Do I need to service my Car?

What is the difference between an MOT and a service.

An MOT is a basic test and checks whether your vehicle meets the minimum legal requirements for the items required to be tested under section 45 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

It does not tell you how long your vehicle will continue to meet these minimum requirements. Therefore, you may still be prosecuted for driving an unroad-worthy vehicle before the end of the current test certificate. You should continue to maintain your vehicle to ensure that it will always pass an MOT.

Brakes are not checked for condition, only an efficiency test is carried out. If alloy wheels are fitted and the tester can see the brake pads through the wheels and the pads are below 1.5mm then this shall be reason for a fail because they are too low, but if they can not be seen through the wheel then a 0.5mm pad will still pass the MOT, even though that it is getting dangerously close to running out of brake pad material. Brake discs will fail if any signs of cracks or covered in oil or brake fluid.

Remember the wheels are not removed for the MOT test.

Just because your vehicle passes the MOT it does not mean that your brakes are in good condition.

A service is a more in depth check, its not a simple changing of the oil and filters etc, any advisories that would be mentioned with your MOT will be rectified, ensuring that your vehicle meets a high standard, to ensure you will stay safe and legal rather than only the minimum legal requirements being met.  The wheels will be removed, checking the brake discs and pads thoroughly and on some rear brakes the brake drum and shoes cleaned, inspected and adjusted.

Below is an image of a brake pad which had just passed the MOT, luckily the vehicle was in for a service and MOT. As you can see there is very little pad material left, the edges of the pad had been scraping on the rusty lip of the brake disc leaving no material left, actually scraping down to the shiny metal of the brake pad backing.

Even though the pad material was extreemly low, there was still just enough touching the disc to give an acceptable efficiency reading, allowing it to pass.

This shows how important it is to get your vehicle serviced regularly, not necessarily at a main dealer with their very high service costs but at a good reputable garage, they will give you good honest advice and great service for a lesser cost.

Mot updates

The new MOT rules were due at the beginning of April 2012 but are still yet to be confirmed. Speaking to Colin at VOSA he says it is due any day now, but a date is still yet to be announced. Take advantage of the extra time given to you. Once the new items are classed as part of the test, your vehicle will need to conform to these new set of rules. The vehicle can be presented for an MOT test upto 30 days before the current one expires, check your current certificate for the exact date.

The MOT test is compulsory on any vehicle which reaches 3 years old or more, and then every year there after. This test is a routine which contains over 150 checks on your vehicle, cars, vans, and motorbikes are all tested.

The mot test is the minimum safety standard that your vehicle should be in, if your vehicle is serviced regularly and any problems resolved it should always pass the basic MOT test.


10) NEW
7) SERVICE
3) MOT
0) SCRAP

A new vehicle coming out of a show room will have a safety standard of 10, when your vehicle is serviced the safety standard of 7 will be achieved, when your vehicle is MOTed the minimum safety standard will be only 3 and when your vehicle becomes at the end of its life ready for scrap it will be zero, as you can see that the MOT is the basic minimum safety standard and should not be susbstituted for your regular servicing.

Your vehicle's pass certificate relates only to the condition of the components examined at the time of the test. Not the whole vehicle is tested and it does not guarantee the safety for the whole year.

It does not confirm the vehicle will remain roadworthy for the validity of the certificate.

Any advisory items that are brought to your attention should be resolve to keep the vehicle at the MOT standard and not falling below during the MOT certificate validity.

Checking your lights, wiper blades, tyres, tyre pressures and oil level weekly will help ensure that your vehicle will stay safe and legal.

With the new EU directive coming into play in April/May with a much stricter MOT process will this mean safer roads for Britian. For the complete list on what is new to the MOT check out what is an Mot page at newtyresquick.com.