Advice please - will any of these faults lead to MOT failure?

dirtychinchilla

dirtychinchilla

dirtychinchilla

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Joined
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Woking
Morning guys,

My car is going in for an MOT this weekend, and I can't afford any repairs on the car at the minute, so I'm pretty worried.

This is what's wrong with it:

  • Fuel gauge reads incorrectly
  • Driver mirror doesn't move through the full range
  • Rear subframe bushes need replacing
  • Airbag warning light on (I think I can reset this myself, and I realise this would be a failure)
  • Boot lock dodgy, but this will be replaced next week
  • Passenger side washer jet doesn't squirt properly

I think that's it! So aside from the airbag issue, are any of these likely to cause a failure? I have checked through the online guide for MOTs, but an experienced viewpoint would be appreciated.

As you might be able to guess, my car has been suffering a bit of late :(
 
I think the jetwash if it has Xenons is a fail as they need to be working properly? I'm not 100% sure on that though as I passed with dodgy ones but it was a bit of a backstreet MOT place.

Rear bushes depending how bad could fail but they would have to be pretty damn bad and obvious.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
  • Rear subframe bushes need replacing - Should be a fail
  • Airbag warning light on (I think I can reset this myself, and I realise this would be a failure) - Is a fail
  • Boot lock dodgy, but this will be replaced next week - Possibly a fail
  • Passenger side washer jet doesn't squirt properly - Is a fail
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The bushes, lock and jet do depend on the tester though and how anal they are about everything, I've had MOT testers miss bushes for example and then picked up a couple months later on another MOT (failed first on other bits which were put right for second).
 
I'm an mot tester so my thoughts;

- Fuel gauge not an issue
- Driver mirror not an issue as long as it's there and provides a view to the rear
- Rear subframe bushes, depends non how bad they are. But they are a failure item if there's enough movement
- Airbag is a fail as you're aware
- Boot lock, as long as you can open it and it closes securely you're ok
- Washer jet could fail again depending on how bad it is, usually just a pin down the holes will resolve the issue though
 
Thanks for your quick responses guys.

The subframe bushes knock every time I go over a bump, so these really do worry me. Are you able to give me a little guidance as to how I could check these myself?

At this point, I'm wondering whether I should book it in somewhere tomorrow to have them changed. I'm just so skint at the moment!!

The washer jet needs repositioning, and I actually plan on fixing that on Sunday. Hopefully they'll accept that I'm trying to resolve it.

The airbag is an odd one. I fitted seats from an older model of A3 into the car, and they apparently function at a lower resistance to my model. I read a guide online which told me to install resistors in the connection and then reset the codes. I did this, and the light stayed off for a couple of weeks. I was vaccuuming the car one day and I think I may have knocked a resistor out, so realistically I think that I just need to put the resistor back in place and reset the codes again. Otherwise...I may have to tape over the warning light or similar! If I can't get it to turn off, though, I think I'll just cancel the MOT and reschedule. I've no idea what I can actually do though to get it to turn off permanently as they are simply the wrong seats.

My mechanic is going away to India next Saturday, though, hence why I want to get the MOT done ASAP in case anything needs fixing.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Thanks for your quick responses guys.

The subframe bushes knock every time I go over a bump, so these really do worry me. Are you able to give me a little guidance as to how I could check these myself?

At this point, I'm wondering whether I should book it in somewhere tomorrow to have them changed. I'm just so skint at the moment!!

The washer jet needs repositioning, and I actually plan on fixing that on Sunday. Hopefully they'll accept that I'm trying to resolve it.

The airbag is an odd one. I fitted seats from an older model of A3 into the car, and they apparently function at a lower resistance to my model. I read a guide online which told me to install resistors in the connection and then reset the codes. I did this, and the light stayed off for a couple of weeks. I was vaccuuming the car one day and I think I may have knocked a resistor out, so realistically I think that I just need to put the resistor back in place and reset the codes again. Otherwise...I may have to tape over the warning light or similar! If I can't get it to turn off, though, I think I'll just cancel the MOT and reschedule. I've no idea what I can actually do though to get it to turn off permanently as they are simply the wrong seats.

