MOT & Brake Disk Wear?
Discussion
Hi Guys
My partner has a Vauxhall Zafira (unfortunately
) Anyway, last year it failed the MOT due to excessive rear brake disks wear. I replaced the disks and pads and it passed the MOT retest.
This year, I took the Zafira to the same MOT garage and guess what, it failed on rear brake disk wear! So he quotes me £270 for the job and I decided to do it myself and off to get yest another set of disks and pads.
Today, I removed the disks and guess what, they were hardly worn at all!! Just a slight groove that you'd expect after a year but nothing significant.
I'm bloody annoyed and feel like the garage has tried to rip me off. Question is, what constitutes disk wear significant enough to fail an MOT?
Cheers
John
My partner has a Vauxhall Zafira (unfortunately
) Anyway, last year it failed the MOT due to excessive rear brake disks wear. I replaced the disks and pads and it passed the MOT retest.This year, I took the Zafira to the same MOT garage and guess what, it failed on rear brake disk wear! So he quotes me £270 for the job and I decided to do it myself and off to get yest another set of disks and pads.
Today, I removed the disks and guess what, they were hardly worn at all!! Just a slight groove that you'd expect after a year but nothing significant.
I'm bloody annoyed and feel like the garage has tried to rip me off. Question is, what constitutes disk wear significant enough to fail an MOT?
Cheers
John
taken from somewhere else
'no specific measurements of, say, disc thickness are taken during the MOT, and so, it's down to the judgement of the tester'.
I thought there had to be 'substantial lip' for the disc to fail. I'd go back and ask him to show you the problem. It may be the groove you mention. The trouble with the new MOT system is that the computer generated failure point detail is useless. On my last MOT I had something like 'right front indicator not working'. I new it was as I had checked it before taking the car in. When I questioned the tester it turned out that the bulb was not orange enough !
'no specific measurements of, say, disc thickness are taken during the MOT, and so, it's down to the judgement of the tester'.
I thought there had to be 'substantial lip' for the disc to fail. I'd go back and ask him to show you the problem. It may be the groove you mention. The trouble with the new MOT system is that the computer generated failure point detail is useless. On my last MOT I had something like 'right front indicator not working'. I new it was as I had checked it before taking the car in. When I questioned the tester it turned out that the bulb was not orange enough !
It sounds like the "new" system claims another victim, stories like this are common place now the computer MOT system is in full swing, most testers are 100% genuine but, the system seems to have quite a few problems, emmissions testing is another very grey area as well as the brake tests. I would definatley ask for an explanation (and be shown),of what exactly the problem is. what sort of mileage have you done on the brakes since the last mot & also did you fit genuine Vauxhall pads & discs or alternatives? I know that Ford brakes are miles better than any of the cheaper alternatives, so it could be that, dependant on how much mileage you have done. Hope this helpsThanks for the replies guys.
There was an 'advisory' on the failure document informing me the front disks would need replacing soon. Believe it or not, I automatically thought it was the fronts (I'd done the rears 12 months ago) that were the reason for the failure, so I replaced them! The pads were well down and the disks were pretty ropey. The car was returned for retest and the garage rang me to say I'd changed the wrong ones!!
While I was working on my car, a neighbour came for a chat. I showed him the disks and his comment - "There's nothing wrong with those". He went on to tell me that the same guy had tried to rip him off twice and he'd stopped going there. My next door neighbour also joined in and said he'd also been ripped off by the same garage.
Which garage - I live in Brynmenyn, close enough
Fortunately, I haven't paid him yet and he can sing for his money all he likes!
This is a blatant attempt to rip me, and I'm sure others, off.
There was an 'advisory' on the failure document informing me the front disks would need replacing soon. Believe it or not, I automatically thought it was the fronts (I'd done the rears 12 months ago) that were the reason for the failure, so I replaced them! The pads were well down and the disks were pretty ropey. The car was returned for retest and the garage rang me to say I'd changed the wrong ones!!
While I was working on my car, a neighbour came for a chat. I showed him the disks and his comment - "There's nothing wrong with those". He went on to tell me that the same guy had tried to rip him off twice and he'd stopped going there. My next door neighbour also joined in and said he'd also been ripped off by the same garage.
Which garage - I live in Brynmenyn, close enough
Fortunately, I haven't paid him yet and he can sing for his money all he likes!
This is a blatant attempt to rip me, and I'm sure others, off.
If you think you've had an unfair Mot failure you can complain to VOSA by filling out form VT17.
Send the completed form together with the test fee to Vosa and they will re test your vehicle. If it passes you will get all or some of your fee back.
(And the MOT station gets a visit!)
If I was you I'd measure the dic thickness first to ensure you've got a case for complaint. You should be able to find the minimum disc thickness somewhere on the net. It's also usually stamped on the edge of the disc from new although you might have trouble seeing it with the usual coating of rust.
Here's a link with further info. -
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicl...
Send the completed form together with the test fee to Vosa and they will re test your vehicle. If it passes you will get all or some of your fee back.
(And the MOT station gets a visit!)
If I was you I'd measure the dic thickness first to ensure you've got a case for complaint. You should be able to find the minimum disc thickness somewhere on the net. It's also usually stamped on the edge of the disc from new although you might have trouble seeing it with the usual coating of rust.
Here's a link with further info. -
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicl...
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