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Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
The ABS sensors in my car (Hyundai Accent X-reg) have packed up. The dealer said it would need new sensors and new drive shafts leading to a whopping £700 bill.

Since normal braking is fine, I don't want to fix it.

But is it going to fail in MOT?

There is a single red warning light on dash showing [(!)(P)BRAKE] altogether. As soon as parking brake is released the light goes off. After driving for sometime [1 minute], the light comes up and stays.

I still have few months from next MOT. Wondering whether I should keep the car or trade it (won't expect more than £1000 anyway).
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Screwloose
movilogo

If the light doesn't come on, do it's self-test and extinuish; then it fails the test.

This has been discussed at length on here before; but an ABS brake set-up is not configured to work safely without it. It's not an optional extra.

Driving, knowing that you have a brake fault, can have serious consequences. Your insurance could be invalid for one.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - component part
ABS fails safe, that's what it's designed to do...it says as much in most car manuals that have ABS. The car will fail it's MOT if the light doesn't extinguish-take the bulb out until you get the ABS fixed.

If the diagnostics light is lit it means the ABS ECU has detected a fault and therefore the ABS will be completely inoperative and will have failed safe. I would worry if the diagnostics light was working normally, but the brakes weren't behaving right.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
Well, I confirmed from Hyundai dealers and they said that it is perfect to drive the car as only ABS will not work. The same is written in the car's manual as well. In fact, I'm driving the car for last few months without any problem at all.

My main worry is that whether it will pass or fail in MOT for this.

Will it be of any good if the warning led is disconnected while going for MOT?

ABS is not a mandatory requiremnt for MOT and this car comes with both with and without ABS versions.

My main dilemma is whether to keep the car or not. Paying £700 to fix this on a 7-yr old car is not a good option. However, the car is absolutely fine othewise.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - DP
If the vehicle is fitted with an anti-lock braking system, the tester will check that

a. a warning lamp is fitted
b. the lamp illuminates
c. the lamp follows the correct sequence of operation
d. does not indicate a fault.

Note: The sequence varies with the type of system. Refer to the manufacturers or other reliable data, eg purpose produced charts, books, etc. This sequence is usually something along the lines of coming on with the ignition, then going out (and staying out) a number of seconds later.

The car will fail if the ABS light:

a. is missing
b. does not illuminate
c. does not follow the correct sequence of operation
d. indicates an ABS fault.

The MOT regs are very clear on this.

Cheers
DP
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - component part
As I mentioned above, take the bulb out of the instrument panel. Perfectly valid tactic, as long as you are honest about it if you sell the car etc.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Screwloose
movilogo

Fine; take the bulb out..... but do let us know how you got on at the MOT......

Did you know that police accident investigators routinely download the fault memory from the ABS after an RTA.

Ring your insurers and ask them how they feel about it?
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
Some more info,

When I turn the iginition on, there is no orange (ABS) light on the dash.
Only single red [(!)(P)BRAKE] light is on.

How exactly do they test in MOT? The red light goes off after starting the engine and releasing the handbrake. It only comes on again after 1-2 minutes of driving.

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Altea Ego
If it comes on at ignition and goes out when they start the car, and does not come on when they do the brake efficiency test or any time during the test your car will pass the MOT.

If it comes on during the brake test it will fail.

Its your gamble
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - jase1
So what exactly happens when the ABS fails?

I ask because on my Primera, the ABS has not kicked in on a couple of occasions when I would have expected it to. It didn't cause any dangerous situations, but it worried me a bit at the time.

The light flashes briefly when the ignition is first switched on, and you can hear the ABS mechanism click a couple of times faintly. I asked my mechanic, and he said it looked fine.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
How long they will test for brake efficiency?
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Group B
So what exactly happens when the ABS fails?
I ask because on my Primera the ABS has not kicked in on a couple
of occasions when I would have expected it to. It didn't cause any dangerous situations
but it worried me a bit at the time.



Find a deserted wet car park, eg. supermarket after closing or an industrial estate. Accelerate up to 30-35mph then do an emergency stop. You should find out if the ABS is working or not...
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - mfarrow
So what exactly happens when the ABS fails?


On old Ford mechnical ABS systems, the modulator will unlock the wheel, and then reapply the brakes some time during the night.

