Club 80-90 Forums

Do you have to have a working odemetor to pass and MoT. My works van just came back from its MoT having past with a none functioning one. Is that legal?

Its not a testable item, class 4 anyway. It ok for MOT don't know if its legal or not.

pretty sure its a legal requirement to have some method of guaging speed. nowt to do with mot though.

dont need the od working for mot no

..lee.. wrote:pretty sure its a legal requirement to have some method of guaging speed. nowt to do with mot though.

An odometer is for distance travelled not speed, that's why we have a speedometer for speed

The fix is relatively easy though anyway. Been mentioned here a few times that one of the gears on the odometer shaft works its way along until it no longer has any drive. Touch of loctite will sort it.

Mot testers barely drive the vehicle being tested,normally just driving the vehicle onto a ramp so they cant really check the speedo

My van has the same odo. reading since i got it over 4 years ago i fixed it once got 7 miles and it broke again !

They have to write down the ODO reading on the MOT, so they need to be able to see/read it. Therefore the speedo/odo needs to be visable but testing its operation isn't part of the MOT. I know someone who's passed an MOT in an old landy by ducktaping a random speedo to the dashbord, no bother with a drive cable or anything like that. Tester laffed about it but said there wasn't anything he could really fail it for, though maybe he could have done if its fitment looked suspect (it did, was a rural garage - he'd also taped up all the lights and removed the windscreen to get a daytime running only MOT, as the truck was such a shed wipers and lights would be too much work!). Don't even think if they notice you've traveled zero miles between tickets they can fail it, they might comment, but more like out of amusment. As your ment to have a working and within tolorance limits speedo/odo to have a post 1932 or whatever vehicle on the road don't expect the fact its broken to get you off a speeding fine though, even if no one ever tests their acuracy/operation.

If your on limited mileage insurance though they will insist you have a working odo as part of your polocy - if they find it broken and the MOTs conferm it hasn't been counting (remember its all computerised so they can have a look without much effort!) since its last test or declaration, you'll be in trouble!

The van in question is my works van (x-reg fiat scudo) as it has a digital Odometor it not only does not work it has no visable numbers. Oh and the speedo works from time to time but often sticks and starts again from where it stuck last. Looks interesting when your parked and still doing over a ton!

ajp wrote:The van in question is my works van (x-reg fiat scudo) as it has a digital Odometor it not only does not work it has no visable numbers. Oh and the speedo works from time to time but often sticks and starts again from where it stuck last. Looks interesting when your parked and still doing over a ton!

Mate of mine had a car like that, perhaps unsurprisingly it was a fiat aswell. Come to think of it he must of MOT'd that and I'm not sure they'd have bothered with the bicycle speedo he had rigged up. Maybe it got tested on one of its good days (probubly not) so maybe its optional. Must be quite a few digital cars out there without numbers on. A mate borrowed a 58 plate transit this weekend and we couldn't work out how to get the odo on screen on that! Trip computer yes, but the basic stuff ??? if everything is that random now your average any make MOT place is gonna have fun soon!

Oldiebut goodie wrote:

..lee.. wrote:pretty sure its a legal requirement to have some method of guaging speed. nowt to do with mot though.

An odometer is for distance travelled not speed, that's why we have a speedometer for speed

this week i`ll be mainly learning reading

lee.