Scenic just failed MOT – Drivers side lower ball joint – Play

The current MOT does not actually expire until 25th Feb.

Only a 1 hour 3 bolt job, but need to get the part, and then returned for re-test.

Can I still drive it, if covered by the existing MOT?

Will I die?

Can I still drive it, if covered by the existing MOT?

Are you knowingly driving a dangerously unsafe vehicle* or did it just fail the MOT because something needs fixing?

* I’m not sure of the legislative term, but it’s something like that.

from Gov.uk:

“Failing the MOT
Your vehicle will fail if the test result lists ‘dangerous’ or ‘major’ problems with your vehicle. You might not be allowed to drive until you fix the problems.

You might also get a list of ‘minor’ or ‘advisory’ problems to monitor or fix in the future.

If your vehicle fails the MOT:

you’ll get a ‘refusal of an MOT test certificate’ from the test centre
it will be recorded in the MOT database
You can appeal the result if you think it’s wrong.

Driving a vehicle that’s failed
You can take your vehicle away if:

your current MOT certificate is still valid
no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT
Otherwise, you’ll need to get it repaired before you can drive.”

Yep you’re covered by MOT TILL it expires

If it’s not classed as a dangerous fault then yes, however it may be classed as unroadworthy which if stopped could get you into trouble.

I’m not sure a ball joint would be classed as unroadworthy.

Just re-read the fail certificate

Fail
Repair immediately (major defects).

Bugger.

Better repair it straight way then.

ECP £18.99.

just buy the part from ECP ( although the quality may not be the same if cheap ) and get the garage to fit it if you can get there.

Just re-read the fail certificate

Fail
Repair immediately (major defects).

Bugger.

So you can drive it.

Yup, “major” is not “dangerous” I had this on mine last year (front lower ball joints on both sides and both rear springs, amusingly they had worn/failed in such a way that everything was still equal, so the car drove fine!)

Drove it home through town, fixed it and re-mot-ed it.

I thought that a “fail” under the new system meant that the previous MOT was revoked immediately, so if you drove it away you’d be driving without a valid MOT, which would invalidate insurance.

I though driving it home without an mot was allowed? Same as you can drive without and MOT (or tax for that matter) to a pre booked MOT. The only change is that now it’s explicitly listed as dangerous on the certificate whereas before it was illegal to drive it if it had a dangerous faut but the test didn’t actually tell you that.

The order always used to be (to get a Sorn car back on the road), insure it, mot it, tax it (has to be insured to be on the road, and has to be mot’d before you can get tax).

The previous MOT remains valid, as it just states that the car was road worthy on the day it was tested. The certificate that’s issued is valid for a year, regardless of whether the car fails another MOT before the current one is up.

As has been said though, you’ll be driving the car knowing it is in an unroadworthy state, which is a seperate issue. Your current MOT is still valid and the car will still show as MOT’d on the database, but if you’re involved in an accident it could count against you.

I thought that a “fail” under the new system meant that the previous MOT was revoked immediately, so if you drove it away you’d be driving without a valid MOT, which would invalidate insurance.

Lots wrong there. Depending on the fail you can drive it to and from the mot place and to and from places to get it fixed. On the final point it won’t invalidate your insurance. This is often repeated. It may impact on a claim, though.

Even if you do get stopped, they usually give an NFA for your first MOT offence if your insurance and tax are cool.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-changes-from-may-2018-guidance-for-mot-testers/overview-of-mot-changes-from-may-2018

‘Major’ is not the same as ‘Dangerous’

Right its off.

Can’t drive the car now. (I think that you are right, you can drive it to/from MOT station, and to/from repair place, but probably not to from work, Tescos etc).

Pinch bolt took a bit of ‘work’ to get it out.

Replacement part ordered from ECP.

Reassemble tomorrow.

It is not legal up to the existing MOT expires, that is wrong
That mot was to say the car was legal a year ago, not to say the car was legal to drive for a year (consider tyre deg etc.)
You now have 10 days to fix the fault and have a retest, but in that time you can only drive it to a garage to have work done or the test centre
The end of those 10 days replace your mot expiry date as well
As an owner of a classic, prone to failing car, I know these things

As an owner of a classic, prone to failing car, I know these things

Well staggeringly you’re wrong.

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

junglistjut

Member
Even if you do get stopped, they usually give an NFA for your first MOT offence if your insurance and tax are cool.

Given all the possible variables involved – who stops you (traffic v beat bobbies), how you react, why the stopped you, what is wrong with the car, how long it has been out of test, what else is going on in their ear piece that they would either rather attend or are happy to be busy for, local force policy, a rookie trying to prove himself to his mentor, etc and then potentially anyone else further up the chain who comes in contact with it – a seargent, someone at cps etc…

That’s an awful lot of circumstances to align in your favour when there is no official policy of giving out second chances…

If it’s a new complete sub frame (it usually is) it can often help to jack the hub up to get the new one on, spring compressors make it easier!

Some of those after market parts don’t last as long as the OE stuff either. As little as 2 years and you might be doing it again.

When I was driving for BCA, as a ‘plater’, we were required to make absolutely certain that a car had a valid MOT before we drove it away, because the insurance we had along with our trade plates specifically did not cover us if the MOT had expired, or even if it was due to expire within a couple of days.

Anyway.

Job done, ball joint replaced**, taken back to MOT station, he said ‘Not that I don’t trust you but I have to check’, lifted the front of the car on trolley jack, could see that the part had been replaced, printed pass certificate.

(Tip. Get both front wheels off the ground in order to remove torque tension from anti-roll bar as it makes aligning 2 bolts in suspension arm a lot easier. Luckily I have 2 trolley jacks and lots of axle stands)

Good work.

I have to admit I don’t enjoy changing ball joints. Most that I’ve done have been on VWs well into their teens, and even when the pinch bolts are removed they require a lot of persuasion from Plus Gas, hammers and heat.