14 replies to this topic

[RetroRay]

Where do i begin ? well i went for an mot this morning at 8.30 made sure everything was working before i left. Get down there and alls going well until the mot tester goes to test my rear brakes!

He didnt take it easy going onto the rollers and ended up ripping off my exhaust! he looked at me as if to say it werent his fault and then he had the cheek to tell me if it wont go back on hes gonna fail me! My mini isnt low either...... anyway he carrys on testing it and goes to jack the front of the mini up only he has to go speak to his manager as he doest know where to jack it from! which is when i hear these words " you cant treat this mini like a ford forcus"

anyway after his manager told him where to jack it up he looks at my front brakes! (by the way it passed the brake test bit) and he calls me over! he says look at your brake pads theres too much movement in them im going to have to abandon the test what the hell!!!! Never had this problem with mot's before! And theres no way of getting rid of that small amount of movement!

anyway my rants over! but im not a happy bunny after today

[leroy26]

report them to vosa they obviously dont have a clue

[OhDear]

Did he fail it?

I rebuilt my clubman and completed the project and did an 2-3 week brake cheak up today since they was all new and my brake pads rattle to
i had someone press the brakes on and of to confirm all is well the lose brake pads is natural due to the pistons retracting like they should do once the brake had being let go

[RetroRay]

Did he fail it?

I rebuilt my clubman and completed the project and did an 2-3 week brake cheak up today since they was all new and my brake pads rattle to
i had someone press the brakes on and of to confirm all is well the lose brake pads is natural due to the pistons retracting like they should do once the brake had being let go

Nar he didnt fail it i got a refuesed slip!! .... i did try telling him that theres no way i can get them any tighter but he wasnt having any of it he even went on to tell me i had a loose front brake hose ? which is wrong as i checked these before the mot!!! its just annoying as theyve been sound with any little bits ive got done with them

[blacktulip]

i wouldnt take it back, what i would do it take it somewhere else and if they say the same i would take it on the chin. if it passes then i would never set foot in their door again.

[MGBailey007]

One word for them .. C***s

[RetroRay]

i wouldnt take it back, what i would do it take it somewhere else and if they say the same i would take it on the chin. if it passes then i would never set foot in their door again.

Nar i wont be going back ever! but i suppose i should of taken it somewhere where they know what there looking for.

Just had a look at my rufusal slip and hes wrote on it too low to test?!?!

[redhotminilewis]

Get some fibre shims on the back of those brake pads! will stop the rattling and thats what there designed for. You can use copper slip but its unnecessary mess when shims will do it for you.

But they shouldn't have refused the MOT on those grounds. My MX5 failed recently on rattling pads, I just stuck some fibre shims on and passed.

Edited by redhotminilewis, 17 March 2012 - 03:07 PM.

[tommy13]

There are a lot of questions which need answering to give any accurate comment on this one.
Did the tester drive the car over the brake rollers or perform the brake roller test at the beginning before driving onto the lift or pit ?
I ask this because if the exhaust fouled the floor with the rear wheels in the rollers, the test should have been abandoned at that point because it could not be carried out without damage to the vehicle. A full refund should have been given.
I'm not sure what you mean by" too much movement in your brake pads" but if the footbrake travel is acceptable, the braking effort is OK and there is not obviously a piston stuck in the caliper causing the disc to flex to one side when the brake is applied, then there is no reason to fail and certainly NO reason to abandon the test.
The tester had obviously realised at this point that the emissions test could not be carried out with the exhaust missing, and the lack of exhaust and broken mountings would itself constitute a fail.
While it is generally best practice to test the car and leave the brake roller test to last, in case there are any other defects which may make the roller test dangerous, such as bulges on tyres, it is permitted to do the roller test first.
All the points you have made indicate a general lack of competence on the testers part, backed up by the fact that he had to ask where to jack the car.
To be fair to the tester, you never know if part of the vehicle will foul, when driving it onto test equipment and by the time you find out it is too late and the damage is done.

Edited by tommy13, 17 March 2012 - 03:32 PM.

[RetroRay]

yes he done the brakes on the rollers before going onto the ramp ... he then carried on after finding the exhuast fell off and put it on to the lift.

With movement i meant you can move the brake pads to the side a little .... everything brake wise is new aswell should have mentioned that earlier.

Only problem i have is he didnt think and wasnt very carefull with my car thats "to low" ive had vws that have been alot lower than my mini and had no problems with mots at other places.

[jamesmpi]

Are there any "mini friendly" garages near to where you live? At least these will have a better understanding of what to look for and how to test them

[RetroRay]

Are there any "mini friendly" garages near to where you live? At least these will have a better understanding of what to look for and how to test them

As far as im aware theres only DC minis near me but thats about 15-20mins away .... i know of another place literally 5 mins away from me thats never been any trouble always old cars going in and out of that place should have gone there in the first place if im honest

[tommy13]

yes he done the brakes on the rollers before going onto the ramp ... he then carried on after finding the exhuast fell off and put it on to the lift.

With movement i meant you can move the brake pads to the side a little .... everything brake wise is new aswell should have mentioned that earlier.

Only problem i have is he didnt think and wasnt very carefull with my car thats "to low" ive had vws that have been alot lower than my mini and had no problems with mots at other places.

Did you pay for the test?
Not sure how he managed to get his fingers at the pads on a mini, but assuming the do rattle it is still not a fail assuming the retaining pins are present, the tester has probably misunderstood this reason for failure,
a brake lining or pad insecure or less than 1.5 mm thick at any point
You should check your wheel bearings for excesive play and also that the disc is running true, as either fault can cause the pad to be pushed back more than normal. This type of fault usually results in excessive pedal travel.
I agree that if you suspect a car may catch on the test equipment then extra care should be taken. I wouldn't be very pleased it were my car.
You could report them to VOSA but the whole thing is time consuming and may cost you if they find in his favour.In any event you will get no financial compensation. Better to do as others have suggested and go somewhere else, and make sure you point out to them that there may be a problem with ground clearance before the beginning of the test.

[RetroRay]

Nope i didnt pay for it. They didnt even ask me to ..... Yeah my wheel bearings are fine as i fitted new ones a month or two ago and the brake pedals solid i ran new fluid round them to push out the old crud

[puggered]

They sound like a right shower of sods. I hope you didn't pay them!