MOT - Advisory.. 'Noisy Exhaust'

TaKeN

TaKeN

TaKeN

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Shropshire
My car went through its mot yesterday and passed..

Upon collecting it this morning I found an advisory note with the MOT Cert reading 'Noisy Exhaust'.
Now, my car has a 'homemade decat' and an aftermarket 'backbox' which isn't excessively noisy or huuuuuge.

Its passed twice before with the exhaust on and no advisory note was certified. So why this time??
The chap at the garage (local mechanic, friend of my dads. Checks the vehicle and does the work then takes it to a test centre) tells me that they can now fail certain cars for not having the standard exhaust..

Can anyone confirm this?
 
They can't fail a car for having an aftermarket or different non standard exhaust, however they can fail it if it doesn't meet certain requirements (CO2 gases, noise etc...).
 
If the tester deems the exhaust to be noticably louder than he would expect when compared to a standard version of the car, then yes it can now fail the MOT.
 
Peerzy said:
They can't fail a car for having an aftermarket or different non standard exhaust, however they can fail it if it doesn't meet certain requirements (CO2 gases, noise etc...).
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Ahh, I also had a 'smoke test' Diesel paper sheet reading 1.46.. if that means anything?

It also reads 'max allowance 1.50'

Lopéz said:
If the tester deems the exhaust to be noticably louder than he would expect when compared to a standard version of the car, then yes it can now fail the MOT.
Click to expand...

:)
 
Generally VOSA guidelines are "if you aren't sure, pass and advise" which is what your tester has done :)
 
Peerzy said:
however they can fail it if it doesn't meet certain requirements (CO2 gases, noise etc...).
Click to expand...

What are the noise requirements? I've seen many a road-legal Westfield get refused entry to a track because of their 103dB 4500RPM noise limit, but the cars passed an MOT ok (well apart from the CO2 but that's re-mappable ;)).
 
I get one every time for the suspension being adjustable. Not too good when it comes to sale time and the wad of yellow sheets is as big as the wad of green ones!
 
TaKeN said:
My car went through its mot yesterday and passed..

Upon collecting it this morning I found an advisory note with the MOT Cert reading 'Lacking VTEC, invest in DC2'
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pretty serious mate, i'd take action on that straight away if i were you. :D
 
MrLOL said:
tester is being picky.
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That's being completely unfair on the tester, in no way is he being picky.

He passed it for starters!

Special Notice 9 - 2008:

Section 7.1
Change to the criteria for assessing exhaust noise in that the level of noise should be checked at all engine speeds required for the emissions check. Also, that the vehicle should be failed if the noise emitted is clearly unreasonably above the level expected from a similar vehicle with a standard silencer in average condition

The word "standard" is italicised and underlined in the Special Notice.

Westyfield2 said:
What are the noise requirements?
Click to expand...
A dB meter is not used in the MOT test - therefore there can be no noise requirement other than the above. If the tester deems it unsuitably loud for the type of vehicle, it will be failed, or passed and advised at his discretion
 
MrLOL said:
tester is being picky.

The milltek on vectra is quite loud id say

Yet passed with no advisories.
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While I'll let you off on a blatent excuse just to show off your exhaust ;) that's not even close to being described as "loud", sounds like (volume wise) 90% of aftermarket exhausts.

Its the cars they can hear half a mile away they seem to be clamping down on, and then it tends to only be the Nova/Saxo kiddies.
 
Lopéz said:
A dB meter is not used in the MOT test - therefore there can be no noise requirement other than the above. If the tester deems it unsuitably loud for the type of vehicle, it will be failed, or passed and advised at his discretion
Click to expand...

Ah right cheers, that's good to know then :). Better not go removing the silencer from my VTR now though :p.
 
Interesting stuff guys, and I am pretty sure that you wouldn't class my 306 under the 'Saxo/Nova Bridgade' though :p

Those who saw me at the RR Meet in '08 can probably vouch for that (am I going to be eating those words? ;)

The main reason I stuck the Mongoose backbox on was A. Because it cost me a handful of poundcoins from a friend 2 years ago.

B. Because it removes a lot of restriction from the standard exhaust

and Fonzee... stop making me lust for a DC2 again!!!! :mad:
 
Sometimes not having a MOT over here works in your favour :D

The MOT rules on perceived loudness against a similar car seems a little ambiguous though!

Is there anything in the MOT about engine/induction loudness? My car makes more noise from induction oncoming than the exhaust even comes close to.
 
Lopéz said:
That's being completely unfair on the tester, in no way is he being picky.

He passed it for starters!

Special Notice 9 - 2008:

Section 7.1
Change to the criteria for assessing exhaust noise in that the level of noise should be checked at all engine speeds required for the emissions check. Also, that the vehicle should be failed if the noise emitted is clearly unreasonably above the level expected from a similar vehicle with a standard silencer in average condition

The word "standard" is italicised and underlined in the Special Notice.


A dB meter is not used in the MOT test - therefore there can be no noise requirement other than the above. If the tester deems it unsuitably loud for the type of vehicle, it will be failed, or passed and advised at his discretion
Click to expand...

You now have the power to dish out failures to chavs with ridiculous exhausts. Kinda cool I spose but they may lose business by trying to enforce it? Said chav will just take the car to a friendlier station and there begins the era of inconsistent MOT testing.
 
Lopéz said:
Generally VOSA guidelines are "if you aren't sure, pass and advise" which is what your tester has done :)
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Not sure that's a VOSA guideline.

According to my tester. A pass and an advisory is their get out of jail free card if a month down the line VOSA inspect your car and find it to be a fail.

"Well it wasn't that bad when we tested it, it was borderline but OK"

Works for windscreen chips outside of Zone A, blowing exhausts & fart cannons, rust etc. etc.


Of course every tester has different interpretations of the rules. I asked a local MOT shop about a chip on my windscreen in the blue tinted area of the windscreen, cue argument between two MOT testers as to whether the "tinted area" refered to the blue area or the solid black area.

I've also had a senior inspector at a VOSA enforcement centre tell me that my numberplates were illegal and hand me photocopies of the guidelines, at which point I pointed out the exact clause that made my numberplates legal, cue noncomittal grumbling then he buggered off into the staff-only office.
 
Matmulder said:
While I'll let you off on a blatent excuse just to show off your exhaust ;) that's not even close to being described as "loud", sounds like (volume wise) 90% of aftermarket exhausts.

Its the cars they can hear half a mile away they seem to be clamping down on, and then it tends to only be the Nova/Saxo kiddies.
Click to expand...

my other half could here we comming from inside our house with double glazed windows from the main road some couple of hundread yards away !
 
Lum said:
Not sure that's a VOSA guideline.
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It is. Read through a copy of Matters Of Testing (the periodical VOSA publication for MOT Testers) and you will see it very regularly advises testers in doubt to "pass and advise"
 
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