NCT fail [brake]

oceanblue

My car failed the NCT because the "Brake Wheel Units(51)" are "defective/sticking".


I had my car serviced last week and was surprised that it failed on this.


I called to the mechanic and he read the report and overall indicated that it was due to the the NCT tester and it being a money making racket and that sort of thing. He couldn't see anything wrong with it and thought the brake test results(e.g.results for ovality, imbalance) were great.

He didn't do a thorough check just then, just sat it and tested the brakes that way. He suspected it just need to be driven to loosen it up and moving the handbrake a bit. I am to bring it in another day so he'll lift it up to have a look but maybe a cable or soemthing has fallen since it was serviced.

I was confused after this and did not feel confident about this response.


Afterwards I got clarification on what the issue is. The car failed as when the car was lifted, a rear wheel would not turn freely when spun around. The brake is tight against the wheel. (which could cause brake problems on long journeys)


Anyway I am surprised to have this issue after the car is serviced and would have thought this is a basic thing to have right.


I know a service isn't a gaurantee of an NCT pass, but would this be something basic to have working correctly after a service?

(The response I got from the mechanic when I showed him the NCT report did not fill me with confidence in him)

biko

oceanblue wrote: »

The car failed as when the car was lifted, a rear wheel would not turn freely when spun around. The brake is tight against the wheel.

During a normal service the mech might not check this so that could be it. Brakes can also be sticky one day and fine the next, depending on the reason.
Thanks to NCT your brakes will work better now and your mpg will go up

oceanblue

Yeah I actually felt it was good that the NCT found this problem. I think it could actually cause the brakes to not work properly on a long journey(this is what I understand anyway). It seems the brake is against the wheel so would not spin freely.

Maybe it's not part of check in a car service...I guess I just had the expectation. I wasn't sure about it.

dingding

Had this problem years ago. You were lucky because in my case the heat of the breaks was transferred to the brake fluid which boiled causing the brakes to fail.

oceanblue

Thanks for the replies.

I brought it to the mechanic and he checked it and says there's no issue and that it isn't unusual for a wheel to stick a little. He can't understand why they'd failed it. My handbrake was tightened during the service and a cable that was tightened had moved a little, which would loosen up after a while anyway. He confirmed the brake wasn't against the wheel.

So I got the handbrake loosened for the re-test.

What a confusing experience...

nct tester

Op, you hardly drive a fiat seicento do you??

dgt

nct tester wrote: »

Op, you hardly drive a fiat seicento do you??

Been there done that. These seize, leaving a very powerful handbrake or locked on


New ones are cheap, a bit fiddly to fit but far from difficult

oceanblue

nct tester wrote: »

Op, you hardly drive a fiat seicento do you??

No, I'm not sure what you're point is there..

biko

He is asking what car you have, is it a Fiat or a Micra?

oceanblue

He didn't ask what car I drive or if it was a Fiat or a Micra.(I can confirm it's neither!) He asked if it was a fiat seicento and the question came across to me as a little ambiguous(maybe that it isn't a serious question) and I don't understand the response by dgt either...So I don't understand the point they are making..Maybe it's some humour between them. Maybe I just couldn't follow it.

I'd say only the actual poster can really clarify what his point was, but I don't think it matters now really as I've booked that retest I mentioned and I'm not going to think too much more about it.

JohnBoy26

oceanblue wrote: »

He didn't ask what car I drive or if it was a Fiat or a Micra.(I can confirm it's neither!) He asked if it was a fiat seicento and the question came across to me as a little ambiguous(maybe that it isn't a serious question) and I don't understand the response by dgt either...So I don't understand the point they are making..Maybe it's some humour between them. Maybe I just couldn't follow it.

I'd say only the actual poster can really clarify what his point was, but I don't think it matters now really as I've booked that retest I mentioned and I'm not going to think too much more about it.

To be perfectly honest with you, without knowing the make/model of your car no one can offer any proper advice as all cars have different brake systems.

I however fail to see the point your mechanic was trying to make about it being down to the tester and that it's just a money racket. The brakes are tested on rollers and the results are sent to the computer which determines weather the brakes have passed or failed, the tester has no real control over it.

As for it being a money racket I have to disagree as brakes not working properly is a major safety issue and could mean the difference between life and death in the event of an accident. For the sake of a few quid it will pay to have them working properly.

Did your mechanic do any work on them for the retest?

oceanblue

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

To be perfectly honest with you, without knowing the make/model of your car no one can offer any proper advice as all cars have different brake systems.

I however fail to see the point your mechanic was trying to make about it being down to the tester and that it's just a money racket. The brakes are tested on rollers and the results are sent to the computer which determines weather the brakes have passed or failed, the tester has no real control over it.

As for it being a money racket I have to disagree as brakes not working properly is a major safety issue and could mean the difference between life and death in the event of an accident. For the sake of a few quid it will pay to have them working properly.

Did your mechanic do any work on them for the retest?

Hi, it's a Yaris. It passed the computerised part of the brake test. It failed on the visual/manual check where the tester spins the wheel with his hand to check it moves freely. The wheel was 'sticky'.

The mechanic adjusted the handbrake so it's less tight now. He had tightened it as part of the service. He confirmed the brake wasn't against the wheel and there wasn't an issue, just one of the cables had moved a little and would just have loosened up a bit after the service. It wasn't that unusual.

I agree it's definately important to have brakes working correctly, but after talking to the mechanic he said there was nothing to be fixed! Anyway I'll bring it back for the retest and the mechanic will double check the wheels spin freely before I go the centre. It will need to go through the entire brake test again so I guess I can be assured everything is OK.

It was just confusing for me at the time as there were conflicting opinions from the NCT centre and the mechanic.

wailim_2002

oceanblue wrote: »

Hi, it's a Yaris. It passed the computerised part of the brake test. It failed on the visual/manual check where the tester spins the wheel with his hand to check it moves freely. The wheel was 'sticky'.

The mechanic adjusted the handbrake so it's less tight now. He had tightened it as part of the service. He confirmed the brake wasn't against the wheel and there wasn't an issue, just one of the cables had moved a little and would just have loosened up a bit after the service. It wasn't that unusual.

I agree it's definately important to have brakes working correctly, but after talking to the mechanic he said there was nothing to be fixed! Anyway I'll bring it back for the retest and the mechanic will double check the wheels spin freely before I go the centre. It will need to go through the entire brake test again so I guess I can be assured everything is OK.

It was just confusing for me at the time as there were conflicting opinions from the NCT centre and the mechanic.

hi i do my own servicing for 20 years now and this happened to me last week.

i saw the lifting pads were catching more than the sill jacking point. on the driver side they were lifting the handbrake cable and petrol tank! i could not see the passenger side.

anyway at home i jacked both sides up and both moved freely. if i pushed the cables up.... presto... the wheels stuck.

i would say in many cases this is the problem. in some cases its actually binding brakes but usually binding brakes mean the mechanical effort is measured lower too and you fail that way.

today on my retest... i will take a video and if they do that again i will suggest they have damaged my brake cables and petrol tank!