Is it meant to have a yellow ABS light? If yes then the red one is an unrelated problem.

It will pass if the light doesn't come on and the MoT man doesn't know it's got ABS fitted. ABS badge on the back? Rip it off!

--------------
Mike Farrow
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - RichardW
Any MOT tester worth his salt should spot the ABS rings, and hence look for the light - it's possible that the computerised MOT system will flag it up as being ABS anyway. Having said that I'm fairly sure my mate got an ABS car through with the light disabled a few years ago....
--
RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - mfarrow
Any MOT tester worth his salt should spot the ABS rings


Just say you took the driveshafts etc off a scrapper which did have ABS, OK if he doesn't spot the wiring :-)

The computer will only mention ABS if it's in the model description as put on the VIN.

--------------
Mike Farrow
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Dynamic Dave
It will pass if the light doesn't come on and the MoT man doesn't know
it's got ABS fitted. ABS badge on the back? Rip it off!


Unless the MOt tester is blind, he'll spot the ABS sensors on each wheel hub at a 1000 paces.

That aside, say you had an accident knowing full well that your ABS wasn't working. Depending on the type of accident and whether or not a crash investigator was required, not only would your insurance be invalid, the law would throw the book at you. And quite rightly so.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - pendulum
Why would the law throw the book at him?
- It's illegal to drive without effective brakes but the brakes are still perfectly effective without ABS.

Why would his insurance be *invalid*?
- That's a bit strong. I can see them possibly reducing the payment for damage to his car if they found out but I definitely don't believe they would be able to invalidate on the grounds of non-working ABS but otherwise normal functioning brakes.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Dynamic Dave
Why would the law throw the book at him?
- It's illegal to drive without effective brakes but the brakes are still perfectly effective
without ABS.


ABS = shorter stopping distance. The brakes may well be effective under normal operation; but in an emergency situation it can mean the difference between stopping in time or skidding into whatever happens to be in the way at the time.
Why would his insurance be *invalid*?
- That's a bit strong.


Can't see the insurance company being happy paying someone compensation / damages when it's down to driver negligence. Especially as the OP has expressed that he knows the ABS isn't working, nor wanting to fix it.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Xileno {P}
"ABS = shorter stopping distance. "

Not necessarily, although for the most part this is true.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - tr7v8
"ABS = shorter stopping distance. "
Not necessarily although for the most part this is true.

Common misconception ABS = being able to steer whislt braking, Braking distances could well be longer.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - pendulum
>> Why would the law throw the book at him?
>>
ABS = shorter stopping distance. The brakes may well be effective under normal operation; but
in an emergency situation it can mean the difference between stopping in time or skidding
into whatever happens to be in the way at the time.


That doesn't go any way to explaining why the law would throw the book at him. As long as he has good functioning brakes, he has to the best of my knowledge not committed an offence. Whether he has working ABS on his car or not is completely irrelevant. What you said seems like an example of why it might be good to have ABS, but it's not an example of how or why the law would throw the book at him.
>> Why would his insurance be *invalid*?
Can't see the insurance company being happy paying someone compensation / damages when it's down
to driver negligence. Especially as the OP has expressed that he knows the ABS isn't
working nor wanting to fix it.


Actually, this is a ridiculous statement. Just because his ABS doesn't work, does not mean any accident is automatically down to his negligence. Negligence is driving a car without brakes. Driving a car that has good brakes but non-working ABS isn't negligence.

As I said, they may try and decrease a settlement if they found out about it (unlikely) but voiding? No way.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Dynamic Dave
That doesn't go any way to explaining why the law would throw the book at
him. As long as he has good functioning brakes.....


But are they functioning correctly? If not, then they are not good functioning brakes.

I can't find the post that was after, but these will do for now.

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=43...2
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=13...8
Driving a car that has good brakes but non-working ABS isn't negligence.


