New MoT failure categories to be introduced this year and it’s more bad news for diesel
A SET of new MOT failures are set to be introduced in the UK from May 2018 for both major and minor defects and diesel cars are also set to get stricter emissions testing.
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From May 2018 the MoT test is set to get a shake up which will see the introduction of new failure and defect categories.
The test will now categorise defects as Dangerous, Major or Minor.
Under the new rules drivers will automatically fail their MoT test if they receive a Dangerous or Major fault, while those who receive a Minor can still pass the test.
Minor faults will, however, be noted down on the car’s MoT certificate.
One example of the new faults, as outlined by AutoExpress, is related to steering.
A steering box which leaks oil would be deemed as a Minor fault but if the oil is leaking so badly that it is dripping, that would raise the issue into a Major fault.
If the steering wheel has become loose, as to be “likely become detached', then this would constitute a Dangerous failure and would be flagged as urgent on the MoT certificate.
Dangerous faults can be those that would make the car not safe to drive away from the car garage.
Neil Barlow, head of MoT policy at the DVSA, said to AutoExpress: “We’re changing the wording on the certificate. We’ve done a lot of research with motorists to find out what sort of information helps”.
“The new categorisation should help motorists to the right thing, IE not drive away from the garage, and get the fault fixed. So we’ve put a much more robust set of wording around that”.
Emissions testing is also set to get stricter under the changes, which will see limits for diesel cars will be lowered to make it stricter and harder to pass.
Among the changes will be one that if the “exhaust on a vehicle fitted with a diesel particulate filter emits visible smoke of any colour” the car will be issued a Major fault.
Other changes include checks to whether brake discs are obviously warn, oil contamination of the discs and how well they are securely attached to the wheel hubs.
