MOT accessibility to inspect underside.

Sonicboom

Active Member
Dec 3, 2019
39
3
My Drive: Seat Ibiza 1.5 evo

Just wondering with limited time to carry out lets face it. An ever expanding and complicated MOT test. How is the underside accessible? As It is coved completely in flat black plastic covers.

OI understand there are many reasons for this. Such as underside corrosion protection from stones and salt water spray, fuel saving, Maybe some sound deadening. Seems a better idea than underseal. Which has many drawbacks and problems

I have not looked how these panels are fixed on? I take it is with many toque screws? So how will the MOT tester be able to do their customary poking around for rust and hammering with their rubber hammer. Which seems to do more damage than what they are actually trying to find? I am sure that they will not refit this back properly. Also what happens if the screw heads get full of mud and crud. Also corrode into place as the years progress.

It will be interesting to see how the Ibiza stands up to corrosion? As VW products seem to be pretty good on the whole. I have had experience with a few rust bucket Fords. Maybe these covers will help. Or maybe they will make situation worse with water, salt and road dirt traps. Not letting the air dry the underside out quickly.
 

Sonicboom

Active Member
Dec 3, 2019
39
3
Thanks for your reply Martin. Quite a surprising approach, due to the fact these covers could be hiding a of of structural corrosion issues further down the line. Maybe jacking points or seat belt anchor points. Or even just the floor pan rusted thin over time?

The reason I posted this was I watched an MOT on an old car of mine. A Ford Puma. The MOT tester certainly did not miss a thing with his lead light and hammer, even had a poke around with what looked like a screwdriver? The underside inspection was very through.
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
I think that you will find that these two side covers at least are secured using threaded nuts which someone has taken off and managed to refit using the original nuts - in preparation of taking them off my wife's 2015 Polo, I've bought a few spare nuts just in case. The reason why I plan to take these covers off is, road dirt/grit ends up in there and can build up and when it keeps moist is not good very the metal around it, after cleaning them and the underside up I will refit these two side covers.
 

Legojon

I only wanted a remap
Staff member
Moderator
Jul 7, 2015
5,284
2,713
The tester will not remove these covers, they inspect what is visible.

Ah, so that would explain why sometimes on the advisory it says "underbody cover in place". I always wondered why that was a cause for concern. I guess it was just the garage covering themselves cause they hadn't inspected underneath.
 

Sonicboom

Active Member
Dec 3, 2019
39
3
yep, they cannot/should not dismantle anything.
thus side skirts can also hide a corroded sill..[/QUOTE

Thanks Andycupra for your reply and clearing that point up.. Shame we can't cover everything up then, and that would be the MOT sorted. : ) lol!
 

Sonicboom

Active Member
Dec 3, 2019
39
3
I think that you will find that these two side covers at least are secured using threaded nuts which someone has taken off and managed to refit using the original nuts - in preparation of taking them off my wife's 2015 Polo, I've bought a few spare nuts just in case. The reason why I plan to take these covers off is, road dirt/grit ends up in there and can build up and when it keeps moist is not good very the metal around it, after cleaning them and the underside up I will refit these two side covers.

Thanks for your reply. I do remember working on a friends Citroen DS3. It had these stupid plastic troughs each sid attached to the sills.. They used to get ripped of the sills over speed bumps. They where held on with about ten plastic clips. There where lots of big strange shape locating the sills. However my point being they where hollow next to the sill. I emptied out about three pounds of sodden wet road dirt from each one. This mud had blocked the little drain holes. This would never dry out. Not good at all by a vulnerable and hard to repair, structural part of the car. Talk about a silly design feature.
 
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