Lancia Motor Club

First time I ever made a post on the Forum, and I have been rude about it in Much Ado, so I suppose I should be ostracized. Here goes anyway.
Has the LMC looked into the new MOT regulations that came into force 1st January 2012? There are a lot of very stringent new tests, and in particular it does appear that remapped ECUs will fail. Could be a problem for you Evo guys. Also air bags, but I'm not sure how they can be tested.
The Abarth Forum has some useful stuff.

Nigel Hargreaves

I had a car MOT yesterday and I was speaking to my friendly MOT tester about this. Apparently the extra items should be tested as of the 1st of January but don't actually come into effect until the 1st of April. Between now and then there will only be advisories for the 'new' tests.

I can't see why remapped ECUs will be a problem. Most of the extra or new tests are things which I thought were already tested. All dust covers (e.g. for ball joints) must not be split. Inner CV boots will be tested (apparently before was only the outer ones  ???). Batteries must be secure and MOT testers are advised to remove any battery covers to check but only if no tools are required to remove the covers. Power steering pipes will be checked for damage and/or leaks. Instrument cluster lights must work; that's both the illumination lights as well as warning lights. Years ago a friend's BMW failed the MOT because his speedo illumination was not working and I had a car fail because the ABS light was on. But now SRS or seat belt warning lights will be checked and even traction control switches and lights will be tested. Seems to be a case of "if it's there it should work" which makes sense really. Mind you I might change my mind when I take one of my oldies for an MOT test in a couple of weeks.

Hi, I should probably say that the airbag test will only be to check to see if the light comes on and goes off as it should.

A lot of "faults" will be advisory for the first
3 months. Air bags will not be tested per se,
however the warning light must go on and off
as prescribed.

All safety related warning lights must operate
correctly.

ECU will not be individually  tested but obviously
the emissions will be monitored at various points.
Hid's although not illegal must have the correct
pattern and possibly self-levelling/cleaning

Hi Nigel,
I'm down your way tomorrow, breeze vw in poole, bought two golfs from them and got to get them back, if i've got time and you're in i'll pop round.
oh, got my brakes back, are yours ok? i've not fitted mine yet, £200 for all four!

Nice, thanks for a heads up on this.
My Evo is completely standard - my only worry is going to be the instrument light where (usually) one isn't working till it's been tapped :)