See comments in above posts, and other replies within those threads.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - bell boy
if it was my car i would go on 24/7 for some s/h driveshafts off a breaker and expect to get the sensers thrown in
cost £100
fitting £70

however i would suspect that the sensers are faulty before the pick up rings
its probably an easy option for your dealer to replace the lot
ask an independant small garage to check whether the sensors are working or not and a ball park figure to replace them all in
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - adverse camber
As has been said - It is a fail.

rather than peeing about why not get a sensible quote for getting it fixed? £700 is way over the odds for this. You dont even know what the real problem is. You have a dealer telling you that the driveshafts and sensors need replacing. How did they come to this conclusion? What tests have they done.

Most likely you have either a duff sensor or a duff ring. Get a local non-dealer garage to look at it.

I dont know what the system is on a hyundai but certainly if its bosch then they can interrogate it and tell you what is the actual problem. Best case scenario is a slipping or dirty ring on a rear disk, worst case is sensor or front cv joint.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
Well, the dealer actually scanned the error code with their HiScan device and gave that report on faulty sensors and driveshaft.

I didn't ask any local garage for a quote but will do and see what they demand.

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - jase1
The scanners don't tell you squat, unless you know how to interpret the information.

On my Accent the check engine light started to come on intermittently. Takes it into the dealer, they diagnose "low catalytic efficiency", and tell me the car needs a new cat, and sensor. Total cost £400.

Hmmm, thinks I. I'd been thinking that the exhaust note was a bit raspy, so I took it to my usual backstreet place, and lo and behold it was a leaky gasket holding the front part of the exhaust to the cat itself, causing a leak of exhaust fumes and a lowering of pressure. Garage does a decent "bodge" repair to the exhaust, total cost £30. Twenty minutes' work.

They noticed the leak in the exhaust straight away, much as I had -- where I went wrong was not making the mental link between noisy exhaust and engine light, which in retrospect I should have done. The dealers were planks in this instance.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - component part
I disagree with Dynamic Dave here. Why would it invalidate your insurance? I guess the question is, in law does having non functioning ABS count as having defective brakes? I don't think it does, as ABS is a supplementary system that is designed to fail safe, and it says as much in the manual.

Were you to have a serious accident, no accident investigator would be able to say that the outcome would have been any different if the ABS was working. If you were driving your car around in 'limp home' mode because of an engine fault would you expect your insurance to be invalid if you had a crash? Nah!

Good points by others re the MOT regs tho...taking the light out might not get it through, but you know what MOTs are like, fail at one place, pass at another-depends which way the wind's blowing.

Re the poster with the Primera-sounds like your ABS is normal-as another poster said, try doing a full emergency stop, if the wheels lock your ABS is not working right. On the Primera the ABS system does a mechanical test at startup and then at something like 6mph so that is what you are hearing. The one fault Primeras do seem to suffer from is cracked ABS rings-the symptom of this is the ABS triggering when it shouldn't-driving over a bump in the road at low speed for example when you aren't even braking. Although this doesn't normally light up the warning light.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Xileno {P}
"Were you to have a serious accident, no accident investigator would be able to say that the outcome would have been any different if the ABS was working."

I bet they could, particularly if the road was wet. That's when ABS is very useful. Whether they would is a different matter.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - component part
I see your point; but enough to have an effect on your insurance? Too many variables.

If you crash whilst breaking the law, does it invalidate your insurance? Of course it doesn't. By definition unless it is someone elses fault even single vehicle crashes usually have enough evidence for Careless or Due Care convictions...doesn't invalidate your insurance does it?

Why would non functioning ABS, which isn't even a crime, invalidate your insurance?
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Xileno {P}
You may well be right but I wouldn't wish to be the one defending such a position in a Court of Law.

Isn't there something in one's insurance about keeping the car according to the manufacturer's specification? If so then the insurance could argue the car isn't according to spec.

Just some thoughts, may not be right...
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - component part
By that argument, you haven't changed the specification. The vehicle has developed a non safety critical fault that you may or may not have rectified in due course. Equipment on the car going faulty is not changing the specification.

That said, I appreciate your point about not wanting to have to defend such a case in court-neither would I. But this is the real world-if you own a 7 yr old car that is worth peanuts, you don't want to, or can't afford, to shell out £700 for repairs. Don't get me wrong, if it was a serious defect like a bald tyre, broken suspension, brakes that didn't stop the car properly you would HAVE to get it sorted or not drive the car. But in reality driving with non functioning ABS I would be happy to do-a worth while risk is my argument.

