Has anyone had an experience like this? I took my 3-years-old Citroen Berlingo Multispace HDi in for its first MOT at a garage here in Easter Ross the other day. At the conclusion, the workshop foreman came over and said, "The vehicle's absolutely fine except it's a little smokey and needs a good clear-out to get through the emissions test. We can put an additive in and take it for a test run, it'll take about 15 minutes." I happened to be pushed for time and didn't ask to see the test sheet there and then.
Instead of a £40+ bill I was given one for £70+ which included a quarter of an hour's time for the mechanic plus £10 for the additive.
I don't want to believe the worst about the garage but since I'd driven the vehicle at 4000 rpm in second for around three minutes on the way in specifically to blow out any carbon and dirt, and I always use Miller's diesel additive, I am suspicious.
Has anyone else, especially up in this part of the world, been told the same thing and paid out a lot more for their MOT than they expected? Or is this quite a common occurrence and therefore above suspicion? I'd like to think the latter is true.
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I have never had any of my diesels fail the emissions test, and I am talking of about 25 tests (with diesels).
Like you did, I get them up to running temp give them a good thrashing for a couple of miles i.e. from normal revs, into 2nd gear and put the throttle to the boards, and let the engine rev to near maximum revs, and repeat this a few times.
I suppose that without the readout you can only speculate whether the garage was being genuine or not. I also try at least once a week to give the engine one or two rev outs as described above, although I'm not sure if this makes any difference when it comes to the emissions test.
Next year ask to see the readout if it happens again, and you could inform them that you had already done the pre MOT thrash, and ask them why their thrash would be better than yours?
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60mph in third gear for a few miles on the way to the MOT test centre always seems to do the trick for my 306 1.9TD. Never even used Redex on the last MOT, like I usually do and it still passed. Thats with an engine with 150k on at the time of the test.
Martin
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I was on the black isle last year
what a small nice place
I give the garage 100/100 for doing what he did but with the best will in the world garages are dammed if they do and dammed if they dont.what if you started a thread saying my garage didnt take the initiative and take my car for a quick blast so it didnt fail the mot as they only needed to charge an extra 15 minutes labour to do it plus a tin of accepted injector cleaner.
I do my own diesel testing before i take them for an mot and i can assure you every car is different irrespective of year/mileage/owner,however on my diesels i only use branded fuel not cheap local rubbish while im buying my taties.
hope this helps?
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In my experience no additives are needed at all, It just needs to be really hot and driven in 3rd or second at the limiter prior to the test. I usually do it on dual carriage ways/motorway around here.
I do a sort of loop up and down the motorway sliproads holding it for a minute or so against the limiter and after 20 or so sessions over half an hour it really is a clean exhaust when held against the limiter, Its surprising how it cleans up.
The other thing is the exhaust already needs to be really hot prior to this as its soot burning out of the exhaust thats causing the problem.
IMHO garages love to sell cleaner to put in the tank and I think some of them actually really believe its needed.
But its full throttle against the limiter and the consequent tongue of flame and heat, down an already maximum heat saturated exhaust, that cleans it up.
Regards
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