Took my car for its MOT today and it’s failed on CO emissions being under the requirements. However, when I got home I looked at the results they provided only to notice they tested it against the Abarth 124 Spider standards. Can anyone tell me what the actual requirements would be for a 1997 MK1 UK car? Test results attached.
Sorry, really should not have bothered
They have tested it incorrect ,take it back to them to run it again on the correct car.
And explain the difference between a Fiat and a mazda.
M-m
Thanks for the response. I’ll give them a call this morning and see what they say. However it looks like I still would have failed on CO readings and Lambda. HC also so much higher than they should be. Any ideas? Brand new O2 sensor was fitted in July and new after market CAT (440mm) a year ago.
How often is she used , and what kind of trips? how far is the MOT station from you? its also possible that the aftermarket cat as failed, we just see the cheap aftermarket cats as a one time MOT test pass.
M-m
The car isn’t my daily and has been sat for 2 months with the battery disconnected following a long weekend road trip back in October. The MOT station is only a 5 minute drive away so probably didn’t get a chance to get that warm.
You have probably just solved your problem.
Before doing anything else give the car a good ‘work out’ and immediately get the MOT station to test the emissions.
Have a word with them beforehand so you can get straight on to the ‘machine’ while she is still ‘glowing’.
Fingers crossed.
If the battery on my old mark 1 went dead flat or got disconnected for more than a week the idle was all over the place for a while once I got it going again. It was as if the ECU had to relearn everything about the car.
And that’s the problem…it’s not used enough and she needs a good blast before you drop her off for MOT…ours is 14 miles away down the M6 …always a pass.
M-m
Try here:
Most cars are listed with their model specific limits.
This will not cover a Imported car built for another countries regs and importing in, and should be checked correct because of that,Don’t be bullsh*ted by MOT testers that are not aware of this, plus a 1.6 Eunos can run without the cat up to 1992.
M-m
The OP stated that it is a '97, UK car.
I know.
M-m
Tom,
Your post echoes my own experience about MOT (mk1 eunos) and failures on Lamda readings. Except my MOT was at Halfords in Bognor.
My reaction was to drive over to Snows (main Mazda dealer just off the A27). They did a lamda test and it was ok, telling me that it had to be really hot to get the correct reading. Took back to Halfords and it passed.
MOT at Snows next year!!
Thanks all. I’ve checked all the vacuum lines and can’t find any kind of leak so looks like I just need to give it a good run before I go back. I’ve finally finished doing the lower ball joints which were also flagged up on the MOT so I’ll give them a call tomorrow about a partial retest.
That’s the reason i will never use a Kwik fit centre like Halfords or any body else. They will rip you off if they can. The more work they can get the more they get in a bonus.
Interesting to still hear this mistrust, we took a car into Halfords years ago and they replaced the discs and the pads when originally it was only in for pads. When I asked them to show me the original discs to prove they needed changing they had miraculously disappeared. As with you that stopped me using them ever again. Trust is everything in the car game
Whilst not on topic slating Halfords, recently I had to send one of our NHS vehicle’s (stickered up to reflect this) in for first Mot and service, when it returned two days later I asked the driver who returned it what had been done he seemed very cagey and sort of said its on your paperwork.
I got on to the lease company to see what had been invoiced, supposedly we had an mot that failed then passed due to headlights low rectified by turning the height adjuster in the cabin, next we had oil and filter change, Fuel filter change, air filter, pollen filter and brake fluid change.
None of this had been done maybe the oil but no filters and definitely no brake fluid change.
I wont bore you with the excuses from halfords or the disinterest from the lease company who pay the bill!
God knows how many times a day they pull this scam.
Morale of story if they are prepared to scam the NHS normal joe has no chance.
Had a very similar experience with Halfords when I went for a wheel alignment. I bought some replacement alignment bolts just in case one snapped during adjustment. I clearly said to only replace if they snap and keep the snapped ones for evidence. When I collected they had used all the replacements and has apparently binned the broken ones. They also said their wheel alignment machine did not print out the results so I have no evidence it was aligned properly. I argued but never got anywhere. Would never use them again and see where they get their reputation.
So went for a the second test today and unfortunately it failed again. Took it in red hot and fair play to the guy at ATS, he really tried to get it to pass but couldn’t get the CO down the value needed.
Any more ideas? Spark plugs were last done in April 2021 but have probably only done 4000 miles, worth changing? An aftermarket CAT was fitted last year and a few months later I discovered the lambda was dead. Any chance this could have killed the CAT?
