New Mot Rules For 2011

[Daveyonthemove]

Makes for interesting reading, especially if you have a Remapped car, or a warning light on.

http://wrecks2riches.co.uk/2010/10/2011-changes-to-mot/

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Very interesting, thanks for the post mate.

I also recommend that you take your car to be tested at an Government run test centre. They test their own vehicles but by law have to test those of the public as well. The advantage of this is that they only carry out MOT tests so it isn't in their best interests to tell you that there is something is wrong with your car or it needs some work doing to it when it doesn't. I took my old Honda there and my Yaris twice and haven't had a single problem! The tests are very stringent too so if your car does pass, you know its safe to be on the roads!

[Daveyonthemove]

Thats good advice, i know people who do this, but i haven't done it myself.

I'm fortunate enough to have family in the motor trade, so genuine parts are usually cheaper and my dear old Dad checks and fixes fleet vehicles in preparation for MOT's so i get him to check mine over prior to the test and fix anything that may cause a problem.

I've never had a failure, although i've only had to test 2 cars in the last 11 years.

[dawesy]

interesting point on the chipped ecu. wonder how standalone ecu's will fair?

[Daveyonthemove]

If this is acheivable then companies like Superchips and Rapid remap with their 'Remap box/Fault checking' should make a killing, as people will always want a remap, but being able to flash it back to standard prior to a MOT will be very appealing.

I still want to know how its done though as most remaps are encrypted files, and difficult to spot.

No dealer has ever spotted a remap on my previous cars (Peugeot, Seat, Skoda or Ford) so i wonder how an MOT tester with generic software would manage it?

Still, it could be an expensive gamble.

[dawesy]

i very much doubt that they would be able to spot one. they may be able to spot the tuning boxes fitted to diesels but then these are easy to swap anyway. can see this one being policed very well

[Parts-King]

Our diesel chip kit boxes do not leave any trace in an ECU. You can just unplug the loom from the chip box and they go back to standard, you dont need to remove anything or take anything off the car. Re-Maps CAN be spotted on some manufacturers, we have Subaru in the group and everytime an ECU is re-mapped on a Subaru it leaves a traceable fingerprint behind which can be interrogated out of the system. I am not sure if some generic equipment would be able to interrogate every ECU correctly, we shall have to wait and see what comes out

Kingo

[msprince]

As the economic climate tightens up and as manufacturers dont want to spend as much on warrenty items, the computers we use to diagnose faults will start to pick up any signs of "chipping".

We had a "chipped" transit motorhome we couldnt tell if its chipped but the warrenty file that gets sent to ford will have the info on it.

[Jamesbelfast]

Car insurance damage surveyors are also wise to remaps and chips - many now carry computers for exactly that purpose. So if you fit a chip or have a remap it would be wise to advise your insurers in writing. Yes you may be able to unplug it to get your car past the MOT but you may not get the opportunity to do so in the event of an accident or theft. In many cases after an accident the police will not allow the owner or driver near the car until such times as they have completed their investigations.

Her's an intersting scenario. Say for instance you remove your chip before MOT and it passes and you then refit it does than mean your MOT certificate is no longer valid??:)

[Boro Sera]

Say for instance you remove your chip before MOT and it passes and you then refit it does than mean your MOT certificate is no longer valid??:)

An MOT is just a snapshot though - a documented proof that on ONE SPECIFIC DAY your car was declared fully roadworthy. If you have a lightbulb blow a week after then technically your car isn't in a roadworthy condition and therefore wouldn't pass the MOT. I'd have thought that as long as the mods are notified to the insurers then that's where the story ends. They cover the car for 12 months in it's entirity - not just an annual medical checkup

[Daveyonthemove]

A good friend of mine is a Remmaper by trade, and i forwarded that link on to him for his opinion, and this was his response:

Hi Dave

Thanks for that

Chipping/remapping - it is not possible for them to check unless they have some new fangled tool that no one in the industry has heard of or indeed if they have a rolling road to see if it has more than standard power (I suspect there is no real concern about this particular point)

Thanks for bringing it to my attention

I've had my last 3 cars remapped by him, and never had a problem at the dealers when fault code reading etc, and he has been in the business for some years now and knows his stuff.

[bothwell_buyer]

well..... until after 2001 a good few Toyotas don't have an obd port.

On my RAV (number 1) I have an apexi power FC fitted; a straight through exhaust and loads of other mods which have been ok'd by the insurance...maybe cos they didn't understand why or what it all does.

However on roadside VOSA checks, the car has passed on both occasions.

Speaking to truckers, VOSA tests are becoming more common - it creates jobs they say. As above, the MOT is a snapshot. HGVs get checked every 6 weeks or so and if checked by a VOSA roadside mob, can be forced off the road until faults are fixed....

however the checks are basic and looking for obvious things like worn brakes/broken lights etc.

Using a VOSA test site is no better than using an MOT garage where the guys are truthful...and most are nowadays. Admittedly some are chancers but they are being weeded out.

[dawesy]

my MOT guy has been told by VOSA that he fails too many!!

his main tested cars are all old ones that the owners dont look after so hes bound to have a high failure rate.

might pop down and ask his view on standalone ECU's

[bothwell_buyer]

my MOT guy has been told by VOSA that he fails too many!!

his main tested cars are all old ones that the owners dont look after so hes bound to have a high failure rate.

might pop down and ask his view on standalone ECU's

one thing that is happening is that the inspectors keep, a watch on results from MOT stations - as my usual garage found out as they do a lot of Jap imports. No problems as everything is legit, but it shows that the MOT testers are being watched!

[Jamesbelfast]

Reading through the latest in-house VOSA magazine it seems as yet they haven't decided how all the new changes are to be implemented. See quote below:-

......items – such as headlamp bulb and unit incompatibility, headlamp levelling devices and illegal engine ‘chipping’ – will need further thought before we can get a workable solution for MOT stations.

[Daveyonthemove]

I can understand the aftermarket HID kits being a fail, because many people don't make any effort to prevent other road users being dazzled, and warning lamps should always be investigated, as an ABS failure could cost a life.

But remapping seems pointless to me. The MOT concentrates on road worthiness (A remap doesn't change any functioning part on the car so all is standard except the values in the ECU) and they look at emissions. If the remap improves economy (there are many people who claim this is true, and i have experienced it too) then surely using less fuel is creating less emissions.... That must be a good thing?

As for the car being faster, well would a Mitsis' Evo FQ300 pass, but a FQ330 fail because its mapped differently?

Its all a bit odd and will prove hard to enforce, and like i said earlier, the remap boxes are available to remove the files at will, so they would never see it anyway.

[bothwell_buyer]

jobs for the boys.....

[Smbudy]

Bit harsh I say. Already it is pretty strict, compared to other countries anyway.

[Jamesbelfast]

Bit harsh I say. Already it is pretty strict, compared to other countries anyway.

In fact the UK MOT test is less strict than many other EU countries - in fact in Northern Irelnd most people just won't accept a UK mainland MOT cert as acceptable as the current UK system is open to abuse and not open to scrutiny by the public as in other areas of Europe.

For instance in Northern Ireland there is no such thing as advisories - it either passes or doesn't - thus standards are much higher.:)