Before taking your vehicle for an MOT Newbury and getting a pass or fail certificate, you must look into your car yourself and check a few things. This might help you pass in the MOT. Some of the primary things that one must check before taking their car to an MOT are given below for you all to look at.
Checking brake fluid by MOT
You can begin to check your vehicle before an MOT by checking the brake fluid. Brake fluid is a liquid present beneath the bonnet of the car. It ensures that brakes are correctly applied. When it dries up, it can prove very dangerous for the vehicle. For checking the brake fluid, you need to:
- Make sure your car’s engine is off, and it is cooled down.
- Ensure that the car is kept on a flat surface.
- Open the bonnet and look for the master cylinder.
- There are markings present on the cylinder that says ‘min’ and ‘max’. These markings denote the minimum and maximum quantity of fluid that should be present in the cylinder at any given point in time.
- The fluid within the container should be present in between these two markings. If it is below, you need to top it up.
You can get the brake fluid at any ordinary car store in your locality or petrol pumps. It is necessary for you to ensure that you choose the right quality of fluid for your vehicle as every kind of fluid doesn’t go with any vehicle.
Checking warning lights by MOT
Warning lights are the lights that start blinking on your dashboard when there is a problem in one of the parts of your vehicle. There are many kinds of lights present in the dashboard. For knowing what the blinking light means, you can refer to the vehicle handbook present there and get the problem solved as soon as possible.
While the MOT, they thoroughly check if there are any warning lights shown by your dashboard. You might fail the MOT if there are. So, it is best to get them fixed beforehand. Keeping aside the MOT check Newbury, knowing what the warning light means and getting the problem fixed is also necessary to avoid hazards for your life too.
The part of MOT that tests the warning lights is called the ‘malfunction indicator lamp test’, which came into effect in 2012. It is a simple visual test in which if the tester turns on the ignition and warning lights are on. You fail in your test, whereas, if after turning the ignition on, the warning lights come off, you pass.
Checking mirrors by MOT
For passing the MOT, you need to make sure that all your obligatory mirrors are intact. There are generally three kinds of mirror that should necessarily be present in your vehicle. These are:
- One exterior mirror on the right side of the car provides a clear view along the near side of the driving seat of the car.
- One exterior mirror on the left side of the car provides a clear view along the offside of the car.
- One Interior mirror to have a clear view of the rear side of the car.
In an MOT, the mirrors are looked upon very seriously to ensure that there are no cracks on the mirrors. They are correctly intact and are easy to look through. Before taking your vehicle for the MOT, it is advised to look for all these things in advance by yourself so that you do not face any difficulties during the MOT.
Check the tread of the tyres
It is essential to ensure that your car has the correct tread depth because if they wear away quickly, they will affect your stopping distance. This is crucial in adverse weather conditions and icy roads.
To check whether your tyres have adequate tread depth or not, you can use a 20 paise coin. You have to take the coin and insert it into the grooves of the tyre. If your tyre has the proper depth, then you should not be able to see any part of the coin. The part of the coin that is bulging out of the tyre is how much your tread depth is lacking.
