How to Check Your Car for an MOT – MOT Test Explained

In the UK, assuming your car is at least 3 years old you’ll need to take it to an MOT tester once a year to get the certificate renewed. It can be a massive pain to book a test, drop your car off then get a call a few hours later saying it’s failed – especially if it’s for something you could have checked and fixed before taking it down. Once your car fails, you’ve got 10 working days to get it fixed to qualify for a partial retest, basically they just check you’ve actually fixed the issues and issue you a new certificate. Most garages won’t charge for that, but some have their own policies so do make sure to check if needed.

So, what are they looking for? Lets start with the interior, there’s a lot to cover so I’ll keep this brief. They check your seats are installed correctly and in good working order and your seatbelts are working fully including locking, retracting and connecting to the buckle. They’ll be looking for warning lights on your dashboard, even something as little as a washer fluid level warning can be enough so make sure that’s topped off, as are all the other fluids like fuel, oil, coolant and if you’ve got a diesel with Adblue, that as well.

Speaking of washers, they’ll check your wipers work and the washer jets work and are aimed correctly and your view out the windscreen is unobstructed. That includes phone mounts, windscreen chips or cracks and anything else that could be “obstructive”. They’ll also check your steering wheel, well, exists, and is in good working order with the column intact. All your switches like wipers, lights and indicators will need to work too. Your brake pedal will need to be in working order, as does the speedo. It also needs to be backlit. Lastly for the interior, they’ll be checking your mirrors work and are present, the horn functions as do the doors.

As for the exterior, there’s a fair bit. Both front and rear license plates need to be mounted and visible, every single light needs to work including indicators, brake lights, fog lights and even side markers all need to be working fine. The headlights need to be working too, although they also need to be aimed correctly – not too high or low. They’ll be checking your wheels and tyres, including tread depth which is a minimum of 1.6mm across the central ¾ band of the tyre. They’ll also check for any cuts or bulges, although they won’t check the pressures directly.

The wheel rims need to be in functional condition – they don’t care about the kerb rash, just cracks or missing chunks. They’ll have a peek at your shock absorbers and springs if they are visible for cracks, rust or leaking, but they’ll be doing that in more detail from under the car later too. They’ll look at the general condition of the body, any rust on structural areas is a hard fail, but body rust shouldn’t be. They’ll check the doors, boot and bonnet function normally, plus if you have a towbar that it’s fitted securely and the plug is in good order. Oh and they’ll check the fuel cap isn’t leaking, the mirrors are intact and the wiper blades and arms are fine too.

Under the hood they’ll check the crash structure isn’t crumpled, any visible brake lines aren’t leaking, nor is the exhaust, fuel or steering systems and any suspension components like the strut towers are in good condition.

Then it’s under the car to check for major oil leaks (ahem… BMW…), check the power steering system is intact and working – including both hydraulic components if fitted and mechanical parts like the tie rod ends. They’ll also check drive shafts including for damaged boots, wheel bearings for excess play or noise, brakes for pad and disc thickness and the rest of the lines, the exhaust isn’t leaking, nor is the fuel tank or lines, and the structure of the car is in good condition – ie not been in a serious accident.

They’ll also check your suspension components, like your springs, spring mounts, shocks, arms, bushings, ball joints and anti-roll bars and links. These ones are the toughest to check at home, but a quick look under the car to make sure there aren’t any massive rusty sections, obviously torn bushings or snapped springs, and knowing the car is driving fine helps.

They will also run some tests, namely braking and emissions. Braking will test the effectiveness of the pedal operation, but they’ll also test the handbrake where possible. They’ll then get the car on a rolling road and use a gas emissions meter to measure carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions at idle and under load.

And, that’s it. It’s quite an extensive list and it’s a lot to check yourself, but if your car is driving fine, hasn’t been in an accident and doesn’t have any warning lights, generally speaking you should be fine. The items I highly recommend anyone check at least quickly before you drive to the test center are your lights and tyres. You might need someone to help you especially for the brakes but stick on every light you can including the hazards, get out and check each bulb is working. If it’s not, swap it out before your appointment to save yourself a lot of hassle!

As for tyres, you just need to have a quick look at each of them. Have a feel for the bands that run around the circumference and the bumps in those grooves. If the tyre is close to, or flush with those markers, you’ll need to replace them before getting tested. It’s a good idea to make sure your engine oil is topped up too, make sure your engine is cool then pull out the dip stick and use a towel to wipe it clean. Push it all the way back in, then pull it out again to read the level. Mine is nicely between min and max so I’m good, but if it’s low it’s worth topping up – although if it’s really low it’s also worth checking to see if there is a significant leak you need to address first. You’ll need enough fuel too, as a tester may refuse to test it if it’s too low, and a tidy car is definitely preferred as again a tester can refuse to test it.