Post Three: Vehicle Safety Inspection

This was a simple task to perform. We had to check a car's safety for the road under tutor supervision. It's pretty much doing a WOF inspection, making sure that the vehicle is safe for New Zealand roads. The car we tested was a 1984 Toyota Corolla GT. It did not have a VIN number but it did have a chassis nuber which was AE82-0037061. The car's fuel tyoe was petrol.

First you do an External inspection. Making sure that all your lights are working, checking you windscreen for cracks and chips, checking your doors and hinged panels and your also checking for rust corrosion in structural positions.

External Inspection:
Compliant? Item: Comments:
Yes .Pass. No ….. Direction Ind. Lamps Front …All working good…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Forward Position Lamps …In good working order…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Front Fog Lamps …The vehicle had no front fog lamps…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Direction Ind. Lamps Rear …In working order…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Rearward Position Lamps …In working order…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Stop Lamps …In working order…
Yes .Pass. No ….. High-mounted Stop Lamps …In working order…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Registration Plate Lamps …Only one working but lights up the entire number plate…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Rear Reflectors …In good working condition…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Other Lamps …There were no other lamps…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Windscreen …No chips or cracks on the windscreen…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Other Glazing ……………………………………………………………
Yes .Pass. No ….. Doors and Hinged Panels …All the doors opened and closed smoothly…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Mudguards …Good and secure…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. External Projections …No external projections…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Structure/Corrosion …No corrosion found…

As you can see the external condition of the car was in good condition for the car's age. Even though it only had one number plate light it passes because the one light was enough to light up the entire number plate and it was visible from 20m back. This car passes the external condition inspection.

The second thing we did was inspect the interior condition of this vehicle. Making sure that it is safe for the driver and the passengers.

Internal Inspection:
Compliance? Item: Comments:
Yes .Pass. No ….. Wipers/Operation …In good working condition…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Rear View Mirrors …Showed good vision…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Sun Visors …In good working order, no damage…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Seatbelts …Good condition, no damage to the stiching…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Seatbelt Anchorages …In good condition, no damage or cracks…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Seats & Seat Anchorages …In good condition, no damage…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Head Restraints …Good and secure…
Yes ….. No .Fail. Interior Impact …No roof lining…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Air Bag Self Check …No air bags were fitted in this car…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. ABS Self Check …No ABS fitted to this car…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Audible Warning Device …No audible warning device fitted to this car…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Spare Wheel Security …Spare wheel was secure…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Space Saver Warning Label …N/A…

As you can see this car failed on the interior impact inspection. The car had no roof lining. The whole purpose of a vehicle's interior is to reduce the danger of injury to its occupants. By fitting interior to a vehicle you are reducing the risk of causing serious injury to the driver and passenger. By removing the roof lining the risk of injury to the car's occupants have increased. This is why this car failed on the interior impact inspection. As a result of this it fails internal inspection test.

The next thing we did was check the under body and chassis condition. Make sure that there is no structural damage and that it is safe for the New Zealand roads.

Chassis Underbody:
Compliance? Item: Comments:
Yes .Pass. No ….. Wheels, Hubs & Axels …No damage to wheels or hubs or axels…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Steering Mechanism …No damage or knocking noises…
Yes ….. No .Fail. Suspension Mechanism …All the four shock absorbers were leaking…
Yes ….. No .Fail. Fuel Tank & Fuel Lines …Fuel filler hose not secure…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Cable Linkage …Good condition and secure…
Yes ….. No .Fail. Brake Controls …Front left brake caliper contaminated with CV boot grease…
Yes ….. No .Fail. Lines & Hoses …Front brake lines not secure…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Exhaust System …Secure and no leaks…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Tire Condition …Good condition, no cracks or nails on the tires…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Tire Tread Depth …New tires so all above 1.5mm…
LF …5.. mm RF …5.. mm LR …5.5.. mm RR …5.5.. mm
Yes Pass.. No ….. Towing Connections …No damage or corrosion…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Towing Safety Chain(s) …No safety chains fitted to this vehicle…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Structure/Corrosion …Very minor amounts of surface rust. No corrosion…

As you can see this car fails the under body inspection as well. There are too many things wrong with it. It needs some attention. The front left drive shaft had its CV boots unsecured. This caused the CV grease to go everywhere including on the front left brake caliper. All the shock absorbers were leaking in this vehicle. They need to be replaced. The front brake lines need securing as they have been broken off there mounting points and are hanging freely. The fuel filler hose was not secure, this could cause fuel leaks and hence doesn't pass the inspection. The surface rust on the structure of the car was very minor and small. It can be easily sanded off and is not of any danger to the structures strength. That's why it passes the inspection. Overall this car fails the under body inspection.

The next thing we did was we tested was the brakes of the vehicle. We checked to see if they were working and all tested how off the brake balance was. This test was done on a rolling road machine that the uni had. All we had to do was drive the vehicle on this road, keep it in neutral and engage the brakes as instructed by the tutor.

Road Brake Test:
Compliance? Item: Comments:
Yes .Pass. No ….. Service Brake Readings …All under 20%…
Front …19.. % Rear …4.. % or LF …2.86.. RF …3.55.. LR …1.15.. RR …1.20..
Yes .Pass. No ….. Service Brake Performance …Good for the car's age and brake condition…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Service Brake Balance …In good working condition…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Parking Brake Readings …Good reading under 20%…
…9.. % or LH …1.17.. RH …1.29..
Yes .Pass. No ….. Parking Brake Performance …Good for its age…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Speedometer …Good working condition…

The car passed on all the brake tests but as you can see the frontal brakes need balancing. As per my knowledge this assists the vehicle in braking. Therefore it must be in a good range. This vehicle was close to not passing the test but since all teh readings are under 20% off balance the car passes.

The last thing we did was to inspect the engine bay area. Make sure that everything is secure and all modifications are certed and safe.

Under Bonnet:
Compliance? Item: Comments:
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. A/F System in Working Order …N/A…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. A/F System Cert. Current …N/A…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. A/F System Safe …N/A…
Yes .N/A. No .N/A. Modified Vehicle …No modifications…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Chassis VIN Number …It had a chassis number…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Structure/Corrosion …No corrosion found…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Engine & Drive Train …Good condition and secure…
Yes .Pass. No ….. Fuel System …Good condition and secure…

This was the end of our inspection for this vehicle. Unfortunately the car fails the safety inspection. It needs a fair amount of work done to be able to pass the safety inspection. This car is not safe to be on the road as it can cause a crash and be in danger of other road occupants.