Driving test - Exhaust emission warning light

Decimator

Hi all,

I own an 02 Polo, and have my driving test Monday. A few weeks back, the Exhaust Emission Warning Light appeared on the dash for an afternoon, but disappeared again the next day. I thought nothing more of it, until it appeared again last weekend, staying on for a couple of days.

I brought it in to a mechanic, who checked the diagnostics, and cleared a couple of minor stored faults. According to him, it was an intermittent thing, and nothing to be worried about.

It's appeared again today. I'm going to bring the car back to mechanic, to see if he can clear the fault. This light is apparently a common but harmless problem with VW/Audis, that leaves mechanics stumped. I wouldn't be so worried, were it not for the fact that if a warning light is on in your car, the tester will refuse to take you out for the driving test. It's a random thing, so I've no way of knowing whether it's going to come on or not when I go for test.

Anybody have any ideas what I can do? Are testers open to persuasion on this sort of thing at all?

michaelanthony

You should put a strip of black tape over it.

BOSTIK

I wouldn’t take the risk, imagine having to go to the back of the queue again if the tester deemed the car unsuitable. Maybe you could borrow a car that you’re familiar with from a family member.

Or, from the Dell Boy school of advice, maybe you could just remove the warning light bulb for the duration of the test

Tabnabs

I had a similar problem on a Seat car I had. It came on the day of the first NCT for the car. Of course I presumed it would mean an immediate fail. How wrong was I, they didn't even comment on it.

The garage "fixed" it on a number of occasions but eventually admitted that some valve had to be replaced and it would cost hundreds, but not worth doing until I had the cash to spare.

I'd say go for it.

Gregor Samsa

Dyflin wrote:

I had a similar problem on a Seat car I had. It came on the day of the first NCT for the car. Of course I presumed it would mean an immediate fail. How wrong was I, they didn't even comment on it.
...
I'd say go for it.

NCT is different to the driving test, though. The NCT are only concerned with their own tests, not what the dashboard says. A driving tester, however, will abruptly end the test if any warning light comes on. I'm not sure if they're open to persuasion, but I suppose their rational is that if the car is telling you something is wrong wit it, they don't want to be in it in a professional capacity.

I have a Citroen Xsara that suffers from a known issue whereby the Airbag warning light comes on when a connection under the passenger seat comes loose. Of course, someone sitting heavily into the seat is what causes it to come loose in the first place. The most nerve-racking part of the test for me was turning on the engine after the tester first hopped into the car - I would have been gutted had the light come on and he cancelled the whole thing before I even got to get into gear. Fortunately, it didn't happen.

I'd say do what you can to fix/mask the problem before the test (or use another car). You have better things to be worrying about than waiting for a stupid light to go off on your dash in the middle of your test.

Decimator

Well, I'll definitely bring the car in, anyway. I'll go to mechanic before test and get him to clear any faults. That should buy me time. It's a real pain, though. Was waiting 10 months for this test, did a ton of work for it, and now a bloody light appears to scupper it all! Hopefully, it'll work out. Thanks for advice.