1. Your bumper has been seriously damaged in an accident so you have taken it off and the bumper irons stick out dangerously. Would this cause an MOT failure?
b) No, because a dangerous protrusion only results in a failure if it arises because the bodywork has either been damaged or is corroded.
2. Your battery is loose and a fire could result because the live terminal could spark to earth. Would that result in an MOT failure?
c) Yes, since new EU regulations came into force a battery can fail the MOT if it is ‘…insecure or leaking electrolyte’
3. Your spare tyre is brand new but has a puncture. Would that result in an MOT failure?
c) No, because the spare wheel and tyre are not examined in the MOT.
4. Your handbrake requires 7 ‘clicks’ before it engages and operates the brake. Would that pass the MOT?
b) Yes, provided there is further travel available to allow for some brake wear.
5. Your odometer failed when it registered 45063 miles, which was just after the last MOT. Would that result in an MOT failure?
a) No, because the odometer is not part of the MOT.
6. Your vehicle has had its catalytic converter removed and replaced by a normal exhaust silencer but passes the emissions Test. Does it fail the MOT because it hasn’t got a catalytic converter when it should have one?
a) Yes, since new EU regulations came into force, if a vehicle originally fitted with a catalytic converter has had it removed, then a failure applies.
7. Your car has separate side-lights and headlamps. There are no sidelights in the headlamps. When the side-lights are switched on, one of the headlamps illuminates. Is that an MOT failure?
a) No, because there is not a ‘reason for rejection’ which describes this situation in the MOT regulations.
8. Your vehicle has four tyres which are correct, matched in every respect and correctly fitted except that the tread patters are all different. Will this result in an MOT failure?
c) No, because the tread pattern is not part of the MOT.
9. There is a crack in your car’s windscreen travelling upwards from the bottom of the screen directly in front of the driver. It extends 15mm into the part of the screen swept by the wiper but is not directly in the driver’s line of sight when driving. Will that result in an MOT failure?
b) Yes, if it obscures any part of ‘the driver’s view of the road’ – which may not be directly within his ‘line of sight’, when looking straight ahead.