7 Reasons your Car will fail MOT

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I'll admit that I've had my fair share of failed MOT's in the past, to be fair I did drive an Austin Mini from 1972 for years so it was very old. Every year when the time of MOT approaches, we all secretly wish we could just hit the skip button and let it be. But in order to being able to carry on driving, stay safe and not have to pay a huge fine – you just cannot ignore MOT testing. What’s interesting is, the fact that even a tiny bit of negligence can hinder your vehicle from passing the exam. It could be something as trivial as empty washing fluid bottles in the car.

When you are in a local town like I am in South Wales or a place like Stirling or any part of Scotland (I actually lived in Scotland for 2yrs) you have to get your MOT done on time – otherwise you will panic every time you are on the road thinking you will be caught and subject to a legal penalty. In order to prevent this, I have prepared a list of 5 sure shot reasons that will come in the way if you don’t correct them. These top reasons are pulled out after a lot of research from hundreds of vehicles that actually failed their MOT. You can also visit the Government website on advice on how to get your vehicle an MOT

Me and my Austin Mini

Did you clean up your number plate?

This may seem like something small but you need to make sure your number plate clean and doesn't have dust or mud on it? The font on the plate has to meet the legal requirements and must be readable, otherwise, this can be a problem at the time of testing.

Are the seats movable?

Car seats have to be able to move backward and forward properly. There should not be any deviation from this. You can perform this check on all seats where you can apply pressure to see if seats will move in case you suddenly apply brakes.

Wrong selection of MOT centre

The expertise level of your MOT centre really counts as the testers really have to be certified in order to give you a valid certification. All UK areas have qualified MOT centres but you have to find the one closer to your area and with proper experience. If we talk about Stirling, there is a centre on almost every corner but if you want authentic MOT in Stirling, the place to go is Fife Autocentre

Windscreen wipers

Wiper blades have to function properly – if there are any holes in the wiper rubber or it doesn't clean your windows properly then your car will fail MOT. If you are looking for new wipers you can check here.

Check horn

The horn has to work properly and you can check this by going full blast with it so it doesn’t cause an issue later.

Check your brake lights, headlights and indicators

All three of these things need to be working without issues especially the brake lights which are a crucial safety feature to warn vehicles behind you when you stop. You also want to check your front and rear indicator lights and if one isn't working it's usually down to a blub that needs to be replaced and is actually something you can do yourself, saving you a little bit of money. 

Tyre Tread

Your tyres are so important when it comes to road safety and even though it can be pricey to replace (I recently had to replace 3) it's very important and if the tread doesn't fall within the legal limit it will be an immediate failure. I've written a post about how to keep your tyres in tip top shape.