Whether OP will get it through an MOT or not is another matter...and let's face it. If you are involved in a serious accident then you either caused it, or were the victim. Either way I doubt your non functioning ABS is going to have any real bearing on either the sentence or the cost of nexts years insurance.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Altea Ego
But what you do have here is culpability.

Two scenarios.

1/ Your ABS fails, you have an accident, the accident would not have happened (or the effects would have been less) if your ABS was working. Your fault? nope.

2/ You know your ABS does not work and have chosen to ignore it, you have an accident, the accident would not have happened (or the effects would have been less) if your ABS was working. Your fault? OH YES. Because you knew, becuase you chose to ignore it, it now becomes a deliberate action on your part. You are responsible, you are culpible.

If the accident is someone you knocked over and killed, and the police can prove you disabled your ABS warning systems, becuase you knew they were defective, this becomes a premeditated act, you could and possibly would go to jail for manslaughter, possibly even murder.

Its no different from the bloke in jail becuase he had too little sleep, knew he had too little sleep yet still drove, and drove onto the railway tracks killing 7 people.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - pendulum
If the accident is someone you knocked over and killed and the police can prove
you disabled your ABS warning systems becuase you knew they were defective this becomes a
premeditated act you could and possibly would go to jail for manslaughter possibly even murder.


Rubbish. Total scaremongering.

Having ABS is optional. The law doesn't say you have to have it, nor maintain it. You can remove it from your car if you wish. The law DOES say you have to have effective brakes. That is, the brakes must be strong enough to stop the car in a reasonable distance. As long as you are driving with brakes that work, you will be fine.

As for the ABS light being monitored for correct sequence at MoT... if you had a spare microcontroller laying around and knew how to program, you could get the ABS light to flash in the correct sequence rather easily. :)
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Screwloose
pendulum
Having ABS is optional.


Correct.

>>The law doesn't say you have to have it...

Correct.

>>..... nor maintain it.

Incorrect. If fitted, it must work, or the car is deemed unroadworthy by VOSA. Knowingly driving an unroadworthy car....
You can remove it from your car if you wish.


If you wish to remove it; you must inform your insurers that the car has been modified from it's original specification. An insurer's loss adjuster gets paid by results; non-disclosure would be a gift.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Pugugly {P}
>The law doesn't say you have to have it...

It's a legal requirement since a couple of years now on all new cars. Once on it has to be maintained.

You can remove it from your car if you wish.


Not if was built after the implementation date.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - pendulum
It's a legal requirement since a couple of years now on all new cars.
>> You can remove it from your car if you wish.
Not if was built after the implementation date.


He states in his OP it's an X reg.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Pugugly {P}
Point taken.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - madf
Car insurers insist you maintain car to a safe standard.
They insist you declare modifications...

and you all think they will still pay out if you neglect to repair a braking fault?

Because having found ABS not working, it will be a fine toothcomb job and they will find another safety issue sure as eggs is eggs.

Anyone driving like that is living - imo - on a different planet -- life is complicated enough . What happens if the police inspect the car?


madf
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - retgwte
most cars out of the factory without ABS have a pressure release valve of some description on the back wheels, to prevent the back wheels locking first under heavy braking from high speed

ABS cars do not have such release valves, as they are not needed to solve this problem as the ABS itself will ensure the rear wheels do not lockup

ABS cars with failed ABS may "failsafe" to working brakes with no ABS, but that is no ABS without the normal pressure release valve on the rear wheels, and that means the rear wheels are much more likely to lock sending you out of control

i wouldnt risk my or my families life in this way

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - component part
@retgwte

What you are saying re proportioning valves is simply not true-even cars with ABS have these pressure limiting valves installed-if the ABS was doing the job that pressure limiting valve is doing in a non ABS car then presumably you would regularly feel the ABS kick in under normal braking...ABS cars have this valve also.

As for all this talk of manslaughter raps, and wouldn't risk your families life etc etc. What you are talking here is absolute worst case scenario..it isn't likely to happen. Driving a car with failed ABS is no less safe than driving a car that didn't have it fitted in the first place-if you can't afford that £700 bill and can get it through the MOT, I wouldn't worry about it-chances of it going pear shaped are slim.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - martint123
Question - If ABS is fails to safe, why is it an MOT fail if it is not working?.

