We are all fucked, 2012 mot changes
- Thread starter weeJohn
- Start date
Well I agree on this point. However, as far as I know even if the car is very old as long as it passes MOT it can be legal on the road, so thing like tyres, brakes, etc doesn't cost too much to replace on a standard car. The only reason the scrap yard is so popular in the UK and in the US is because in many cases - the cost of repair (for greedy insurance company) would be more than the cost of a new car, which means the Labor is overpriced and the amount of cars for sale is just huge in poorer countries is vice verse, you don't get a massive choice of cars for sale and the mechanic would be more affordable then in the UK, therefore it's logical to keep you old car till say you have an Engine failure - which both of us know in some cars - say toyota made in 80s, would be over 500 000 miles.
My personal opinion is all this MOT tests and many many other stuff given us by the Government but described to us as this is the EU directive, well if it was then Ireland would have exactly the same MOT (NCP) rules. Make sense? So they want us to hate the EU so one day we can vote against it and then the UK government will be in charge and can introduce whatever law they want, whatever taxes they want and so on, learning from the past experience - the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer...
Another example - the warranty of electrical goods - set by the EU as at least 2 years on everything, in the UK however you can buy almost everything with 1 year warranty - which doesn't comply with the EU regulations - BUT people don't know about it so they will be happy to pay extra cash for an ADDITIONAL year of warranty, which is free for the company anyway as they MUST have 2 years by the EU law.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html
My MOT tester didnt know about the hid rules. His reply was he didn't know because these things change every 3 months. I think you should only worry if you get your car MOTd at a dealer. With a new car.
Tbf (not advertising by the way) if anyone local ish to tonbridge wants a proper MOT tester use my guy. He checks my starlet alot more for safety. And checks MORE (safety wise) than a standard mot does anyway becuase he knows I do all the work myself. Doesn't charge me more or anything he just is genuinely concerned for my safety. Doesn't charge me more or anything. Just says all these new rules are straying away from what an MOT is actually about. car safety
Oh and the fact his son has had two glanza's and a Gt is useful
Tbf (not advertising by the way) if anyone local ish to tonbridge wants a proper MOT tester use my guy. He checks my starlet alot more for safety. And checks MORE (safety wise) than a standard mot does anyway becuase he knows I do all the work myself. Doesn't charge me more or anything he just is genuinely concerned for my safety. Doesn't charge me more or anything. Just says all these new rules are straying away from what an MOT is actually about. car safety
Oh and the fact his son has had two glanza's and a Gt is useful
dac69er
Super Moderator
same as the bloke i use. he doesnt mess about with stupid things and if anything looks off, he will tell me and next time round he knows it will be sorted.
he passed my ep85 on the stock engine as it failed emissions. told him the engine was going to be swapped for next year and it was. other testers would have made me sort the emissions out, would have been a waste of time as i junked the engine.
he passed my ep85 on the stock engine as it failed emissions. told him the engine was going to be swapped for next year and it was. other testers would have made me sort the emissions out, would have been a waste of time as i junked the engine.
Hi there, I'm in N. Ireland I have three Starlets 96,97,and 98 ,the airbag light works ok on the 98,but dont work at all on the 96 and 97 model. When I switch on the ignition there is no airbag light at all on the 96+97 ,they have different style of airbag to the 98 as they have two horn buttons left and right on the airbag unit, whereas the 98 is just plain like normal steering wheels. I bought an owners manual for the car on ebay as I didn't have any with cars. The manual states that if the light comes on and stays on for more than 6 seconds or doesn't come on at all there is a ploblem. I have came across a few other people with the same problem with cars of these years- 96+97 with the same air bag. Can anybody please advise me what to do as I'm worried about our new MOT laws here in N.Ireland(they are clamping down a bit and becoming more strict).
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
In my opinion light will only light up if you have a problem with the air bag, if it doesn't light up it's fine! Also indeed 98-99 models are different as they have 2 airbags, however some say that even 96 models had airbag as well, but I haven't seen one yet. My 96 model - light didn't light up at all, as many other lights, on the 98 model all the lights light up for some time, then you shouldn't have any lights at all, unless you have a problem OR unless the car is an auto and you have an O/D turned off!
