Have you ever wondered either of the following after an MOT test on your vehicle:

• How on Earth did my car pass that MOT?
• Why haven’t I got any advisories?
• Did the garage even test my car?

There are only two reasonable explanations; you caught the MOT tester on a good day, or the MOT station is renowned for passing vehicles that should have failed. The likelihood is it is probably the latter.In fact, a recent investigation by the DVSA found that testing stations across the UK are passing 1 in 7 vehicles that should have failed their MOT – that’s 13.58% of vehicles. The 2020 MOT Compliance Survey also found that 11.9% of motorists know of a local garage with a ‘reputation for being lenient’ on vehicle testing.

MOT Compliance Survey key findings 2019 – 2020:

– In a randomised sample of 1800 vehicles, 1671 were retested by the DVSA Vehicle Examiners.– Of the vehicles that passed, 13.58 per cent should have failed.– Of the vehicles that failed, 3.23 per cent should have passed.– In 70.1 per cent of vehicles, the DVSA found at least one defect which the MOT test station missed or had incorrectly recorded.– In 56.48 per cent of vehicles, the DVSA found three or more defects which the MOT test station had missed or had incorrectly recorded.– In 2019 – 2020, the DVSA issued 24 Disciplinary Actions Recorded, and 179 Advisory Warning Letters to MOT test sites, following the re-testing of vehicles.

The outcome of the survey…

In 70.1% of cases, the DVSA found at least one issue which the MOT test station missed or had incorrectly recorded, while the DVSA experts found three or more issues in 56.5% of vehicles.Safety critical features such as the brakes and suspension were subject to the biggest inconsistency between MOT testers and the DVSA:

• Brakes had the highest number of misdiagnosed issues, at 17.74%
• Suspension at 14.56 per cent
• Tyres at 13.22%
• Lights, reflectors and electrical equipment at 11.51%

As highlighted above, following this investigation, the DVSA issued 24 disciplinary action recordings and 179 advisory warning letters to the vehicle test sites it visited.