Hi all,

My GP has just failed it's MOT because the ignition lock doesn't work? When I asked the woman what it was she said it was when you put the key in. As far as I'm aware my car had no 'turning on' issues.

Does anyone know what this actually means?

Is it not when you turn the steering wheel with no keys in the ignition and the steering wheel locks?

When you remove the ignition key and try to turn the steering wheel, a lock should activate rendering the steering useless..
It was an early form of anti-theft device which didn't deter anyone.
Well it's now part of the MOT i'm afraid, if it doesn't work then it's an MOT failure.

God only knows why, cos it doesn't work as a deterrent.

This may be an easy fix, only requiring a little wd-40 or spray grease, or an expensive one having the barrel replaced.

well worth checking that the steering column hasn't been mis-aligned, and that the "lock" doesn't come in after a LOT of wheel turning rather than the small amount that the tester will have tried,

jack up front of car, remove ignition key, and then twirl the steering wheel..,
see if it locks,

charlie

mattmuirhead93 said:

Hi all,

When I asked the woman what it was she said it was when you put the key in.

Click to expand...

When you put the key in, if the wheel is locked, you must ''play'' the wheel left/right to make the key able to turn the ignition on again. This is not a problem...

I hope she knew that?.

cmosfxx said:

When you put the key in, if the wheel is locked, you must ''play'' the wheel left/right to make the key able to turn the ignition on again. This is not a problem...

I hope she knew that?.

Click to expand...

It's a problem if it doesn't activate after removing the key, as it's now an MOT failure.

I know but...

When I asked the woman what it was she said it was when you put the key in

Click to expand...

Her words

Thanks everyone, that's what I thought it might be, I don't use it too often but I'm pretty sure I didn't use it too long ago and it was fine. Any chance they could be trying to get some more money out of me for nothing? There saying it could cost around £140, any questions I can ask that may show if they're trying to play me for the fool?

Man I really think she confused wheel lock with the very hard to turn, electric motor wheel(judging by her words). But anyway...test it your self if it works.
You have to put a lot of force.

Take the key out and turn the steering wheel.
The lock should usually engage after about a 1/4 of a turn starting with the wheel in the straight position.
If you can turn the steering wheel 1 full rotation with the key out, then it obviously doesn't work, and that's the "play me for a fool" test.
This might be easier to achieve with one side of the car jacked up to reduce friction, but not impossible with both wheels on the floor.

If the lock doesn't engage, then you're either going to have to let someone have a look at it or get your hands dirty.
I'd personally be tempted to try and fix it rather than replace as you may end up with different keys.. one for the doors and another for the ignition.

Getting the lock off could be tricky as they will have shear bolts.
Bolts which are designed to shear the head off once they are tightened up.
This is supposed to stop a car thief coming along with a socket set and just removing the lock, which of course makes the job difficult for someone taking it off legitimately.

If you don't have a few hours to spare, have no idea which end of a screwdriver is the pointy end, and have no practical skills, then £140 isn't a bad price.
unless you're like me and hate the fact that of paying someone £140 to do what I could do for myself for nowt.

There saying it could cost around £140, any questions I can ask that may show if they're trying to play me for the fool?

Very possibly..last MOT on wife's car. Garage called...needs read disks and pads and read drivers side caliper is goosed. Disks and pads have excessive rust they say...costs to fix £495.

So checked them all over....everything works fine. Pads about half worn, disks new 6 months ago, caliper works fine. The handbrake cable does need adjusted but they were just taking the pi$$. Won't go back there again.

The steering lock may be inoperative or missing and it still pass as per MOT manual;

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s02000102.htm

So long there is also an immobiliser fitted to the car.
AFAIK all GPs do have an immobiliser; that's why you have a coded key? Some more technial people may confirm/deny this.

What car is your wife's ? That seems steep!

FYI as a heads up, I had this issue my my Abarth, that the steering lock just stopped engaging at some point, I did however fix it and now it works fine.

Had to just give the steering wheel a bit of "abuse" and moved it quite quickly with a bit of force when the key was out of the ignition and click, steering lock now works fine.

hennabm said:

The steering lock may be inoperative or missing and it still pass as per MOT manual;

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s02000102.htm

So long there is also an immobiliser fitted to the car.
AFAIK all GPs do have an immobiliser; that's why you have a coded key? Some more technial people may confirm/deny this.

Click to expand...

Yes all Fiat's have had immobilisers since about 1995. All models are currently Thatcham cat2 rated as standard equipment.

Good spot on the mot rules btw. Can I just say though, what a ridiculous thing to fail an mot on (it's meant to be about vehicle safety!), and I've never had a car tested for the steering lock ever!!

They now want my car for an extra day ... At least! And it'll cost me upwards of £200. Anyone know of any laws I can threaten them with for forcing me to get something I clearly didn't need, to at least get myself a discount?

I don't know the UK law or how MOT system works but why don't you change tester ? If there's a fail how many days they give you to fix the issue and re-test ? Has to be at the same tester?

Why you don't test it your self and see if the problem they claim exists? If there's a problem you can test some cheap solutions like a cleaning spray if it will work again. It's a mechanical system that doesn't fail so easy.

I don't think a fiat dealer will charge you to simple test something like that anyway.

I don't know about any laws but ask them for an appeal form so you can complain to DVSA (VOSA) about the standard of the test and the incorrect failure.
Tell them you want the car back to retain the evidence so DVSA can inspect it.

Also they cannot repair your car without consent. Did you give them that at any time?

There is something that says as long as the car can bed immobilised you don't need steering lock


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Avaxbox said:

There is something that says as long as the car can be immobilised you don't need a steering lock


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Click to expand...

That'll be this then

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s02000102.htm