MK6 Fiesta Driver Side Tilt Handle

[Jack K]

Hi everyone,

The driver side tilt handle on my mk6 fiesta has broken, however the cable is still intact and currently I can open it because I've a cable tie that I can pull to therefore pull the cable to tilt the seat like the handle would normally. I am wondering would that be MOT failure (in Northern Ireland) or would it pass? Ps the passenger side seat handle is working as it should. Thanks.

[isetta]

assuming MOT is same in NI as England (I have not checked) then this should not by a MOT failure. As long as the seat catch keeps the seat back in place and it can not go forward unintended (eg. fly forward in a crash) then you are OK.  A lady at work had both the plastic levers broken off for a couple of years and no MOT problem.  She eventually got annoyed with not being to tilt either seat forward so I sorted it by tieing a looped boot lace round the top end of each cable. I did think of using cable ties but I thought it would cut into hand more than boot lace. Been fine for well over a year now. 

[TomsFocus]

It's not an MOT failure .  But I had major issues trying to convince a tester of this...ended up paying for a full MOT elsewhere in the end.  

[Jack K]

Okay Thank you

[zain611]

I thought it was a failure? My car failed for both being broken from looking at the MOT history. 

[TomsFocus]

4 minutes ago, zain611 said:

I thought it was a failure? My car failed for both being broken from looking at the MOT history. 

Nope, the tilt handles aren't part of the test at all.  I even had VOSA confirm this at the time!  Of course, they will test the rear seat belts so they'll notice a broken tilt handle, but it shouldn't be any more than an advisory, most testers won't even advise them.  The seat sliders on the drivers seat need to work and the seat needs to be able to lock in 3 different positions, this is purely for different height drivers to reach the controls safely, it's not for rear passenger safety.  

Out of interest, what was the actual failure point they gave for yours?  Also, if you think about it...both being broken isn't even a safety issue, you couldn't get any rear passengers in there to start with!  

[zain611]

21 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Nope, the tilt handles aren't part of the test at all.  I even had VOSA confirm this at the time!  Of course, they will test the rear seat belts so they'll notice a broken tilt handle, but it shouldn't be any more than an advisory, most testers won't even advise them.  The seat sliders on the drivers seat need to work and the seat needs to be able to lock in 3 different positions, this is purely for different height drivers to reach the controls safely, it's not for rear passenger safety.  

Out of interest, what was the actual failure point they gave for yours?  Also, if you think about it...both being broken isn't even a safety issue, you couldn't get any rear passengers in there to start with!  

This is the failure reasons back in 2016 a year before I bought the car. I don't understand how someone won't know that the lights aren't working. The previous owner had the car for about 6 months strangely and that's about 2 months after the MOT he bought it. He might of been the one that fitted the HIDs 😂. I can't see anything about the latest MOT test on the website which is odd. 

[isetta]

I queried this on this forum a year or two ago because I thought it was a failure. It does mention the seat tilt in the MOT manual and I don't think it is 100% obvious at first reading what it is saying. But the upshot is that the locking mechanism has to lock so the seat back is held upright, it does not have to unlock. so broken in the locked position is fine, broken in unlocked position is failure.

[isetta]

The failure above relates to sliding the seat backwards and forwards, not the seat back tilt. But the MOT tester may have misunderstood the fore and aft wording 

[isetta]

From the MOT manual:

• A driver’s seat:
• with a defective structure   Major
• insecure    Dangerous
•  
• fore and aft adjustment mechanism not working as intended      Major
• seat moving inadvertently or backrest cannot be retained in the upright position       Dangerous
•  
• A passenger seat:
• with a defective structure or the backrest cannot be retained in the upright position   Major
• insecure    Dangerous

 

The failure reasons shown by zain don't make sense as it mentions Nearside drivers seat and offside drivers seat. Of course there is not a drivers seat on both sides of the vehicle. The passenger seat can not be failed on fore and aft adjustment.  It would seem that MOT tester was not too good

[TomsFocus]

1 hour ago, isetta said:

From the MOT manual:

• A driver’s seat:
• with a defective structure   Major
• insecure    Dangerous
•  
• fore and aft adjustment mechanism not working as intended      Major
• seat moving inadvertently or backrest cannot be retained in the upright position       Dangerous
•  
• A passenger seat:
• with a defective structure or the backrest cannot be retained in the upright position   Major
• insecure    Dangerous

 

The failure reasons shown by zain don't make sense as it mentions Nearside drivers seat and offside drivers seat. Of course there is not a drivers seat on both sides of the vehicle. The passenger seat can not be failed on fore and aft adjustment.  It would seem that MOT tester was not too good

Yeah, that's the same failure point mine was given, it's not difficult, fore and aft relates to the sliders.  I haven't seen them add 'nearside' to the failure before though...that's quite clever I guess!  

[iantt]

6 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yeah, that's the same failure point mine was given, it's not difficult, fore and aft relates to the sliders.  I haven't seen them add 'nearside' to the failure before though...that's quite clever I guess!  

i remember pointing out to tom his seat tilt shouldnt have failed. there are some thick mot testers out there. lol 

edit, perhaps i shouldnt say thick, for the sake of being  the politically correct and all that. should i say someone with learning difficulties?