andypugh2000

Just passed my mot and the guy put it on the rollers as he would any normal car, I mentioned that they are a.w.d but he said it will not harm it for a few seconds as the UK cars have a viscous coupling that will allow for this.

This guy has 30 odd years of experience so i guess he knows what he is talking about, anyone else have theirs tested in this way??

Ray_li

I was think about this some time ago and would also like to know

BLACK V5

You should never have one axle turning & another stationary on a scoob no matter what. That includes towing & brake testing.

simo

I agree totally with this. no way should the car go on the rollers. If abs system on the car, they check by the light on dashboard when ignition switched on.

simon

Cheesy Puff

Just had my MOT done on my MY00 Turbo and I refused to let them put on 2 wheel rollers as Id heard that it can damage the center diff, they were ok about it and used a guage thing that they put on the passenger footwell drove the car and jumped onthe brakes and took the reading.

If the MOT garages have such equipment it must be for cases such as the Impreza surely?


Cheese....

andypugh2000

Oh well! it drove home ok, im sure at such low speeds there wouldn't be any damage as the viscous is there for a reason

Danny B

It clearly states that vehicles with more than one driving axle permanently engaged should not be put on the brake roller test.
http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_370.htm
They must use another method (see link) to determine if the brakes are OK.

andypugh2000

they are not permanantley engaged, they work on the same basis as L.S.D's, the more welly you give it the harder it grabs, just jacked the back of the car up and the wheels spin freely on their own

BedHog

Do Imports not have this viscous coupling?

Danny B

It's your car do you what you want, I was just quoting what the MOT guide says...

Vehicles not to be tested on a roller brake tester:

Certain vehicles should not be tested on a roller brake tester, eg vehicles with
More than one driving axle permanently engaged
Limited-slip differential
Belt-driven transmission
Brakes for which the servo operates only when the vehicle is moving
These vehicles should be tested using a properly calibrated and maintained decelerometer or a plate brake tester designated as acceptable for the statutory tests, see Sub Section 3.7 B, page 25, and C, page 26.
A roller brake test is also not appropriate for vehicles with damaged, under-inflated or studded tyres.

andypugh2000

Danny B, thanks for your advice, i wasn't trying to argue but the testers manual gives a worst case scenario just got off the phone to a scooby guru and he says no problem doing it this way as long as the rollers do the moving and not the engine, but towing is an absolute NO

My landrover discovery had a sticker saying DO NOT TEST BRAKES ON ROLLERS and that was also repeated several times in the handbook, the uk subaru has none of these warnings neither does the handbook make no mention of the MOT brake testing only of towing with two wheels on the ground which it advises against.

why cant life be more simple

quicksprint

Sorry mate but i MOT'd a uk spec impreza on friday and when the rear was jacked up the wheels most certainly do not spin easily.
The ONLY way to brake test them is on the road with a 'Tapley' meter or 'Decelerometer'.

If the car is not tested correctly and damage occurs then the garage can be liable!!

It's in BLACK and WHITE in the testers manual for all to read.

I wouldn't put my own car in the rollers let alone a customers.

steve

Simon C

This thread has comfirmed my fears, when MY97 sport had it's mot back in Feb, I approched my usual garage, they turned round to me and said they would put it on rollers as it was only 2wd!!! What?????, better bl**dy not be, or someones nicked a diff. That was them discounted. The second 1 I approched said they would just jack the back end up, again that was them discounted, so I let my local dealership organize the test, paid an extra £15 for the privelege, but a new coupling would cost me more than that.
Thanks for the comments on here, you made me realise I made the right desission.

Simon

T2000UK

When I had my MY00 MOT'd in Feb. the garage used a meter in the footwell. They said they couldn't use their rollers coz it was AWD.

andypugh2000

Looks like i will be taking it elsewhere if this is the case

DannyBoy007

iTrader: (7)

I had mine (MY99) MOT'd two weeks ago by a mate. He wouldn't put it on the rollers and took it for a short spin with the footwell device instead, again claiming it shouldn't go on the 2 wheel drive rollers. Mind you he did come back with a smile on his face!!!!!

Danny B

Andy,
I'm sure Greasemonkey will be along soon to put us all right

Cheers

andypugh2000

Greasemonkey where are you!! ahoy there!! anyway the moral of the story is it looks like i had a lucky escape, strange subaru make no mention of this in their handbook

quicksprint

All MOT test centres should /must have the correct equipment on site to test four wheel drive/AWD cars etc.......so it shoudn't matter where you take it.
If the test centre won't do it correctly then ask for the local VSOA office number and ask for their advise.


Subaru probabily don't mention it in the handbook because different countries have different standards on safety tests.That is being changed in regards to Europe because they are trying to harmonise the testing standards with other european countries....in the future you will be able to get your car mot'd in say France or Germany and the paperwork and test will be the same.


steve (mot tester and authorised examiner)

andypugh2000

Thanks for the advice steve, have to wait another year now Im pretty sure that it hasn't done any damage as it seems like "normal" and have given it a damn good ragging once i got the decat back on it

edited to say: the mot tester was under the impression that if the car didn't like it then it would throw itself off the rollers or show "drag" on the meter

quicksprint

hmmmmm and if it didn't like it the damage might of been done!!

At least you will know next time

What amazes me is that all MOT testers read the same book and are supposed to test to the same standards............it's obvious this isn't so.

steve

andypugh2000

Oh well you live and learn eh at the end of the day its only a car (and it gets dark)

quicksprint

true.

andypugh2000

Strange that greasemonkey has not contributed to this thread, maybe this one has got him beat

bartmanuk

i can second this from quicksprint,i had my back end jacked up today when changing the disc's and pads,and i could not spin the wheels at all,the most they moved were forwards and back about an inch,and no more.

BM

StickyMicky

mot tester wouldnt put mine on the rollers due to 4wd

he took it for a drive instead

Carl2

My tester said he should take it for a drive wth the footwell device, but just said to me "there are ok aren't they" to which I said yes (cos they were) and he left it at that.

greasemonkey

I'd be mildly ticked off about it IIWY Andy, but as long as you're sure the car drove okay aftewards, no reason to get too annoyed.

It's all very well the tester giving you the spiel about it being alright for a few seconds (and TBH it should be), but it's not his car to take the risk with, and he still made the wrong call.

As has been stated above, the MOT guidelines are clear in cases where the car has permanent four wheel drive - a road test with a decelerometer is the correct method for testing the brakes, whether "it'll handle it for a few seconds" or not. Insist that it's done this way next year.

Blobster

What would be the symptoms if the rear diff had been damaged in this way?

andypugh2000

Thanks for all your help guys, looks like the viscous took care of it, the car is in excellent mechanical health due to being owned from new by a "mature" lady and it drives the same as it did before going on the rollers, In my opionion the guy was wrong to put it on the rollers and should have known better but these things are built to take some abuse and should easily survive a few seconds of diff torture without any damage, it would actually be intersting to hear if anyone has actually suffered damage due to this?? and the question still no-one has answered is why don't subaru make any mention in the handbook if this is suposed to be so important, its not as if they forgot we all have to have an MOT 3 years down the line is it now??