MOT history

vanman1960

New Member
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Would anyone be concerned by this MOT history. Van is 2018 and first MOTs were a pass. I'm a little suspicious about a broken spring and thin brake pads at only 42K? Can a modern engine be clocked?
 
Broken springs = common and been rectified (would probably check both had been replaced!)
Front Oil Leak = probably crank case oil seal, known issue, mine was the same. Now MOT item and unlikely to be excessive. expensive repair though
Rear brake wearing thin .... just a warning to monitor. mine was about the same at that mileage, probably did another 10k before I eventually replace disks and pads all round, not expensive hit and classed as consumables

remember these are not fails just "keep and eye on things going forward" or attend to now if you can

I find MOT testers are listing more in this area now to probably a) protect themselves and b) also good for the customer as not a fail but consequential good advice

I wouldn't be too concerned unless there is other wear and tear that suggests space ship mileage.
 
Springs can break at any time I guess and I don't think it'd be unusual for worn pads at 42k miles - especially as the amount of wear only warranted an advisory, not a fail.

I'd be more concerned if those advisories were still present now, 6 months after the MOT. That would indicate to me a less than ideal level of maintenance and that the owner couldn't be bothered to adequately prep the van for sale.
 
I'd be more concerned if those advisories were still present now, 6 months after the MOT. That would indicate to me a less than ideal level of maintenance and that the owner couldn't be bothered to adequately prep the van for sale.
I agree with this. I don't like to see advisories appear on subsequent MOTs.
 
My 2018 van is on 49k and had the (original) rear pads (and discs) replaced a few thousand miles ago, so that's pretty bang on with expected mileage.

Other things, all fine from my eyes - a broken spring can be hard to see sometimes, depending where it's broken.
 
I had a rear spring break at 37k miles. I suspect they have a harder time with the extra conversion weight.
 
On all 3 of my Transporters rear brakes have worn faster than front so wearing think at 42k is plausible. Easy to check, tester might just be covering themselves/incentivised to change them.
Coilsprings snap surprisingly often now days. Nothing too concerning there.
Oil leak, most likely crank oil seal. Lot's of info on here. Mine weeps a bit. If not excessive not something that would concern me. Again easy to visually check if excessive and needs rectification urgently.

In regards to mileage correction yes surprising easy. The tool to do this vehicle is under £200, readily available and easy to use. If it's a DSG auto then that has a separate TCU which is hard/more specialised so a thorough scan will show if ECU and TCU match (there should be around 3-5k miles difference in values for these).
 
Just to add, my front discs and pads were changed by the previous owner about 20k miles ago (around 30k). Generally fronts tend to wear more than rears, but it depends on the use. Lots of town use in a heavy van would mean heavy front wear. Lots of motorway miles with adaptive cruise control, which I think uses the rear brakes more, will mean more rear wear.
 
Not sure it applies to a Transporter, but on previous cars I've known the rears to wear down quite quick due to the ESP.

Or in some cases, the pads aren't up to the job and therefore wear down quick.

I've done a set of rear pads on a trackday before.
 
Not sure it applies to a Transporter, but on previous cars I've known the rears to wear down quite quick due to the ESP.
Indeed. On many cars (I know Mini, for example, do this), particularly FWD vehicles, the system will apply a slight degree of braking to the rear under certain conditions to stabilise the vehicle.

It's completely unobtrusive and the driver won't be aware of the intervention, but it is why rear brake pads often don't last Aeons like they used to and often don't run that far behind the fronts for wear.
 
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