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You can fail an MOT for a variety of reasons, with some being more obvious than others. An MOT is designed to test the overall roadworthiness of your vehicle, so it’s not simply limited to checking the condition of your tyres or your engine.
A windscreen chip or crack on your windscreen can, depending on various factors, have an impact on your MOT result. In this article, we’re looking at exactly what a cracked windscreen means for your annual check up, as well as taking a look at how damage to side windows and wing mirrors can have an effect.
Taking a car with a cracked windscreen in for an MOT can quite easily result in a failure. There are two deciding factors when it comes to assessing a cracked windscreen during an MOT:
If the damage is located in the driver’s line of vision, you are likely to fail your MOT. Larger chips and cracks in other areas of the windscreen won’t pass. So, if there is a damage of 40mm in size anywhere on your windscreen, this will cause an immediate MOT failure.
Worried about your cracked windscreen and how it will affect your upcoming MOT?
For an MOT, your windscreen is divided into zones. These zones have separate regulations for chips and cracks.
Zone A refers to the section of the windscreen directly in front of the driver. The centre of this zone is located above the steering wheel. You will fail your MOT if there are any chips or cracks present in this area measuring over 10mm in diameter.
The rest of the windscreen is labelled as Zone B. As a rule, if there is damage measuring over 40mm in diameter anywhere else on the windscreen, you will fail your MOT. The key difference between the two zones is the location. Small chips in the driver’s line of view can limit visibility, posing a serious driving hazard, which is less of an issue elsewhere on the windscreen.
While chips in Zone B might not constitute a fail, they will be noted by your tester. Even the smallest chips can quickly develop into something more serious, so it’s always recommended to have a small chip or crack repaired as soon as possible.
A cracked windscreen isn’t the only thing your tester will be on the lookout for. An MOT also takes into account the condition of your windscreen wipers.
If your wipers have come loose, are damaged, or do not work to an effective standard, then you will fail your MOT.
Windscreen wipers play a vital role in road safety; they keep the windscreen clear from obstruction. If they are unable to do this properly, even the shortest drive can be dangerous to undertake.
One thing that is easy to forget about is your windscreen washer fluid. The washers work with your wipers to keep your windscreen clean and clear from debris. You will fail an MOT if there isn’t enough washer fluid, or if the nozzles are blocked or impeded.
Your wipers and washers will be tested during an MOT, so it’s definitely worth checking both beforehand. They are among the easiest parts of your car to fix yourself, so make sure to have any problems resolved before your MOT. This could be as simple as replacing your wipers or topping up your washer fluid – well worth the minimal time and effort!
During an MOT test, it is up to the tester to check that all rear-view mirrors – which includes both external side mirrors and your internal rear-view mirrors – offer a clear view of your vehicle and the road behind you. Ultimately, this means that a cracked wing mirror could cause you to fail your MOT, but only if it was so severe that it meant you couldn’t properly see behind you.
With this in mind, if you are at all uncertain whether your wing mirror would fail your MOT, it’s best to be on the safe side and get it fixed before the test! This will save you having to rebook it!
One of the most important aspects of any MOT inspection is ensuring that the driver has a clear field of view. While the windscreen is certainly the most important area to focus on here, the front side windows are also important sources of visual information for the driver, which is why a heavily cracked or scratched front window could land you with a fail if you’re not careful. In most cases, you will be fine, since these are fairly large windows and the driver doesn’t need to rely on them all that often, but it probably isn’t worth taking the risk, so if you have a crack in either of your front windows, get it fixed beforehand!
Given that the rear side windows don’t really benefit the driver in terms of visual information, the state of these windows won’t have any bearing on your MOT score. It doesn’t hurt to keep them looking nice anyway though!
So, to recap, let’s take a look at some of the things that you need to do about your windows and mirrors before your MOT test.
