Lude Generation

Hi folks,

So, my Scirocco is booked in for it's MOT at my local Halford's Autocentre or whatever they're called, as it's only £27 for an MOT!! Get a few free checks on the exhaust/brakes/steering etc. thrown in as well which saves me rolling around on the floor for hours (coil overs ).

However, I'm a bit apprehensive to say the least - whilst I'm worried about the whole car in general, there are 2 things bothering me in particular:

Firstly my wash/wipe function only works with the wipers set to 'on'... I found this really unusual, my other similarly aged VW isn't set up like this. I assumed there was a fault with the stalk, as the relay and washer motor are fine. Anyway, I got my spare wiper stalk and plugged it in, and the wash/wipe yet again only works with the wipers on. My only conclusion is that this must be the way the car was designed, however I have absolutely no way of proving this Is it going to be an MOT fail??

The second worry is that I was a bit heavy handed with the rear seat base... It was originally held in by 2 metal tabs that protruded out the front of the bench being screwed onto the chassis. However one of these had snapped off the bench so it was held in by 1 tab. I managed to snap this one off by being a daft kebab and assuming the base was a lift up one so then I had no bench, but the seatbelts and seat back was still there. Not to worry I thought! Remove those and make it a 2 seater... Went to do this and found that the rear seat back was hiding a screw hole that goes to the wheel arch, which has rusted and started to crumble away. I also found a bloody inch of another screw just poking through into the cabin, where a previous idiot owner had decided they'd secure the arch liner themselves So all this leaves me with a dilemma - Do I:

Put the bench base back and try and secure it by the 1 tab remaining, but it still being fairly loose.

Or,

Leave the bench base out, but the back rest and seatbelts in to hide the rust hole near the suspension mount.

Or,

Strip all the rear seats and belts out, revealing my rust hole and huge spike

I guess to sum up, my question is will I fail my MOT with a wash/wipe that only functions with the wipers on, and what should I do about the rear seats to not fail?

Sorry for the wall of text guys, and sorry it's not about a Prelude. I asked on the Scirocco forum but it's dead and nobody ever replies to me cos they're not as cool as you guys

Any advice greatly appreciated

Cheers,
Josh

personally if it was my car i would put the bench back in. Then fit a child seat in the side that is insecure. Then the tester cant check the seat belt and thus keeping him distracted from checking the seat base as they are Not allowed to disturb the child seat. Also as long as sufficient water is sprayed onto the screen to allow it to be cleared it will pass it doesnt need to be an independent operation. Its the same sort of thing as a horn Not working in a steering wheel and a button being fitted to the dash. As long as the tester is told How to operate it, it will pass.

Not sure about the screen wash. According to the testers manual; "reason for failure 3. The windscreen washers do not provide enough liquid to clear the windscreen in conjunction with the wiper(s)"

Doesn't say anything about how the wash is activated apart from it has to be accessible by the driver.

As for the seats it may be better to leave them out depending how insecure they are.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_620.htm

See the first reason for rejection.

honda-hardy wrote:personally if it was my car i would put the bench back in. Then fit a child seat in the side that is insecure. Then the tester cant check the seat belt and thus keeping him distracted from checking the seat base as they are Not allowed to disturb the child seat. Also as long as sufficient water is sprayed onto the screen to allow it to be cleared it will pass it doesnt need to be an independent operation. Its the same sort of thing as a horn Not working in a steering wheel and a button being fitted to the dash. As long as the tester is told How to operate it, it will pass.

Cool, guess I will have to brief the tester on the wash/wipe operation then

As for the bench, I don't have kids so I have no child seats also, the rear seatbelts in my car are retracting lap belts, not 3 point belts, so would a child seat even fit?? I like the idea though, very devious!!

Rocky wrote:Not sure about the screen wash. According to the testers manual; "reason for failure 3. The windscreen washers do not provide enough liquid to clear the windscreen in conjunction with the wiper(s)"

Doesn't say anything about how the wash is activated apart from it has to be accessible by the driver.

As for the seats it may be better to leave them out depending how insecure they are.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_620.htm

See the first reason for rejection.

I forgot to mention my fourth plan - remove all rear bench and belts, use side cutters to shorten the screw and tape a bit of plastic or something over the rust patch. The patch isn't huge, it's just a screw hole that's crumbling, but I'm worried that it's grounds far failure due to it's proximity to the mount for the shock Might just ask if my parents have my brother's car seats still

your only option is to leave them out then. cut off the screw and then fill and paint the complete areas or go to b and q or diy store and get some self adhesive insulation tiles to hide the hole. Its like dinamat but alot cheaper. Edit.. You have partially covered my reply.

honda-hardy wrote:your only option is to leave them out then. cut off the screw and then fill and paint the complete areas or go to b and q or diy store and get some self adhesive insulation tiles to hide the hole. Its like dinamat but alot cheaper. Edit.. You have partially covered my reply.

I didn't think of adhesive insulation!! That's a really good idea if I cover both wheel arches it should look slightly less suspicious too I was going to take the rear bench out after the MOT anyway, I'm holding out for a complete Scala interior anyway as my front seats are wrong. Will give me a chance to retrofit three point Golf Mk2 seatbelts too

If the rust is construed as structual or unsafe for seat belt anchorage it will fail. I have no idea about seat squabs or backs though. Having watched a number of my cars go through MOT's over the years I have never seen any tester wiggle the rear seats just check the belts. If you have any rust holes they will pick them up from underneath the car.
I don't know if it still the case,but it was. If you take your windscreen out you don't need wipers or washers. That is a bit extreme though!

paul bristol uk wrote:If the rust is construed as structual or unsafe for seat belt anchorage it will fail. I have no idea about seat squabs or backs though. Having watched a number of my cars go through MOT's over the years I have never seen any tester wiggle the rear seats just check the belts. If you have any rust holes they will pick them up from underneath the car.
I don't know if it still the case,but it was. If you take your windscreen out you don't need wipers or washers. That is a bit extreme though!

Looking from the outside into the wheel arch, the hole is covered by a plastic liner and the corrosion isn't visible, or at least wasn't when I was looking with a torch. I don't have an MOT ramp though so let's hope they don't see it from a different angle. It needs fixing at some point, but this month I'd rather sort the Prelude out than pay for more bloody welding!

Not sure if I'd fancy driving with no windscreen btw, at least not in this weather

paul bristol uk wrote:If the rust is construed as structual or unsafe for seat belt anchorage it will fail. I have no idea about seat squabs or backs though. Having watched a number of my cars go through MOT's over the years I have never seen any tester wiggle the rear seats just check the belts. If you have any rust holes they will pick them up from underneath the car.
I don't know if it still the case,but it was. If you take your windscreen out you don't need wipers or washers. That is a bit extreme though!

Yup this is true, you don't need wipers or washers if there is another way for the driver to clear his view ie fold down/removable windscreens.