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Screwloose
Martin
Question - If ABS is fails to safe why is it an MOT fail if
it is not working?.


Anyone who regularly buys brake components knows the question: "Has it got ABS?" from the parts person. Why do they need to know? Because ABS brakes are different.

As has been correctly stated above, an ABS braking system is designed around the capabilities of the electronics. This allows larger/more potent brakes to be fitted than would otherwise be prudent. The ABS is always there to catch any over-application.

Without functional ABS they could lock prematurely and catch out the unwary. That's why a basic check of ABS functionality is in the MOT test.
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
Later this week I shall ask a local mechanic to have a look and re-check exactly what happened.

When I was explaining this problem today morning he told me that in case of any ABS problem the orange (ABS) light on dash should glow and NOT the red brake light warning light.

From which year all cars started fitting ABS?

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Dynamic Dave
From which year all cars started fitting ABS?


It became mandatory on cars sold in Europe to have ABS after 1st July 2004.

www.autofinder.ie/asp1/afmain.asp?lnk=101&id=277

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - LHM
As has been correctly stated above an ABS braking system is designed around the capabilities
of the electronics. This allows larger/more potent brakes to be fitted than would otherwise be
prudent. The ABS is always there to catch any over-application.
Without functional ABS they could lock prematurely and catch out the unwary. That's why a
basic check of ABS functionality is in the MOT test.


Not sure I understand the logic here. I've never driven a non ABS-equipped car that couldn't be made to lock its wheels, so what would be the point of fitting 'larger/more potent brakes'?
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - Botchit, Soddem & Leggit
How the hell can an electronic diagnostic tool tell you there driveshaft is faulty?
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - movilogo
This is exactly what Hyundai dealer wrote on the report.

"Carried on diagnostic check on brake warning lights, hi scan shows faulty ABS sensors on front wheels and o/s pick up cracked - vehicle will require at least one drive shaft plus ABS sensors on front."
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - gmac
I found the following FAQ at www.motester.co.uk/mot-qanda3.html

ABS WARNING LIGHTS
My car is fitted with an ABS system. The warning light has come on and the ABS doesn't work although the brakes work fine. Will this be acceptable for passing the MOT or must the ABS be working if fitted? Many thanks.

Hi, my father has a toyota celica 1.8, the MOT has expired And he's been trying to get it tested. He recently took the car to a Toyota dealer for a service prior to the MOT expiring. The service was carried out but the dealers cannot diagnose what is causing the ABS light to remain on. Despite two hours of testing/fault finding the problem remains unsolved, yet the ABS
system is fully operational. Despite the clean bill of health will it still pass an MOT with the light Illuminated? Mike

I bought a car with the extra option of ABS.
The ABS has failed as shown by the ABS warning light.
The basic function of the brakes is unimpaired.
Would the car fail its MOT just because the ABS is non functional ?
Thank you. Stan

I am sorry to say that the regulations here are very clear. If there is a problem signalled by the ABS light, then that is an MOT failure. The Testing station would have no discretion at all.
The ABS system will have a special sequence of warning lights when the ignition is switched on to indicate that the system is functioning correctly. That is tested for the MOT. The ABS as such is not tested. So if, as a result of your ABS failure the warning lights show an incorrect indication, then that will result in an MOT failure. - MOTT


It does sound like there is a more general braking problem with this Hyundai though and the fact the red warning lights are on.
Is there low fluid level, leaking seals or are the pads worn so low the fluid level has dropped in the reservoir to trigger the red light ?
Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - martint123
It's a legal requirement since a couple of years now on all new cars. Once on it has to be maintained.

I'm extremely cautious about doubting our new stick wielder, but is it "a legal requirement"

www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansr...m

"Given the almost total coverage achieved by the industry commitment, the Department will not be seeking the compulsory fitting of ABS in new cars."

Faulty ABS - MOT failure? - retgwte
abs is compulsory on all new cars which are mass produced

there is an excemption for cars built in small numbers, TVR etc tend to use that excemption

you wouldnt know your rear wheels locking was a problem unless you have done an emergency stop from high speed

get it fixed