Time for an MOT? There’s nothing to worry about with an electric car

This week has been a week full of anniversaries in my family. In addition to being ten years since my wonderful partner emigrated from the U.S. to live with me, my Nissan LEAF celebrates its third year with me this weekend.

While I would love to regale you with ten years’ worth of tales about life with my other half, I suspect neither she – nor this site’s editorial team – would be all too happy about it. After all, the purpose of my column here is to chronicle my on-going life as a plug-in car driver. So I’m going to publicly wish the love of my life a very wonderful day and turn my attention to my LEAF instead.

Of course, on the grand scale of things three years isn’t really that long at all. But in the automotive world, three years is the length of time that passes between driving that shiny new car off the dealer forecourt and driving it back for its first MOT.

Electric MOT

Here in the UK, we have some pretty strict tests governing vehicle safety and roadworthiness, and the MOT is no exception. Mandatory for every car over three years of age (with the exceptions of tractors, goods vehicles powered by electricity or vintage vehicles made before 1960) MOT tests are regarded by most car drivers with a fair deal of trepidation.

That’s because the MOT test comes bundled with an emissions check of your car’s exhaust system to ensure that it isn’t belching out large amounts of smog-causing nastiness. With an electric car of course, there’s nothing to worry about here because electric cars don’t even have an exhaust.

If you’re an EV owner, you’re probably either sitting there with a massive smile on your face or perhaps breathing a sigh of relief because you’d never thought about MOT tests before. And now you’ve done that, I bet I know what the next question is going to be.

What DOES an electric car have to do for an MOT?

But before I talk you through an electric car MOT, I want to make something perfectly clear, something which has become a part of EV folklore.

“You don’t need an MOT because you’re in an electric car,” many people have told me over the years. “That’s the rule!”

Except it isn’t. For years, people have incorrectly assumed that any electric vehicle is exempt from an MOT test. That’s simply not true.

It all stems from the days when your daily pint was delivered at the bleary-eyed time of 4am by a little man in a small electric milk float. Those vehicles, limited to very low speeds and with seating for just one person – the milkman – didn’t require an MOT. Other electric goods vehicles don’t need them anyway. Electric cars, just like petrol or diesel-powered ones, do.

Now I’ve cleared up that little problem, I’ll talk you through an electric car MOT.

Testing time

Like any MOT, an electric car MOT has to be logged on the official MOT test computer system, and should take roughly the same amount of time as a petrol car of a similar age.

Naturally, there are no emissions checks to worry about, but everything else is the same as it would be for a petrol car. The tester, officially licenced to carry out the test, will check your cars’ headlights for alignment and correct function. They’ll test all the lights work correctly from the little one that illuminates the rear numberplate through to your indicators, high beams and if fitted, fog lights.

They’ll check the horn, seatbelts, wiper blades and washer fluid. They’ll examine the windscreen for cracks and chips. Like a petrol car, any problems here can mean a failure for your car as it would for any other vehicle.

With those tests done, your car will be hoisted into the air on an officially approved MOT test lift. (I didn’t know such things existed, but apparently, MOT tests have to be carried out on approved test equipment.)

From here, your electric car will be given a full once-over from below, with the tester checking correct function of the steering. They’ll spin each wheel freely to check the tyres and to check for correct bearing operation, and they’ll do full suspension checks too.

Next, your MOT tester will give your car a thorough check-over for rust, looking carefully for the presence of rust at any key mounting points and brackets. Interestingly, MOT testers aren’t allowed to remove anything to check for the presence of rust, so the big aerodynamic underbody panel on most EVs will stay put. Since most modern cars have great anti-rust protection at the factory, that shouldn’t be a problem of course.

Finally, it’s back down to the ground for the same brake tests you’d have in any car. Interestingly, the MOT only checks the friction brakes, not the regenerative brakes. If like me, you drive almost exclusively on regenerative brakes, you may want to take your car to a quiet piece of road before the test and safely carry out a few emergency stops beforehand to remove any surface dirt before the MOT test. That said, I didn’t for mine, and my LEAF passed with flying colours.

Then there’s the price. Sadly, an MOT test is an MOT test, so you’re unlikely to find any discounts on offer. But at least you’ll know your car won’t get any dirty exhaust problems eh?

And remember: if your EV is from 2011, this is the year it will need its first MOT!