New items added to annual MOT

If you've been ignoring a warning light because it's not checked in the MOT, you could be facing an MOT failure and an expensive repair bill in 2012 because of changes to the test.

The Department for Transport is adding a number of new mandatory items to the annual MOT from 1 January 2012, to comply with a revised European directive (2009/40/EC) intended to harmonise minimum test requirements across Europe and to make sure the test reflects the electrical/electronic complexity of modern car safety features.

The new checks will include inspecting a series of dashboard warning lights telling drivers if there is a problem with their airbags, tyre pressures, power steering and main headlight beam.  Power steering will be subject to inspection, with the MOT demanding a minimum level of fluid.  Anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control systems will also be checked, as will the new generation of powerful headlights to ensure they do not dazzle oncoming motorists.

VOSA, the government agency responsible for the MOT, has indicated that 'failures' relating to the new test items will be treated as 'advisories' in the first three months.  This means that if you have any of the above problems with your car, you've got until the first MOT renewal date after 1 April 2012 to get it fixed.

Most drivers happy with current MOT schedule
Nearly two-thirds of motorists think that a car’s first MOT should continue to be carried out after three years, a survey by the Institute Of Advanced Motorists has found.  Just 29% think we should move to a European system.

A new European Union directive sets down a minimum requirement for a vehicle roadworthiness test – or MOT – with the first test taking place when the car is no more than four years old, and subsequent tests no more than two years apart.  This is known as the four-two-two cycle and it is used in most of Europe.

The UK, however, employs a more stringent cycle of testing – the first test when the car is three years old, followed by annual testing – a three-one-one cycle.  Despite this, 27% of three-year-old cars in the UK fail their first MOT. In France, where the test cycle is four-two-two, 6% cars fail the first test at four years old.

Motorists generally were confident about the MOT test, with 63% believing it would always pick up potential dangers. But 30% believed garages were not independent enough to conduct MOTs, 26% thought garages deliberately find things wrong in order to get money out of them, and 40% said there was no consistency between garages in the way they do the test. The IAM believes these concerns should be addressed through a review before the government considers any changes.

“At a time when people are struggling financially,” said the IAM’s chief executive Simon Best, “the MOT seems to be one cost they are happy to pay.  The IAM is wary of abandoning our well-established and accepted cycle of MOT testing.  The poll suggests that most motorists are happy with it.

“But the question needs to be asked, why are so many cars in the UK failing at only three years, and why does France have a much better pass rate at four years?  Before any change to the system, the government should commission a review to assure motorists that MOT tests are safe, reliable and consistent.  The test should be for the benefit of road safety – not the garages that carry it out.”