| Failure point | Typically affects | What the tester finds | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front wishbone bushes | Golf, A3, Octavia, Leon | Play in front suspension | Replace bushes or arms |
| Engine management light on | 2.0 TDI and TSI models | MIL lit, major defect | Diagnose and repair cause |
| LED DRL partial failure | Audi A3, A4, A5 | Daytime running light inoperative | Bulb or module replacement |
| Anti-roll bar drop links | Most Golf-platform cars | Knock and free play | Replace drop links |
| Inner-edge tyre wear | Wide-tyre and lowered cars | Tread below 1.6 mm | Tyres plus alignment |
| Rear pads and discs | Cars with electronic parking brake | Pads below limit, corroded discs | Rear brakes via EPB service mode |
| Airbag lamp on | Under-seat wiring and sensors | Warning lamp illuminated | Repair wiring or sensor |
| Diesel smoke or blocked DPF | Short-journey TDI models | Fails metered smoke test | Regeneration or DPF clean |
For most cars over a few years old, yes. It removes the gamble from test day. You find out in advance exactly what would fail, you choose who repairs it and when, and you avoid the scenario where the car fails late in the day and you are left without transport. It also separates genuine defects from advisories, so you only spend money on what the test actually requires.
Yes. Since May 2018 an illuminated engine management light is a major defect, so the car fails even if it drives perfectly. The same applies to the ABS, airbag, electronic parking brake and, on cars first used from 2012, the tyre pressure warning lamp. This is why our inspection starts with a full-system scan using ODIS or VCDS rather than a glance at the dashboard.
No, and we would not recommend anyone tries it. Clearing a code without fixing the fault is temporary, because the lamp returns as soon as the fault re-triggers, sometimes on the drive to the test station. Emissions-related faults will usually fail the metered test anyway. We diagnose the actual cause, fix it properly and confirm the lamp stays out through a full drive cycle.
Suspension is the big one, particularly front lower wishbone bushes and anti-roll bar drop links on Golf-platform cars. After that come lighting faults, including partial LED daytime running light failures on Audis, then tyres worn on the inner edge, brake wear on cars with electronic parking brakes, and warning lamps caused by emissions faults on TDI engines. Our inspection targets all of these first.
Give yourself enough time to fix anything we find, so a week or two before the test is sensible. Remember you can have the MOT done up to a month, minus a day, before the current certificate expires and keep the same renewal date. That window is the ideal time for an inspection, because parts can be ordered and fitted without any pressure.
Yes. We are a Volkswagen Group specialist workshop, so anything the inspection turns up can be repaired here with genuine or OEM parts. That includes jobs that need dealer-level tooling, such as retracting electronic parking brakes for rear pads, coding replacement modules and forcing DPF regenerations. You get one clear list of what is needed, with failures separated from advisories.
Yes. Bring the failure sheet and we will quote for exactly what is listed, nothing more. We repair the defects with genuine or OEM parts and check the related systems so the car does not bounce back with a connected fault. Retest rules and fees depend on the test station, so check the timescale with them, and we will work to fit inside it where we can.