My mechanic is going away to India next Saturday, though, hence why I want to get the MOT done ASAP in case anything needs fixing.
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If your subframe bushes are knocking, chances are they're perished enough to be a fail. They will not accept that you're going to sort your washer out after the MOT, it doesn't work like that. Taping over the warning light is not going to work either, MOT testers are not idiots.
 
Hah fair enough! Well as I say, hopefully I can get the airbag light reset!

That's a pain. I think I'm going to ask my mechanic to change the subframe bushes this weekend and then I'll get the MOT test done when he's away. There are other mechanics I trust, but this guy is a mate so I'd rather give him the work. I know he's always honest with me.

Seems like cancelling the MOT is the best option :(
 
Cuchulain said:
If your subframe bushes are knocking, chances are they're perished enough to be a fail. They will not accept that you're going to sort your washer out after the MOT, it doesn't work like that. Taping over the warning light is not going to work either, MOT testers are not idiots.
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You don't want the airbag light 'turn off permanently' either, it has to illuminate then go out.

Sounds to me like you need to cancel the MOT and cough up to have it all sorted properly. Trying to bodge or ***** fix things for an MOT is not a wise move.
 
InvaderGIR said:
You don't want the airbag light 'turn off permanently' either, it has to illuminate then go out.

Sounds to me like you need to cancel the MOT and cough up to have it all sorted properly. Trying to bodge or ***** fix things for an MOT is not a wise move.
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No, I want the light to be off because it should be off, not because I've bodged it. (I agree with you)

pepsilol said:
Have you considered selling the car and getting something a little more affordable?
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I have, but it's a 2002/3 A3 approaching 100k, so it's probably only worth about £2k. I can't afford to put any more money down for another car, so it's not like I'll end up with anything better.
 
But maybe something more reliable that doesn't get these sorts of issues.

Sisters 2002 Corolla has passed every MOT in it's life and has never had any of those niggle type things you get on German cars. It's also completely bland but at least she doesn't really worry..
 
Part of the problem is that I love having a car that's fast and that I can mess around with a little bit. None of these faults would be a big deal if I weren't putting a deposit down on a house at the moment. That's absorbing all my funds atm.
 
I've just spoken to my mechanic. He thinks it's best if I get the testing done. If it fails then it fails, but we'll have a list of the necessary repairs. If it passes then great, but I'll get the bushes sorted anyway.

Hopefully I can sort out the wing mirror, the jets, and the airbag light myself.
 
Yeah that's the best way to do it. I would fix the easy things then just put it for a test then you have a list of things to work with.

For what it's worth, the airbag light does not have to work, it's only a fail if it stays on. But of course it should be fixed properly rather than bodged in any way.
 
I don't want to bodge it, but it may come down to that. I was waiting for a mate with the VCD computer (whatever it's called) to get back to me, and he has! He's going to reset the airbag code for me like he did previously. It came back on for some reason...but I can deal with it coming back on, as long as it gets through the MOT at the weekend.

Worst comes to the worst, I will bodge it ie put blutac on the light behind the cluster.

Annoyingly, I arranged with someone else (I'm lacking tools) to fix the jets on Sunday, but that's a day too late. All that's wrong is that the passenger side jet points too high and hits the bonnet. They're retrofitted jets (from a TT (I really should have kept the originals)), so they don't have any method of adjustment other than taking the scuttle off and then winging it a bit.

I don't think that the bushes are quite as bad as I've been thinking they are, so we'll see on that front.

I will report back tomorrow with the news!
 
pepsilol said:
If you put bluetac on the light won't come on and then off?
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Quite possibly :P

Howard said:
It sounds like you've brought most of this on yourself with all the dodgy retrofitting that's going on!
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Hah only two things are my fault - the seats and the jets. The seats were fitted beautifully and perfectly by myself, it's just that the resistance isn't right. Apart from that, they're perfect. The jets are my fault, yes :p
 
1. It isn't fast.

2. You really do need something more reliable.

3. You'll need to dig into that deposit fund to fix your only mode of transport.
 
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