Technical UK MOT requirements

[Franko500]

Hi,
just getting my 500 ready for its first uk MOT.
I have spoken to MOT station who have confirmed a couple of items for my year vehicle:
only 1 mirror required
spare wheel not required
hazard warning not required

I also found this document that lists on the current regulations and also for older vehicles and what is applicable.

 

[Paolo66]

Good luck. Fingers crossed

 

[IanEmery]

Hi,
just getting my 500 ready for its first uk MOT.
I have spoken to MOT station who have confirmed a couple of items for my year vehicle:
only 1 mirror required
spare wheel not required
hazard warning not required

I also found this document that lists on the current regulations and also for older vehicles and what is applicable.

I had my test last week, which I'm pleased to say it passed, and was offered the old fashioned Tapley (sp?) brake test if I wasn't happy with using the rollers. No hazards, no fog lamp, no seat belts to test!

Good luck for yours. Mind you, it does seem daft having to test a car that's effectively brand new like yours!!:worship:

 

[Franko500]

Cheers,
I must admit I am looking quite forward to its MOT.
Just a couple of items to check off before its ready to go.
Biggest worry is the brakes as they haven't bed in due to not being used yet. So I will try and drive around the block a few times on the way to the MOT station that is only 5 minutes away!

 

[fiat500]

Cheers,
I must admit I am looking quite forward to its MOT.
Just a couple of items to check off before its ready to go.
Biggest worry is the brakes as they haven't bed in due to not being used yet. So I will try and drive around the block a few times on the way to the MOT station that is only 5 minutes away!

Braking requirements aren't actually all that stringent. As long as they're reasonably even you'll be OK.
My old Austin used to pass and that was cable brakes.

Good luck all the same. (Not needed) I have found that the MOT men are very sensible about things and really seem to respect the effort that people like you put into getting things just right.

 

[H A]

Braking requirements aren't actually all that stringent. As long as they're reasonably even you'll be OK.
My old Austin used to pass and that was cable brakes.

I am sure it will pass, good luck.

My 1957 LandRover passed its MOT a couple of years ago, the only brake test was it stopped when they put it on the ramp.
More recently at a different garage, they take it out and the passenger holds a special cup with a ball in it, when the tester brakes the passenger looks to see how far the ball rolls.Very accurate.

I would give your car a good run on the way to the MOT, get the brakes bedded in, if it does not pull to one side when you brake hard you will be fine. Mine was good on the rolling road, that was with new shoes and old drums.

It will pass, the underside is mint, and the rest looks like a new one, have faith.

H A

 

[Pete145]

I'm sure it'll pass with flying colours. After passing for two years straight mine was failed this year based on the old side-light/indicator issue, so I had to get side lights wired in to the headlight glass before getting it re-tested. A bit frustrating, but a fair cop by all accounts!

 

[AndrewHarvey]

I carried out the LED twin colour mod and flasher change
Cost £15 total

 

[Franko500]

I'm sure it'll pass with flying colours. After passing for two years straight mine was failed this year based on the old side-light/indicator issue, so I had to get side lights wired in to the headlight glass before getting it re-tested. A bit frustrating, but a fair cop by all accounts!

I think the MOT regulations showed it was acceptable up to 1965.
My L had the white indicators when i got it.
Hopefully they will pass my D with white lamps as its a 62!!

 

[Pete145]

I think the MOT regulations showed it was acceptable up to 1965.
My L had the white indicators when i got it.
Hopefully they will pass my D with white lamps as its a 62!!

Hi Sean,

Yes, it's a bit of a grey area, and the issue seems to be the blending of side-lights and indicators rather than the colour of the lens.

When I got my car it had the white lens indicators, and had passed MoTs with them by all accounts. I was advised to change them to the orange lens, and the car passed two more MoTs, but this year the tester was adamant that they had to fail it because the side-lights could not be orange.

We enjoyed a bit of a Mexican stand-off when I asked if he would pass it if I popped the white lens back on, and he said that he would then have to fail it for having white indicators!

Anyway, I think the upshot of this was that MoT test centres can indeed fail Fiat 500s for this issue, but most are sympathetic to the situation and pass them. I decided to go belt and braces and get side-lights wired in to the headlights and isolate the orange lens indicators to use just as indicators.

A bit of a pain, but not too dramatic!

If you are unlucky let me know, as I have a set of UK spec, right hand drive headlights that include side-lights.

 

[Franko500]

I understand your troubles.
Lucky for me on my L I upgraded to the uk h/lights with built in side lights and went for stand alone orange indicators so no problem there this time round!
Still, I can understand the reason for even enforcing certain changes on classic cars. It may make them less original but it also makes them a little safer.

The MOT guy asked if I had seat belts installed for safety reasons in case of an accident. I said I do but lets face it if you had a major accident in one of these I don't think a seat belt will make a great deal of difference.
Its like a child putting a spider in a match box and then stand on it. Its not going to survive!
Still, at least he can say it ticks the box.