1st Call Windscreens offer a 24 hour windscreen repair service to drivers throughout Maidstone, Sittingbourne & the rest of Kent. Our experienced team are on hand to repair windscreens for all kinds of vehicles, and we can also replace your windscreen if the damage is too significant. To find out more about our windscreen repair services, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team today.
we are very happy with the repairs carried out and the speed of the response. Great job, would recommend !st Call Windscreens any time....
- 3 days ago
Excellent service. A niggling leak on the windscreen was fixed quickly and efficiently. The screen was removed without fuss or damage and resealed. It's a job that insurers won't touch,they only de...
- 2 weeks ago
Discovered my Volvo V50 was not sealing at the top. Autoglass wanted to replace it for £700, called 1st Call and they removed and resealed it for £100+vat and said that if it had broken it would only ...
- 3 weeks ago
Absolutely the best. From the first phone call to collecting my car with new side window that had been vandalised being replaced. next day service so my car was back on the road promptly. Extremely ...
- 1 month ago
Excellent Workmanship Good Value and Top Quality Customer Service: I recently had my Ford Fiesta ST heated windscreen replaced by 1st Call Windscreens, I couldn't be happier with the whole experienc...
- 2 months ago
Brilliant service. Would recommend 1st call windscreens to anyone looking for an efficient service. Friendly and helpful above and beyond ! 0...
- 2 months ago
Asked for a quote online which came through quickly. Just £48 inc vat for windscreen stone chip. Phoned to book a repair. I could either take the car to them or they would come out to me the next day....
- 3 months ago
Tom turned up on time, he was professional but friendly, he kept me informed on what he was doing and progress, and did a great job! Thanks Tom. Would highly recommend...
- 3 months ago
I needed my windscreen replaced due to a large crack; I was booked in straight away and I couldn’t be happier. They came to my house to fit the replacement, only took them about 20 minutes and they ev...
- 4 months ago
Couldn't be happier, had my Evoque windscreen re sealed as was leaking. Highly recommend 1st Call Windscreens. The guys were extremely helpful & friendly both on phone and doing the work. The work was...
- 4 months ago
Fantastic service, booked for a site visit to alleviate any disruption to the engineers day and it all went seamlessly. I would definitely recommend 1st Call Windscreens and will use them in the futu...
- 4 months ago
Customer service were great responded to my call out vey quickly and the guy that came out was very nice and helpful Thank you...
- 5 months ago
Had my chip fixed at my home this afternoon - cannot praise the service enough!!!! Lovely man who took 10-15 minutes - perfect job and no issues - very good price and highly recommend them Jo Seveno...
- 6 months ago
Very helpful and carried out a repair at very short notice on our way to catch a ferry. Very polite and stabilised the chip in our windscreen so that we could continue abroad for our holiday uninterru...
- 6 months ago
Made a call to 1st call windscreens as I was worried about a chip in my screen. The guys were very helpful, turned up on time and carried out a fantastic repair and was cheaperthan my insurance acce...
- 7 months ago
We had an emergency windscreen repair needed when travelling down from Oxfordshire to Kent. The Sittingbourne team went out of their way to help us at very short notice and allowing us to resume our j...
- 7 months ago
Jake was friendly, polite and helpful. He left no mess inside or outside the car and took away the boxes the seals came in even though they were supplied direct by the BMW dealer....
- 7 months ago
Arrived on time at my home address. Was very professional, polite and efficient. No hassle and no mess. Screen was replaced on my mini in no time at all and looks perfect. Thank you will highly recom...
- 7 months ago
So happy with Byron and Jake today very friendly and professional from 1st Call Windscreens Ltd. They come extremely well prepared with attention to detail. A great job was done on replacing my wind...
- 8 months ago
1st Call windscreens are absolutely 1st class. Spoke with David on the phone and he was so helpful and knowledgeable. Took our car up to them to advise on the correct windscreens which embarrassingl...
- 8 months ago
George west from 1st call windscreens Ltd was quite friendly and managed to do a fantastic job on my stone CHIP WINDSCREEN....
- 8 months ago
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