I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Emissions testing
Just like to check my sanity here, L reg car originally registered December 1993, V5 states April 96 as import date.
Failed emissions on high CO fast idle test , CO limit 0.20%, reading was 1.5%.
From what ive read it should be tested on an earlier car with the CO limit being 3.5%.
Before i go off to discuss with the tester do you think im right?
Just let me know if you require any more info.
Your understanding sounds correct to me. The tester won’t be able to find an exact match in the vehicle exhaust emissions database so it should revert to a non-cat test.
Have you looked here? :Vehicle exhaust emission standards - GOV.UK
If you then open the included PDF file, you should find whether your car is included on page 114 under the various MX5 variants listed as fitted with an ‘advanced emission control system’
C & U Regulations para. 3 (3) would indicate it should be tested as first used December 1993.
That’s all I can provide, but more experienced members will likely give you a more instant and definitive answer.
Thanks all, looking at the documents it is being tested wrong but im not looking forward at trying to convince him.
Pita when you have to tell someone their job.
Could have cost hundreds in rectification work which worries me.
Now we look up the relevant section for our car and it shows only fuel injected Minis listed so our car is NOT listed so reverts to the emissions shown.
A personal import car must be tested according to its date of first use. If you go to Check if a vehicle is taxed - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and search for your car you should find it gives the date of first registration (presumably in Japan) and the date of first registration with DVLA. Print this out as evidence that the car was “first used” in 1993.
Just to put this to bed i had no luck with the tester even though a chat with DVSA confirmed most of the above. They referred me to this flowchart.
Going to take it somewhere else but have a good chat with them first.
The V5 for my Roadster shows date of first registration as 1998 and first UK registration as 2006. The DVLA website matches this. In addition at the bottom of the V5 front page, under “special notes” it has a note that states the car was “registered overseas, declared manufactured 1998” and SVA/VA cert issued in 2006.
Does your V5 have something similar?
So are you saying they are testing the car as being first used in 1996 even though it is L reg?
Do you have paperwork/evidence it was manufactured in 1994? If so it’s hard to see what they are arguing about apart from maybe they don’t like being proved wrong.
Good luck.
It appears to be the same as our Mini and should be a none cat test.
The easiest is to go to another test station and make some enquiries prior to committing to the test.
But having said that, it appears that the original test station is wrong and is digging their heels so may be a letter to DVLA explaining your point of view is in order.
I do feel for you on this, hopefully good fortune will be yours shortly.
So you have a “personal import” vehicle ( Eunos Roadster, not a Mazda MX-5), documented as first used/registered in 1993 in the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) and first registered in the UK in 1998.
The flowchart will therefore take you down to the bottom-left box as first use is before 1 Aug 95 and you will not find a an exact VIN match in the database as JDM cars have completely different codes.
Your car, having failed the initial general test, should then have been re-assessed against non-cat CO<=3.5%
If your tester will not accept this then see Appeal an MOT test result - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Thanks, ive decided to use another test station but will make it clear before it goes in about the previous problems.
Ive no desire to appeal but part of me thinks i should really as its pure incompetence.
I don’t know if this would help seeing that you live in Newport, but whenever I take a car to test I take it onto the motorway (limit 70 where I live) making sure the car is hot, I run it close to the red line in 3rd gear, the car gets a great clean out. then straight to the MOT garage for it’s MOT test with a piping hot engine.
My old 1999 v70 loved it, and always fell well within the limits even though the clouds of smoke coming out the back of it at my first acceleration would have made Dastardly and Mutely blush.
I think in Wales now many cars will fail the emissions tests owing to the numpty limits imposed everywhere (another debate perhaps?)
good luck with yours