 

[Toshi 975]

Talking of blending of lights I have had a couple of near misses recently when modern cars have indicator lights surrounded by bright daytime running led lights. It makes the indicators almost impossible to see.
Good luck with the MOT . It was always a stressful time for me as over the years I learned about cars then knew about cars. I fell out with every garage and main agent in my town because of blatant fishing for work and overcharging mainly due to menu pricing on work which most garages use so you end up paying a fixed price for a job rather than the actual time spent working on the car so for a number of minor jobs you can end up paying 3 or 4 times what the actual labour charge should be so with any garage these days you are talking big bucks.
I count myself lucky now as I found a family run garage about 12 miles from me. They apply the MOT rules strictly but do not fish for work plus they have a good knowledge of older cars so I can't always be confident of an MOT pass but I can be confident in their findings. It is the Old Dairy garage in Tring by the way.

 

[fiat500]

. They apply the MOT rules strictly but do not fish for work .

That's exactly what I was crowing about last year. I go to KwikFit for just that reason; counterintuitive though it sounds.
Obviously they don't have easy access to a wheel-bearing kit, an exhaust, brake-shoes or even tyres for 500; so they're not going to fish for work. But they don't do that anyway, as the MOT tester is independent of them...he doesn't even have their uniform overalls.

The MOT guy even re-assured me, without asking, that he would treat the car with care re; jacking-point etc.

Best of all..it's only £30 if booked online.

 

[stevehg]

Cheers,
I must admit I am looking quite forward to its MOT.
Just a couple of items to check off before its ready to go.
Biggest worry is the brakes as they haven't bed in due to not being used yet. So I will try and drive around the block a few times on the way to the MOT station that is only 5 minutes away!

Brake it a few times in reverse too, as this will help the self adjusters do their thing, which should mean that you handbrake test is ok.

In case it's of use there is a way to get a rough idea of braking effectiveness by using a torque wrench. We used to use it when we ripped off brake hoses off road to make sure we were getting good brakes after a bleed. You start by jacking up vehicle or single wheel, apply brake and use a torque wrench to tighten a wheel lug. You use an OLD wheel lug, wind the torque wrench right up to 200lb or higher. If you can tighten lug up without the wheel turning, you'll pass an mot.

cheers, Steve

 

[the hobbler]

I can understand, and to a greater or lesser extent agree with, your feelings regarding garage charges Toshi---I helped set-up and was then the senior Service Excecutive (posh word for a service receptionist, but we did a lot more) at a M/Benz garage. The manufacturers set strict 'job-times' and with modern cars, service work is diminishing at an alarming rate (for the garage), yet the customer still wants your technicians to be fully trained and conversant with all the models---and the courses are NOT free, the garages have to pay for them , and any accommodation if it is more than a 1 day course.
I once had a customer come in (about late-afternoon) with a broken headlamp glass. He wasn't local, and it was imperative that the glass was replaced so that he could drive home (in the dark). I squeezed his job into the workload, and the technician bust a gut to get it done (so that the job I took him off still went out that night). I charged him the M/Benz book time (about 0.7hrs--you had to recheck h/light alignment as well), and yes the technician HAD done it in less than par time. Despite the fact that we had really dug deep to rescue him, he made such a fuss over the charge, and was so 'publicly' rude to me and about the garage that the Service Manager had to reduce the charge--and I later got a bollocking from the Service manager for charging the book time! I was not a happy bunny! Also, don't forget, in these large franchise garages, the manufacturer has a lot of control over the running and layout of it--it not always the garages fault. To retain the franchise they have to hit targets and jump through a lot of hoops. Lastly, the only way the technician can earn any bonus is by doing his work in under par time, and despite what people think, the garage business is not a well paid trade, and with all the electronics now in cars, there are (and have to be) some very clever people working to keep you mobile.
I have spent the bulk of my working life in the motor trade, with about 20 of my final years on 'the front desk'

 

[Franko500]

Try doing my role as an insurance assessor. I feel like I get my trousers pulled down and slapped every time I walk into a repairer - especially main dealers. Sadly most of the technicians know very little about the new cars as everything needs a diagnostic check. Computer says part A is broken, change part A, computer says part B broken, change part B, computer says part C broken. Part C gets changed and all is working. Was part A & B broken? probably not but we cant send them back now and its cost over £1000.

What ever happened to technicians knowing what was wrong?

 

[H A]

Computer says part A is broken, change part A, computer says part B broken, change part B, computer says part C broken. Part C gets changed and all is working. Was part A & B broken?

My mechanic mate always phones the main dealer, and checks stock level and sales of parts A B and C first.

If either A B or C have sold lots and there is a large stock holding, then that is the one he goes for.

State of the art scanners are often wrong from my experience.

I now have an app on my phone and a small bluetooth module that lets me look at the fault code, pays to be one step ahead and able to research on the net for common issues.

H A

 

[looigi]

I don't think my Fiat has blue teeth!