My car just passed its MOT - I'm not impressed.

My car has an ABS fault and intermittent grinding from the rear wheel.

I've just taken it for an MOT and it passed .

I've asked the garage to investigate further and told them that I don't feel 'safe' driving the car - despite the fact that the professionals view is that it is in fact roadworthy.

I trust the garage - it's not their fault - they are simply applying the MOT rules. At the time of the test there was no ABS fault and no grinding.

Seems to me that it's fairly easy for a car to pass the MOT test - it really needs 'beefing' up and include a road test.

Moan over.

I've decided to purchase a new Dacia Sandero this year - £6.5k for a new car which is based around proven Renault technology - buying second hand just doesn't make sense any more.

 

Maybe youve just got some grit in the rear brake so it interferes with the abs sensor and grinds when it gets between the pad a nd disc? Have you driven through water recently ?

 

Your ABS is a feature that only stops hard braking and is not considered as an essential =, at least over here it isn't. It is considered "nice to have but not necessary".

 

Never foud ABS or traction control to be any use, if I want to stop, I want to stop, and if I want to go, I want to go.
All that bumping around achieves nothing.

 

That was the problem - the abs was working all the time - no matter what speed or how hard I was braking.

I received a call from the garage - the abs fault is due to muck/rust - which they are removing and the grinding was actually the brake binding on the wheel - they could see that the disc had heated up. So no parts as such needed just disassembly, cleaning and reassembly.

The issue for me was that as the MOT does not include a road test - these faults were not identified and I could have simply driven away down the motorway and exploded into a massive fireball as the heated brake disc ignited the fuel in the tank (OK maybe I'm exaggerating a bit ).

As I say, nowt to do with the garage but does highlight a weakness in the mot test.

I've contacted the DVSA and given them my opinion - not expecting a reply though.

 

I ride a 1926 Triumph Model 'P' and I'm restoring a 1931 B.S.A. three wheeler. The powers that be have decided that those with skills required should be able to inspect and fix anything on their vehicles so no need for an M.o.T. Sound sensible to me. (I wouldn't buy a new car, even if I had the money for a new car).

Cheers, Tony.

 

How did it pass it's NOT if the ABS was activating prematurely? The affected wheel would have way below the required braking efficiency.

Does the garage have a very outdated brake testing rolling roadthing that only measures the overall braking, rather than the more modern ones that measure the braking of each individual wheel ? Your test report should tell you the individual wheel brake efficiency readings. If it just gives an overall rating, then I'd use a different garage in future.

I had a similar ABS fault once. I didn't know until one time I had to brake hard, and the steering wheel literally ripped out of my hands, as one wheel braked hard while the other didn't. Mine was at the front, so very noticeable when it happened. At the back I expect it would be less obvious.

 

I'll have a look at the mot papers. The abs was active all the time until the abs message came up on the dash - disabled the abs and restored the braking to normal.

It must be one which tests each wheel - as they have previously identified poor braking performance on one side only.

I don't understand how it passed - perhaps someone received a rollicking for letting it through - or the brakes simply behaved themselves when it was being tested.

Odd - but from previous experience I do trust the garage.

 

The rolling wheels for brake mot only turn slowly, not sure if the ABS would be working at that slow speed

 

ABS will only be used under hard braking , when one of the wheels is about to lock . You can feel the brake pedal pumping on and off to prevent wheel lock . It is one of the best innovations to car safety in the last twenty years . No more of that awful wheel lock and control-less slide moment we used to experience , with ABS you can still steer around the obstacle. The Bosch video shows what a little gem you have fitted to your car
@clanless , the MOT test does use a rolling road to test the brakes. But I also think a one mile test drive should be included in the test.

 

I understand entirely. I have never purchased a new car - I couldn't get my head around depreciation.

I've recently changed my mind on this. The Dacia is so cheap. A decent 2nd hand car costs 3.5k to 4k - no warranty and requires an mot each year. A Dacia would cost £6.5k with no mot for 4 years and a manufacturers warranty. Say I spend £250 a year on the mot for a second hand car and then factor in running repairs - the figures start to stack up.

Dacia is a budget brand - but that doesn't bother me one bit.

 

Every car I've had that's had ABS has activated at very low speed, such as on sheet ice. I've known continue to do its magic right up until actually stationary.

Besides, that's ABS with no (known) fault. If the ABS is triggering prematurely, all the time, then it would do so from the moment the brake pedal is pressed until the moment the speedo sensor says the car has stopped.

Unless of course the ABS computer realises there's a sensorfault, in which case the warning light should appear, and the car should fail. Unless of course the warning light is bust, and therefore wouldn't illuminate when the tester turned the ignition on, in which case the car should have failed.

Also, I'm not sure if it's standard or not, but the garage I use has a, what I call (in sure it has a name), a robot leg. It applies a sustained and measurable pressure to the brake pedal to check for leaks, and while the testers look for bulging in the brake lines which would indicate imminent failure. Presumably a test like this would register a small drop in pressure if the ABS was activating prematurely, which would warrant further investigation.

 

I thought abs was there to deal with rapid deceleration - slamming on the anchors at 60 for example. Traction control would be used for icy conditions. I'm no mechanic so happy to be corrected on this .