pre-checked your vehicle and fixed all the issues then now are ready for your vehicle MOT test. If you are looking for an MOT in Basingstoke then visit our garage, we will assist you with your vehicle MOT test and do a test for you in less time at reasonable prices.