Help! Failed Mot

May 2, 2008

Hello there, it's been a while since my last post. I've been lurking here, but not in the know enough to answer any questions.

I hope that someone will be able to help.

My W reg Yaris failed it's mot today, the first time in the three years I've owned it.

The lady on the phone at the garage said that the anti roll bar linkage rubber mountings in the front and rear had

deteriorated and need replacing. I have no idea what these are and how much they cost. They are preparing a quote

for me, but I want to make sure what they should cost me, and get a bit of an idea what they are and what they do.

Is there anyone who could help? Thanks is advance chaps and chapesses!

May 3, 2008

Hello there, it's been a while since my last post. I've been lurking here, but not in the know enough to answer any questions.
I hope that someone will be able to help.
My W reg Yaris failed it's mot today, the first time in the three years I've owned it.
The lady on the phone at the garage said that the anti roll bar linkage rubber mountings in the front and rear had
deteriorated and need replacing. I have no idea what these are and how much they cost. They are preparing a quote
for me, but I want to make sure what they should cost me, and get a bit of an idea what they are and what they do.
Is there anyone who could help? Thanks is advance chaps and chapesses!

Hi, the fronts can be had for about 20 quid on eBay. Toyota charge much more but they always start to perish quickly. I have not heard of anyone failing an mot with them yet so you may be the first!

You can change them quite easily if you can use a set of spanners as they pretty much just bolt on/off. The rears I have not even heard mention here before so cant help there but would recon you will pay around 200 quid to get the lot done from the testing station. Before you think that is a lot, ask them if the re-test is free if they do the work. That may save some of the money back, making it a bit cheaper. :)

May 3, 2008

Hello there, it's been a while since my last post. I've been lurking here, but not in the know enough to answer any questions.
I hope that someone will be able to help.
My W reg Yaris failed it's mot today, the first time in the three years I've owned it.
The lady on the phone at the garage said that the anti roll bar linkage rubber mountings in the front and rear had
deteriorated and need replacing. I have no idea what these are and how much they cost. They are preparing a quote
for me, but I want to make sure what they should cost me, and get a bit of an idea what they are and what they do.
Is there anyone who could help? Thanks is advance chaps and chapesses!
Hi, the fronts can be had for about 20 quid on eBay. Toyota charge much more but they always start to perish quickly. I have not heard of anyone failing an mot with them yet so you may be the first!
You can change them quite easily if you can use a set of spanners as they pretty much just bolt on/off. The rears I have not even heard mention here before so cant help there but would recon you will pay around 200 quid to get the lot done from the testing station. Before you think that is a lot, ask them if the re-test is free if they do the work. That may save some of the money back, making it a bit cheaper. :)

Had plenty fail/advisory MOTS at work for this. These were as the ARB link bushes had either perished with big chunks missing or the links had pulled through the bottom arm or ARB.

If they are just cracked they dont need doing - we have lots of owners coming in worried as they have noticed the cracking/perishing. They leave happy when they find out its nothing to worry about :)

Mart.

May 10, 2008

Thanks for your help chaps. I ended up getting them done anyway because I needed the car back.

The stabiliser links came to £38 each, and labour was 38, so it came to about 180 including vat and labour.

I got a cautionary note with my mot though which said that the frant brakes had only just passed the imbalance requirements at 18%.

I know nothing about this, do they just need balancing out some way, or new pads?

Any help greatly appreciated

May 10, 2008

I got a cautionary note with my mot though which said that the frant brakes had only just passed the imbalance requirements at 18%.
I know nothing about this, do they just need balancing out some way, or new pads?
Any help greatly appreciated

You'll probably need to inspect the brakes to find out what the problem is.

18% is quite a lot, so don't ignore it. I'm surprised you hadn't noticed if it's that bad because it's enough to make the car pull quite strongly one way or the other under heavy braking. Perhaps the ABS is masking that a bit though? If you find a section of clear road when there's nothing behind you and nothing coming the other way then you could try a moving brake test to see whether it is pulling. Don't hit it too hard, or from too high a speed or you could end up in the ditch though.

Do you use the car much? If it was standing a lot before the MOT, or perhaps had been washed without the brakes being dried out afterwards, then you could have some sticking which might go away if you use it a bit more. My MR2's brakes often feel like they're pulling slightly when I do a moving brake test , but after a bit of use the car stops dead straight.

Otherwise you've probably got some wear on either the disks or the pads (or both) or perhaps a sticking caliper. Cost could be anything from nothing or a set of pads, disks and new or refurbed calipers which would be quite significant if you need disks, pads and calipers.