Common A2 MOT failures.

Dave M

Admin Team
United-Kingdom
Having trawled through many A2 MOT history checks I would say that there isn,t really much to be concerned about. The wear and tear items are obviously favourite advisorys such as worn tyres, brake discs and "misty" shock absorbers. One thing that does crop up a lot is the headlamp beams either being too low or too high. Does the headlight fairy creep in and alter these ?. Sometimes bulbs are replaced incorrectly or not secured but I was wondering if the adjustment motors are now starting to fail with age and the actual headlights alter course slightly with vibration ?.
 
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Having trawled through many A2 MOT history checks I would say that there isn,t really much to be concerned about. The wear and tear items are obviously favourite advisorys such as worn tyres, brake discs and "misty" shock absorbers. One thing that does crop up a lot is the headlamp beams either being too low or too high. Does the headlight fairy creep in and alter these ?. Sometimes bulbs are replaced incorrectly or not secured but I was wondering if the adjustment motors are now starting to fail with age and the actual headlights alter course slightly with vibration ?.


Hi Dave,

the drop links are a very common source of a fail. Not expensive and not too bad a job. (If you can undo them without the ball spinning (If that happens you can actually force the drop link off the ball altogether and then use grips on the ball and you can then undo them)

As for the headlamp adjusters, they are pretty solid and it tends to be due to incorrectly inserted bulbs or when the headlamps have been taken off and replaced (there is some scope for them to be shifted a few degrees in the very wide bolt holes).

Steve B

Oh and the rear number plate lamps, the problem with them is that the screws rust and so changing a bulb is a problem.

But whatever we are highlighting as possible A2 MOT failures the A2s pass MOTs first time way more often than any other car I have owned.
The 7 A2s in the family mostly come to me to take for the test and I can't remember the last time one failed for anything other than bulbs (LED sidelights that the MOT tester didn't like, for example).

Steve B
 
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most of my mot related problems seem to be the drop links, springs and shocks! even with the better branded stuff i seem to still suffer failures regardless of the driving. my wife on the other hand......well thats a different story altogether :D

cammy
 
I just had a 'fail' due to passenger headlamp aim. Not an issue though, it was rectified before I even knew and passed at no extra cost. I'd only replaced the bulbs about a week earlier, so it hadn't been like it for very long. Presumably I just hadn't got it properly seated on that side.
 
Having trawled through many A2 MOT history checks I would say that there isn,t really much to be concerned about. The wear and tear items are obviously favourite advisorys such as worn tyres, brake discs and "misty" shock absorbers. One thing that does crop up a lot is the headlamp beams either being too low or too high. Does the headlight fairy creep in and alter these ?. Sometimes bulbs are replaced incorrectly or not secured but I was wondering if the adjustment motors are now starting to fail with age and the actual headlights alter course slightly with vibration ?.

It's almost like you have read my MOT reports. I had a "misty" shock absorber for 3 years until I worked out that if you went via the car wash they never noticed. I also suffered from the headlight aiming when I know that nothing, not even a bulb had changed from the previous year. Then I discovered the "failure quota" that the stations have and decided I was a victim of that. Apparently, my lights were "too low", it was fixed and cost me a small amount that I was prepared to pay for an easy MOT. On the way home I had to adjust them down because they were too high ...
 
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