Had the car MOT'ed last week and it failed on the brake pipes. The work has now been done so just need to have it re-tested.
I checked the car's MOT history online and for the past three years it has had an advisory for brake pipes and suspension bushes. I replaced the suspension bushes 6 months ago as you could see the wishbones were about to snap off.
My gripe is for three years the car has had an advisory for both brake pipes and suspension bushes but the previous owner of the car choose not to have this work done. Surely they should be a system in the MOT which flaggs if the same adivosry was given the year before so the MOT inspector can use his discretion and fail it on the grounds that the plonker won't listen to a word he says as longs as he/she gets the MOT?
I have an advisory this year for two tryes as they are now down to 1.8mm, as soon as I get the new MOT the first thing I am going to do is change them as this is a safety matter. I also got an advisory for number plate discolouration - I shall not bother with that :p:/
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But an advisory doesn't mean it will fail next year does it? I think it just means 'keep an eye on it' and is a flag to next year's MoT inspector to cast a careful eye over the 'advised' component.
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So the inspector will be aware of the previous advisories then? The problem in my case is that the previous garage only issued the advisory on the failed MOT tests and then didn't issue any the second time, although the fault must have existed still.
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My gripe is for three years the car has had an advisory for both brake pipes and suspension bushes but the previous owner of the car choose not to have this work done
But you yourself knew six months ago that the brake pipes needed attention:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=62516&...e
"I will need new brake pipes for the MOT anyway most likely. "
And that was despite your mechanic having done some other work on brakes:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=62516&...e
"two weeks ago the brake light warning light came on again. I noticed the fluid level was low. I took it back to my mechanic who keep appoligisng for not topping it up, but I was there when he did this and know for the fact the fluid was topped up to maximum. He said he has done everything to brakes and knows for a fact they are not leaking "
Why didn't your mechanic point out the corroded pipes to you?
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>>I also got an advisory for number plate discolouration - I shall not bother with that :p:/
You seem quite happy to ignore advisories!
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The number plates are perfectly readable and it does not affect safety. Tyres, suspension, steering, brakes do! We have had cars with far worse number plates than this pass without mention.
For me the most important thing about an MOT is it is a partial safety test. I am well aware a car can still be a death trap and have a 12 months ticket though.
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I must say that has crossed my mind, I think he felt as they were not leaking they would last.
From my experience MOT testers always put the brake pipes on an advisory if there is slight surface rust just to cover their own backs. So I guess I just thought this was the case. He said at the time the wishbones urgently needed replacing so I got that done 6 months ago rather than wait till now (if I had we might not have be here now).
If I was aware at the time that it has had an advisory on this for the past three years I would have known it was not fresh surface rust and something more advanced and got them done.
I don't have any proper jack so looking under my car is tricky.
I am not taking any more chances though. E.g my tryes are legal but they are not safe, I just wanted to get an MOT test done before wasting £120 on two new tryes if too much was was required.
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> ...I also got an advisory for number plate discoloration...
I got one of those - for the rear plate - two MoTs ago. Last year's tester (different centre) didn't mention it.
It's perfectly readable but does look rather grubby now - you can see where it's delaminating along the top edge. Car's due for a service in a few weeks (and the MoT in October); can anyone give me a clue what a Volvo main dealer might ask for a new pair of plates?
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I can see a certain logic that if the Tester has put an "advisory" on a car one year then the next tester a year later should have it "flagged up" that this work was suggested and therefore should pay particular attention to those parts... seems quite a logical way of doing things....
The fact that it can have an advisory for three years on the trot for brake pipes worries me somewhat that none of the owners felt fit to replace them....
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Indeed, I think the public have just lost trust in some of the advisories as they are so common, they just think an avisory for brake pipes mean slight rust, when it could actually mean its about to burst any second.
It seems bizzare that brake pipes can rust to easily anyway :(. I think part of the problem with modern cars is the bodywork is so well galvanised the car looks to be in brand new conditoon when its 10 years old, but underneath it could be a complete wreck thus giving the onwer false security.
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WDB - £11.40 on Fleabay, delivered. Why pay more?!
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 05/08/2008 at 08:11
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What happened to copper brake pipes? They were standard fitting on my 19 year old Volvo, and never rust.
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What happened to copper brake pipes?
I'm not too sure I'd like to have copper brake pipes. They may be more corrosion resistant than steel, but I bet their burst pressure will be lower.
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Cost I expect - copper signalling cable is always getting nicked on the railways so if you make brake pipes out of the stuff heaven help us all!
If you have an old Volvo just make sure you have any pipes before driving off in the morning! ;-)
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I'm not too sure I'd like to have copper brake pipes. They may be more corrosion resistant than steel but I bet their burst pressure will be lower.
Burst pressure is still far more than brake pipes will ever see.
Volvo weren't copper they were Kunifer which is Copper Nickel.
My Porsche now has a few more copper ones after it's last MOT failed on flexies & they are fine.
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I must be one of those plonkers as my Rover had advisorys for brake pipes for 3 years running :-) On the first one I took the advice that they need attention and hammerited them and greased them up once a year. They got no worse but the MOT still threw it up. It wasnt a safety issue otherwise it would have failed and I had my local garage have a look on a service to put my mind at rest.
Eventually I gave up and had new ones fitted, which are copper, so wont need to worry about that again.
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