Re led type lights I saw a German program that admitted the design tolerance on their new BMW's was very precise and the lights needed to be checked over time. The program assured that the lights have no problem if you have engineered roads that keep the light within tolerance and the lights are properly maintained. I don't think the EU were thinking about Starlets...
take the bulbs out .. the rules been the same for years. they dont look to see if the bulbs gone !
I took one of the cars to mot last week 96 cd model. The MOT inspector said because there was no light coming on at all it would fail the new MOT test. The inspector also said that if it doesn't come on and show a test light for six seconds then it is not passable. I understand that i'm not the only one seeing this (thanks for your reply Paul) although it's quite confusing as the manual suggests that the light should come on
Also, I heard somewhere that if I disconnect the battery for thirty minutes the ECU would reset the air bag system and the light may work? Anyone have any knowledge on this?
Thanks again..
Also, I heard somewhere that if I disconnect the battery for thirty minutes the ECU would reset the air bag system and the light may work? Anyone have any knowledge on this?
Thanks again..
I took one of the cars to mot last week 96 cd model. The MOT inspector said because there was no light coming on at all it would fail the new MOT test. The inspector also said that if it doesn't come on and show a test light for six seconds then it is not passable. I understand that i'm not the only one seeing this (thanks for your reply Paul) although it's quite confusing as the manual suggests that the light should come on
Also, I heard somewhere that if I disconnect the battery for thirty minutes the ECU would reset the air bag system and the light may work? Anyone have any knowledge on this?
Thanks again..
Well there isn't much we can do about it. It would not fail, the car is an Import and if you look on the dashboard there are a lot of lights - not being used whatsoever, some of them for Diesel starlet, some probably for 4x4 and an Auto as well, so they can't just all light up if it wasn't programmed by the manufacturer in the first place. However, I've just spent half an hour reading my full service Starlet book (All starlets 1989-99, translated from Japanese) and it does say indeed that if you put the ignition to ACC or ON, the SRS light must light on for about 6 sec and then disappear! It's even have the self build testing system which can be done by bridging the Tc and E1...
I think you might have hit the nail on the head. I downloaded an owners manual dated 4/98 spanish click here to view. There is a airbag but there is no airbag light or airbag test light or airbag failure warning but same car but it is the spanish spec,so the uk must have had a different spec. I think maybe the 2 cars I have with no airbag light may have been imported possibly via the irish republic maybe not to save money as in the past but for supply and demand so maybe the Republic has the same spec so maybe they simply are not wired. I suppose if I removed the 2 screws from the front plastic cover to let me into the dash gauges all would be revealed?!
my mate who is a mot tester told me today that if your car came out of the factory with a cat converter on it, and it aint visable (i.e de-cat pipe, or pipe with no cat from older car/ aftermarket) it is a fail. so i will be out with the grinder and welder to fit a "looky like" cat,
so i will be out with the grinder and welder to fit a "looky like" cat, 
ChrisStarletGT
Member +
If there is no exact car to match yours on the vosa system u hav a non cat test as gt's are from japan they are not on the vosa system i printed the sheet out the vosa manual and showed it to the garage manager and he agreed with me it has a non cat test as said in the mot guide book
Texx
Super Moderator
It's really quite simple, warning lamps that do not illuminate and then extinguish during any system self test process (i.e. engine management, SRS, ABS lights etc...), any warning lamps permanently illuminated indicating a current fault, a drivers airbag missing from cars that are SRS equipped, or post August 1995 cars without a CAT installed (regardless as to whether they pass the CAT test or not) will fail the MOT under the new rules.
ChrisStarletGT
Member +
dont need a cat coz it a 93 and gt dont hav airbags so steering wheel should be fine
Texx
Super Moderator
A '93 GT won't fail on either. A pre August 1995 Starlet GT doesn't need a CAT to pass the MOT, a non CAT emissions test should be carried out. Unless the car was originally equipped with airbags (afaik this wasn't an option for the EP82), having an aftermarket steering wheel fitted is not a valid reason for rejection.