Over Zealous MOT Testers

[robert_e_smart]

That is normally what happens Paul,

But I was dealing with a prick of the highest order. I don't know about your tests, but they have the right here to take the car out of the test centre, and drive it to test something.

[minijet]

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That is normally what happens Paul,

But I was dealing with a prick of the highest order. I don't know about your tests, but they have the right here to take the car out of the test centre, and drive it to test something.

Hi Robert,

I've no idea if they can take the car out on the road to check it here, I know they've never done it with any of mine.

I wish they would though. That way they'd find out that most XM's have working ABS even though the light is on. Or perhaps your 'prick of the highest order' would still fail it just for the light being on

Paul

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[robert_e_smart]

He would have just failed it for having the ABS light being on!

[Dieselman]

The tester probably took the car for a road test as it had already failed twice for ABS fault, so he wanted to be sure it was working.
At the end of the day he is right to fail it...it wasn't working.

[robert_e_smart]

At the end of the day he is right to fail it...it wasn't working.

Yes, I agree, but 99.999% of other MOT testers wouldn't have bothered. Its dissapointing when you expect the car to sail through and get a pass, and then to have it fail yet again. I don't know how much of the cars previous MOT history is available to our testers. NI Govt run test centres are a grey area.

The biggest annoyance is the doubt over the compatability of the cheap ABS sensors. I hope that the sensors do work, and that it was some other problem with the car's ABS system.

[jonathan_dyane]

I once experienced a road test here in England on MOT, with an old Dyane. The tester couldn't dig out the weights for the brake test, so we had to use the Tapley meter! It gave very impressive results, although I believe the car in question having mal-adjusted friction dampers gave excessive dive which rather made a mockery of things. Passed though!

I question the legitamacy of a road test to test ABS; to get the ABS to work (or not) requires provoking through heavy braking a situation where control is lost, and I am very much surprised if the testing regulations permit what is a potentially risky manouever. If it were me, I'd be getting in contact with the authority resposible for testing standards to find out whether such on road testing is permitted.

[Dieselman]

I question the legitamacy of a road test to test ABS; to get the ABS to work (or not) requires provoking through heavy braking a situation where control is lost, and I am very much surprised if the testing regulations permit what is a potentially risky manouever. If it were me, I'd be getting in contact with the authority resposible for testing standards to find out whether such on road testing is permitted.

I'm sure it would be for a vehicle they felt had dubiously working ABS. Provoking a skid doesn't me an a loss of control when performed in a controlled manner.

[robert_e_smart]

Our MOT centres are combined with the driving test centres, so there is space to drive around the main building to carry out these additional checks without going onto the public highway, and they do have the right to take the vehicle for a test drive if they feel they need to.

But if the car was tested over with you, it wouldn't have failed on ABS.

[jorgy]

Sorry to hear your woes Robert.

Once at a Glasgow MOT centre, I had the V6 thowing the light on, and explained the tester that in spite of this the ABS still works. He took it out and indeed confirmed it works so he passed me, warning that this was the last time...!

cheers
George

[steelcityuk]

Interesting thread.

To make the rear brakes work just put the suspension in high setting as you would for brake bleeding, still he sounds less than clued up so he may fail it saying it isn't a valid operating condition.

The 2.5 I had came up with the ABS light so the tester checked his computer and said that it said if the ABS light comes on drive the vehicle above ? MPH, he did and the light went out.

Fortunately the main tester at the garage I use used to own own CXs and still has 2 or 3 XMs coming to him for testing. The new guy testing was simply awed by the tank like build of the rear cross tube and he's into Landys.

Steve.